One Good Year

I read an excellent article in Brain, Child magazine the other day. The author, Laura Brodie, decided to homeschool her daughter for a year when her daughter got to the point where she would rather hide in a closet for an hour than face ten minutes of homework. In "One Good Year," Brodie talks about her own experiences in short-term homeschooling, and she reveals some of the research that she has done on the topic.

Interestingly enough, there isn't much research that has been done on the topic of short-term homeschooling. It's a relatively uncommon educational option (even within the homeschooling community) that, to me, makes a lot of sense. As Brodie points out, there are plenty of reasons to consider this option:

1. A temporary problem with the conventional school system, such as personality conflicts with a teacher, or a "persistent bully"
2. A medical problem or injuries, possibly resulting from an accident
3. A disagreement with the attitude or style of a particular school's administration
4. The "perils of middle school," including peer pressure and bullying
5. Frequent moving, such as in military families, or when living in a new area for a short period of time
6. The opportunity to spend more time with one's child; having a year to "reconnect"

I fully understand and agree with Brodie's take on short-term homeschooling:

[A]s the year went by and the complaints increased, I sympathized more and more with Julia's plight, partly because of my own memories of public school drudgery, and partly because, as a professor of English, I understand the need for sabbaticals. If adults benefit from intellectual rejuvenation, then why not children? Why shouldn't a child have time off to pursue her own research and writing?

I used to love Monday mornings in fifth grade, when I would go into school late. Rather than getting on the bus like every other morning, my mother and I drove a half-hour in the other direction to go to French and Latin lessons. There is no way that I could have gotten more enrichment out of those three hours in my fifth grade classroom than I did in Mr. Beaven's office.

After reading that Ms. Brodie is a professor at my alma mater (and has published a book about Joe's college), I sent her an e-mail. I told her that, personally, one of my biggest parenting fears is that I will close doors for my son, education-wise. While I adore the idea of child-led learning, and of letting Braeden explore his world, unencumbered by state-imposed requirements and standarized tests, I fear that the "road less traveled" could be kind of a dead-end. A love of learning is great, but what if it doesn't translate into acceptance at a good college, or a good job that allows Braeden to afford the kind of life he wants to lead? That's why this idea of short-term homeschool strikes me as ingenious. At the very least, it teaches the child that education does not only happen in the classroom; that test scores are not the only way to measure knowledge. Yet the child still pretty much stays on track, in the long run, with his or her peers. I know (from Ms. Brodie's article) that there are drawbacks, but this approach may be the closest we'll get to the best of both worlds. Julia Brodie seems to agree: she has already asked to do her eighth grade year at home.