Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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

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.

These are *excerpts* from my review published in Home Education Magazine

Linda Dobson explains that what she calls "The Bright Idea" came from a summer spent speaking and presenting workshops at homeschooling conferences. She thought it would be wonderful to be able to bring the collective energy and knowledge of "some of the most dedicated, practiced, knowledgeable, and commonsensical voices on homeschooling" to people who can't get to such conferences. Soon she had recruited 39 people to contribute responses to the 88 questions that seem to come up most frequently.

What you'll find in this book is helpful, warm, and thoughtful support, but certainly not an attempt to give expert answers. As a matter of fact, if you're looking for such answers to how it should be done, read this book, and you'll probably soon find yourself comfortably letting go of that need. One of the fun things about homeschooling is that the most commonly voiced inner personal experiences are startlingly similar, although almost unheard of in the broader educational world. Those experiences are generously shared in The Homeschooling Book of Answers - that is both the heart and the guts of why it works so well.

The key to the unique character of The Homeschooling Book of Answers is in the introduction, where Dobson says: "Looking at homeschooling as an odd educational choice, or even as a valid educational choice, for that matter, places it in a very narrow context. This narrow context is unfortunate because it abruptly ends just where homeschooling begins. Considering homeschooling this way is like looking at someone's finger as it points toward a beautiful sunset." This stunningly phrased essential truth is the heart of the matter, and ironically enough, the hardest thing to convey to people who are just starting to inquire about "homeschooling." Dobson continues, "Homeschooling is a grassroots educational alternative that originates with the seed of parental love and commitment and blossoms into a lush garden of personal empowerment for child and parent." It was surprising to me that Linda had managed to corral for this book so many diverse homeschoolers who clearly and strongly supported that core sentiment, but she has done just that.

A diverse group indeed, but the voices weave together in wonderful harmony around the essential issues, and heart, of homeschooling. No "school at home" advice here - just a wide variety of individuals offering reassuring advice and encouragement in both the practical and philosophical aspects of the homeschooling adventure.

The goal Linda Dobson set out with is accomplished even more effectively than one could have imagined. This is a book I've already begun recommending to everyone looking for information about homeschooling, as well as to friends who also get a lot of calls asking these questions.

Until I read this book cover to cover I didn't know why I felt so much pressure as a new homeschooling mother. This book took all the guilt out of it for me. I realized, through so many varied opinions, that homeschooling is a joy, not a task and that I didn't need to wake up at 7am and crack the whip, standing before a homemade chalk board. I realized I am an unschooler who follows a VERY flexable cirriculum through reading this book. Thank you to the authors of it. It really eased my mind and help me find my way. I have set my fear aside and won't allow others who do not homeschool try to instill THEIR paranoid fears into us. I truly realized now that my children will learn and I don't have to get all bent out of shape over it. I feel free, thank God.

If you have ever considered homeschooling this is the book to read. I considered homeschooling 3 years ago, but due to the negative response I received from practically everyone I knew, I backed down. This book was absolutely inspiring. This book gave me the support I needed to do what is best for my children. After reading this book I know homeschooling is a must for well-rounded, educated, christian children. I will read all of Linda Dobson's books.

A fascinating and multifaceted overview of essential homeschooling issues from a variety of very different homeschoolers. The book emphasizes the wide range of experiences, opinions, and philosophies encountered in homeschooling and leads one to the reassuring conclusion that there are many successful ways to homeschool.

Parents, journalists, legislators and homeschoolers across America need look no further for the definitive book on homeschooling. It has finally been written and the author is Linda Dobson, a wise and leading voice in the American homeschooling movement. Within the covers of 'The Homeschooling Book of Answers' Ms. Dobson has brought you the experience and wisdom of 39 of the movers and shakers in this viable alternative opportunity to public schooling. These homeschooling parents and their children share their collective knowledge and lives in this informative book. This book has lots of personality. This book is an accumulation of 500 years of homeschooling and child rearing experience. This book is a 'keeper', one to be referenced again and again. As a home education advocate 'The Homeschooling Book of Answers' is now the only book I recommend to anyone wanting information on homeschooling. This book is so chocked full of information and resources that readers will be able to use it as a jumping off point in their quest for a top-notch education for their children. The information in this book also has a redeeming value that will help to heal the wounded American family and give parents back their children that government run public schools are destroying. 'The Homeschooling Book of Answers' will also show parents how the act of homeschooling/schooling at home can lead to a more promising way of educating children--free and independent learning known to some as 'unschooling', a much healthier and happier way to raise children. The following related books are also highly recommended: 'The Art of Education' by Linda Dobson; 'Dumbing Us Down' by John Taylor Gatto; 'Teach Your Own' by John Holt; 'Dumbing Down Our Kids' by Charles J. Sykes; 'Homeschooling' by Samuel L. Blumenfeld; 'The Teenage Liberation Handbook' by Grace Llewellyn; 'Outcome Based Education' by Peg Luksik and Pamela Hoffecker

I devoured "The Homeschooling Book of Answers!" As an unschooling mom for eight years, I have consistently found myself in a minority among the other homeschoolers I know. How refreshing to read of other families who do what we do! After years of struggling to explain our lifestyle, this book has given me the freedom to quit trying to do that and to focus whole-heartedly on our chidren's development. I especially found all the Web addresses for familes and support groups helpful.

As a parent new to the idea of homeschooling, I was hoping that the Homeschooling Book of Answers would provide me with a broad scope of ideas and opinions on the subject. Although it proports to encompass the views of "39 respected mentors," all 39 come from the same educational philosophy; each question is answered by several people, but all of the answers are maddeningly similar. The contributors share an "unschooling" philosophy, which often means not only that they believe in "child-centered learning" but also in not teaching at all and in the idea that schooling is inherently bad. Anyone looking for a balanced view that represents a range of homeschooling philosophies, families, and experiences had best look elsewhere. One recommendation is David Guterson's Family Matters, an excellent, intelligent, balanced primer on the subject of whether or not to homeschool, beautifully written by a high school teacher/homeschooling father.