The Homeschooling Book of Answers : The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices [Paperback]

Linda Dobson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Prima Home Learning Library | Publication Date: June 10, 1998

Homeschooling is revolutionizing the way many children in this country are educated. Increasing numbers of parents are finding that homeschools provide their children with a learning environment superior to that of public schools. Whether you are currently homeschooling or are just considering it, you've probably had questions, such as: Can I afford it? How do I set up a plan of study? And, most important, is homeschooling right for my child? Here—at last—are honest, practical answers to all of your questions and more!


Drawing from the collective wisdom and experience of the 39 most respected mentors in the field, The Homeschooling Book of Answers is your essential guide to one of the biggest trends in education. Learn how homeschooling may be your family's best method for providing your child with the finest education. Your child deserves it!


"I can't imagine a more helpful book on homeschooling — a happy marriage of the realistic with the idealistic, the passionate with the practical. Until our schools are not just reformed but truly transformed, every parent should consider this alternative."

— George Leonard, author of Education and Ecstasy and Mastery


"If you plan to homeschool, make sure you read this book. Your child's education depends on it."

— Senator Vince Illuzzi


"The Homeschooling Book of Answers is filled with common sense for homeschoolers or any other parents who care deeply about their children's education. This book is a must-read for people who care about how and what their children learn — at home or in one of the expensive institutional juggernauts that have a difficult time keeping up with them."

— Craig Lancto, educator and newspaper columnist


"Delightfully easy to read, this most timely, valuable, informative, and critically needed work covers the home school issue with an encyclopedic thoroughness. I can only applaud and pass the word."

— Joseph Chilton Pearce, author of The Crack in the Cosmic Egg and Magical Child


Contributors include: John Taylor Gatto, author of Dumbing Us Down; David and Micki Colfax, authors of Homeschooling for Excellence; Raymond and Dorothy Moore, authors of School Can Wait; Mark and Helen Hegener, publishers of Home Education Magazine; Susannah Sheffer, editor of Growing Without Schooling

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This how-to guide offers the collective wisdom of six dozen homeschoolers, their children, and noted writers on the subject. Written in a question-and-answer format, it leaves no stone unturned, with chapters on everything from socialization ("But what about the prom?") to the tricky teen years ("How will my child learn the tough subjects, like algebra and chemistry, if I don't understand them?"). There's also practical advice on how to handle critical relatives and friends, how to succeed at the college admissions process, and how to correspond with the governmental agencies that may oversee homeschooling in your state. The writing is authoritative and often humorous, with anywhere from two to five responses to each question from different homes across the country. One chapter exclusively features responses from homeschooled children. A lengthy appendix of resources provides national and state support groups, books, magazines, sources for learning materials, Internet sites, mailing lists, and newsletters. And, unlike many books on this subject, a helpful list of state-by-state requirements for homeschoolers is provided.

Linda Dobson, the author who corralled these voices, is the news editor and columnist for Home Education Magazine, and a homeschooler since 1985. Primarily written for families considering homeschooling, the guide would also benefit educators, researchers, politicians, and writers. Despite its comprehensiveness, however, the book does gloss over the subject of minorities in homeschooling (only one parent of color is among the contributors), and traditional schools come in for quite a bit of abuse at homeschoolers' expense. But for someone looking for advice from those in the know, this is the book. --Jodi Mailander Farrell

