Peter and I briefly toyed with describing the next few years of Neil’s education as “a classical education at home” or “going to a very exclusive private school.” We just wanted to separate ourselves from the unfortunate conception of homeschooling as forcing our child to be cloistered away from all society with only a Bible [...]
There’s a lot to be said about San Jose’s relatively new library downtown, but I’ll focus this on one of the best, and the very worst. Just as context, the 8-story library located on the border between downtown San Jose and San Jose State, is a collaboration that combines both a city library and a [...]
I love having children who love to learn, and that Neil is particularly eager to encourage Kelly towards that end. A few months ago, he used his own hard-earned money to buy an arcade game featuring her favorite character, Snoopy. Neil told Kelly he’d give it to her when she could count to 20 all [...]
Unlike some parents, I don’t object to sex education in the schools. Sex and religion are both sensitive topics, best taught in the home. But you can’t always dance around or avoid the subjects in education, and some parents are so queasy about either or both, they never teach them at home either. So they [...]
For his school’s open house, Neil, like the other fifth graders, had to do a science project. It was pretty challenging. I don’t remember ever doing a science project, and just coming up with a project that a) wasn’t a known science project template, b) involved month-long study and observation, and c) could be carried [...]
Paul Graham wrote a great essay Why Nerds are Unpopular, which, encapsulated at its simplest, says smart secondary school students aren’t popular because they’d rather be smart. From observation and personal experience, I agree with Graham’s essay. And I’m even happier that Neil won’t have a secondary school experience where being smart is a social [...]
Last month, I registered Kelly for public school. It was remarkably stressful. In his kindergarten year, I vaguely remembered having registered Neil for school in February, and knowing he’d gotten into the district’s science magnet school in April. But this year when I called the school district in February, they told me I wouldn’t be [...]
My experience with Neil’s fourth grade teacher was more than disappointing, and as a result, I started schooling him at home that spring and summer. Neil astounded me with what he could do once expectations were raised: not only was he an enthusiastic mathematician, he was a capable illustrator, a diligent scientist, a phenomenally persuasive [...]
As a boy scout, Neil completes merit badge requirements. I’m still new to how the process goes, but when I bought him the books for several merit badges, I was surprised to discover how very well they would fit into my homeschooling curriculum for him. For instance, the Astronomy merit badge requirements will function beautifully [...]
Last year, I discovered for sure that I wanted to teach Neil myself through the middle-school years and possibly beyond. Since I’m not doing this through a public school program or through an umbrella or charter school, the California State Department of Education requires me to register the school as a small private school. And [...]
