Parents Continue Homeschooling Even After COVID-related Closures
2021-08-02
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The coronavirus health crisis has caused problems for many families since taking hold last year.
2But some parents are thankful for one change: they are choosing to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to start in-person classes.
3There are many different reasons for this.
4The Associated Press spoke to several families.
5Some families have children with special educational needs.
6Others seek religion-based schooling or say their local schools have too many problems.
7They all have something in common: they tried homeschooling as a temporary measure and found that it helped their children.
8The U.S. Census Bureau reported in March that the percentage of households homeschooling their children rose to 11 percent by September 2020.
9That number was 5.4 percent just six months earlier.
10The increase was largest in Black households.
11Their homeschooling percentage rose from 3.3 percent in the spring of 2020 to 16.1 percent in the fall.
12Arlena and Robert Brown of Austin, Texas have three school-age children.
13Then the pandemic took hold.
14After experimenting with online learning, they decided to try homeschooling.
15They taught a curriculum provided by Seton Home Study School that is based on Catholic religious teachings.
16The homeschooling service has 16,000 students in the United States.
17The Browns plan to continue homeschooling for the coming year.
18They are pleased that they can make the curriculum fit their children's needs.
19Eleven-year-old Jacoby has a condition that requires rest during the day.
20Riley is 10 and is considered "gifted" at school.
21And Felicity, aged 9, has a learning disability.
22Robert Brown is a former teacher who now advises businesses.
23He said he wants his children to do their best and have a solid understanding of their religion.
24Arlena Brown said the biggest difficulty was to "unschool ourselves and understanding that homeschooling has so much freedom."
25She said, "We can go as quickly or slowly as we need to."
26Race played an important part in the decision of another Black family to homeschool their 12-year-old son Dorian.
27Angela Valentine said Dorian was often the only Black student in his classes in public school in Chicago.
28He was sometimes treated unfairly by administrators and was hurt when other children stopped playing with him.
29As the pandemic eased, the family decided to homeschool Dorian.
30They are using a curriculum provided by National Black Home Educators that provides materials for each subject about African American history and culture.
31Valentine said "making the right choices" was difficult.
32She added, "But until we're really comfortable with his learning environment, we'll stay on this homeschool journey."
33Joyce Burges is co-founder and program director of National Black Home Educators.
34She said the 21-year-old organization had about 5,000 members before the pandemic and now has more than 35,000.
35Burges said many of the new families experienced difficulties, like not having internet service.
36These problems limited their children's ability to use online learning during the pandemic.
37"It got so they didn't trust anything but their own homes, and their children being with them," she said.
38"Now they're seeing the future, seeing what their children can do."
39I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The coronavirus health crisis has caused problems for many families since taking hold last year. But some parents are thankful for one change: they are choosing to homeschool their children, even as schools plan to start in-person classes. 2There are many different reasons for this. The Associated Press spoke to several families. Some families have children with special educational needs. Others seek religion-based schooling or say their local schools have too many problems. 3They all have something in common: they tried homeschooling as a temporary measure and found that it helped their children. 4The U.S. Census Bureau reported in March that the percentage of households homeschooling their children rose to 11 percent by September 2020. That number was 5.4 percent just six months earlier. 5The increase was largest in Black households. Their homeschooling percentage rose from 3.3 percent in the spring of 2020 to 16.1 percent in the fall. 6Arlena and Robert Brown of Austin, Texas have three school-age children. Then the pandemic took hold. After experimenting with online learning, they decided to try homeschooling. They taught a curriculum provided by Seton Home Study School that is based on Catholic religious teachings. The homeschooling service has 16,000 students in the United States. 7The Browns plan to continue homeschooling for the coming year. They are pleased that they can make the curriculum fit their children's needs. Eleven-year-old Jacoby has a condition that requires rest during the day. Riley is 10 and is considered "gifted" at school. And Felicity, aged 9, has a learning disability. 8Robert Brown is a former teacher who now advises businesses. He said he wants his children to do their best and have a solid understanding of their religion. 9Arlena Brown said the biggest difficulty was to "unschool ourselves and understanding that homeschooling has so much freedom." She said, "We can go as quickly or slowly as we need to." 10Race played an important part in the decision of another Black family to homeschool their 12-year-old son Dorian. 11Angela Valentine said Dorian was often the only Black student in his classes in public school in Chicago. He was sometimes treated unfairly by administrators and was hurt when other children stopped playing with him. 12As the pandemic eased, the family decided to homeschool Dorian. They are using a curriculum provided by National Black Home Educators that provides materials for each subject about African American history and culture. 13Valentine said "making the right choices" was difficult. She added, "But until we're really comfortable with his learning environment, we'll stay on this homeschool journey." 14Joyce Burges is co-founder and program director of National Black Home Educators. She said the 21-year-old organization had about 5,000 members before the pandemic and now has more than 35,000. 15Burges said many of the new families experienced difficulties, like not having internet service. These problems limited their children's ability to use online learning during the pandemic. 16"It got so they didn't trust anything but their own homes, and their children being with them," she said. "Now they're seeing the future, seeing what their children can do." 17I'm Gregory Stachel. 18David Crary reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 19_______________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21curriculum -n. the classes and subjects that are taught by a school or college 22disability -n. a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities 23comfortable -adj. not having any physical unpleasant feelings; experiencing physical ease or comfort 24journey -n. an act of traveling from one place to another- often used to represent any process that takes a long time