Review

Complete Homeschooling Support at Your Fingertips!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Prima Lifestyles (June 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761513779
• ISBN-13: 978-0761513773
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,161 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Linda Dobson and family began their homeschooling journey in 1985. They were having so much fun together that she wanted to share news of this educational approach with as many other families as possible. She co-founded a local homeschooling support group that now offers support and learning activities to a growing membership. She helped found and for the first two years served as coordinator of the New York (State) Home Educators' Network. Upon creation of the National Home Education Network (NHEN) in 1999 she served as its first public relations advisor as a media contact providing reporters, journalists, and researchers with background information and interviews. She was also Homeschool.com's early years' advisor.
Linda's articles have appeared in dozens of magazines, including Good Housekeeping, but her favorite stint was as Home Education Magazine news reporter and analyst for almost a decade. She still regularly contributes a commentary column, "Notes from the Road Less Traveled," and is acting columns editor. She has authored eight books, and contributed essays and forewords to many more. She has enjoyed diversity in writing, from a children's column for an Atlanta-based alternative newspaper to mail order copy, as well as consulting and market studies for companies such as Barnes&Noble.com and Grolier's. Linda is experienced with the media having provided scores of interviews for radio talk shows, feature stories, including German Public Radio, and publications including The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens, and "Live Online" for the Washington Post.
As she became home education's most prolific author and vocal spokesperson, Linda emerged as a nationally respected conference keynote speaker. She has traveled the country, staying in touch with parental concerns and educational approaches across the U.S. and Canada. Formerly a short-term academic tutor for children, she also counseled parents of traditionally schooled children, as she believes that parental involvement is essential to educational success and can occur no matter where a child learns. She was also an online course instructor for Barnes & Noble University.
Believing that modern homeschooling's rich history lives within those who have completed the journey, Linda began the Homeschool Crones Café at ning.com and invited all her old friends to hang out there.
Life isn't all work, fortunately! She moved to be close to Florida's Gulf coast and has started a non-profit volunteer program and a non-profit economic revitalization corporation. Now, she has left all that behind to return to her passion - helping families enjoy and thrive through the homeschooling lifestyle.
To this end, Linda produces Parent at the Helm.com, where parents concerned about their children's education can find information, news, resources, guest commentators, homeschooling start-up information, and monthly book giveaways to help their children succeed.
She's grandmother of three beautiful girls, including a set of twins. She is also engaged to the most wonderful man in the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Resource for New and Considering Homeschoolers, April 6, 2000

By 

Pamela J. Sorooshian- - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Homeschooling Book of Answers : The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices (Paperback)

I highly recommend this book to those people who are either just considering or just starting out on a homeschooling journey. There is a wide variety of homeschooling styles and attitudes represented in the book and they are provided in a very friendly, easy to absorb and understand, format. I truly believe that the best way to learn about homeschooling is by listening to other homeschoolers, drawing upon each other's experiences, thinking about how we want our own families to be. This book will allow you to have a glimpse into the lives of many long-time homeschoolers, as they give their own, very personal, answers to the questions. No expert and no single author could possibly provide such stimulating ideas and such a variety of opinions. You may not agree with some of them, but the ideas expressed in the book are guaranteed to help you realize how very very much homeschooling can allow a family to develop its own distinct style of living and learning. I hold information talks for new homeschoolers on a regular basis and this is one of the two books I most often recommend.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn't put the book down!, August 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Homeschooling Book of Answers : The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices (Paperback)

I loved the book and how it was layed out in question form with answers from other homeshoolers and their parents. The questions raised were all ones I had concidered, but couldn't find answers to in such a open form. I loved reading others opinions and how things are going for them. I found that most of answers were enough to help me out although about HOW to do things were not answered explicitly enough for me. eg: HOW to get info. They say go to the internet, go to the library, but never specifically WHAT to look up which is something I would have appreciated as a new homeschooler, and HOW to find out about the laws in each state. They did say what the laws were for each state, but nowhere did I find specifically how to find them out for myself, and the addresses they gave did go to the libraries of the state, but from then I was lost on how to find specific laws etc. All around the content was what i was looking for and was very good and helped me develop and find my own answers to pertinent questions I had. I went through the book with a marker and underlined all the things I found really interesting, and I will refer back to these often as they are helpful reminders of what and why I am homeschooling. It will now be my reference Guide to homeschooling. Overall I loved the book and am thankful that I found it when I did. Another wonderful book is THE homeschooling handbook, by Mary Griffith

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book, Hands-Down, for New Homeschoolers, April 3, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Homeschooling Book of Answers : The 88 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices (Paperback)

As a support group leader, e-mail list moderator and conference coordinator, Linda's book answers the questions I get asked daily. Her books helps new homeschoolers gain perspective in moving away from the school environment (students, recess, tests, homework) and back to the family environment children were meant to be raised in. Her collection of voices is remarkable and her ability to speak to the heart of the movement is powerful. I recommend this book to every new homeschooler I speak with on the phone, at support group meetings or on teh internet. I've even found it hard to put down after 9 years of homeschooling my own children. It felt so good to know I wasn't alone in my opinions and to find the words to explain some of the more difficult concepts. Linda was a speaker at a conference held here in Columbus, Ohio a couple years back. Her workshops were the best received and her warm and friendly attitude captured the hearts of many. Her book feels just the same.. like you have the pleasure of sitting down with Linda as your host to a whole slew of generous, caring folks who give of themselves so wonderfully. I can't imagine a better beginning resource.