By Carolyn Flynn SAGE Editor
DEAR READERS,
One of the first stories I covered as a reporter was the "A Nation at Risk" report by the National Commission on Excellence in Education in 1983, which pointed to the "rising tide of mediocrity" in our schools. Since then, in my lifetime, I have seen more and more parents anxious about whether their children are getting the best education possible.
Couple that with a lot of guilt about not spending enough time with our children and you have — one explanation, anyway — the homeschooling movement.
In this month's cover story, we asked Jane Mahoney to take a look at why homeschooling has gone mainstream — and whether it's working. Right off the bat we learned we had to bust some myths many people have about it — some of which we had ourselves.
The first myth was that it happens at home. By and large the families Mahoney interviewed consider the whole world a learning laboratory. In fact, the way "unschooler" Sandra Dodd puts it is, "the world is all a-swirl" with things to learn.
The second myth was that it's socially isolating. Some critics of homeschooling would have you believe that children who grow up homeschooled are nearly catatonic in their social skills. What we found that surprised us was that children often can be more social. These homeschooling parents believe that their children thrive when freed from the structure of a classroom with its lines of authority and accompanying peer struggles. They see mutual respect in their children's interactions with other adults and point to all-around benefits of their children interacting with children of all ages.
The homeschooling movement, along with the rise in private school attendance, are among the many efforts of the past 20 years by parents to re-insert themselves in the education process.
Whether after reading our cover story you decide you are pro or con on homeschooling, we hope you will agree with this challenge, directed to parents 20 years ago from "A Nation At Risk": "As surely as you are your child's first and most influential teacher, your child's ideas about education and its significance begin with you. You must be a living example of what you expect your children to honor and to emulate."
Also in this issue
In other stories this month, if you are looking for pampering — and we always are, aren't we? — you may find, as writer Polly Summar did, a perfect blend of soothing and sprucing in the Nob Hill shop of Evonne Maxwell. If it's money that's on your mind, Lee Matthew answers the big "what now?": With a war behind us and the economy turning for the better, where do you put your money?
Also inside, Anne Pedersen asks whether we have gotten to the point where men and women can be friends. And Sharon Niederman writes about an affable little dog named Trooper who brought her unexpected blessings.
UNTIL NEXT MONTH,
Carolyn Flynn
Editor
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