The two extremes of the homeschooling spectrum--with fundamentalist Christians on the right and the freewheeling Unschooled on the left--seem to be well represented online. But what if you, like Buddha, choose the Middle Way? It’s like the road not taken, to borrow from Frost.
The Home School Legal Defense Association website (http://www.hslda.org/) is loaded with useful information. A nonprofit advocacy organization established to protect the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children, HSLDA provides information about homeschooling laws, posts the latest homeschooling news and offers advice on how to get started. This is a great place to begin.
For those of you seeking homeschooling help for the upper grades (primarily 9 through 12), check out http://www.brightstorm.com/. Founder and CEO Jeff Marshall is a former math, English and Spanish teacher and a graduate of Brown’s MAT program. A classmate of mine, Jeff is a phenomenally bright, caring, innovative and dynamic teacher. After working for several years in public schools and then in business, Jeff launched Brightstorm in 2008. Through free online videos, Brightstorm offers registered users instruction in a variety of subjects, from algebra to US History. Full courses are available for purchase. Some subjects, like pre-algebra and Grammar Time, are appropriate for middle schoolers. It’s an exciting, accessible e-learning platform.
