DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - In the current economic climate, schools across the country are venturing into the great unknown. Nearly all public schools in Texas know they’re budgets will be slashed, but they don’t know by how much. But there are some parents who say school district money problems don’t concern them.
Families that home school their children don’t have to worry about budget cuts.
Tuesday the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science hosted an event specifically for families that home school.
Jake Spurgeon is learning more about archeology. The nine-year-old is preparing for the archeological dig he’s going on, with his mother, next month.
Jake Spurgeon is learning more about archeology. The nine-year-old is preparing for the archeological dig he’s going on, with his mother, next month.
Jake’s mom, Terri, says she originally decided to teach Jake at home so he could have more time with his father, who works nights and weekends.
Terri Spurgeon has a background in science. Spurgeon, who has a Ph.D in Developmental Biology and at one time was an educator, says she also made the move because she wanted Jake’s education focus on math and science. “It would worry me if I were to enroll him in public school,” she said. “The changes in class size, teacher ratio, some of the materials that they might not have available.”
Jake has nothing but high praise for his mother and says he likes the one-on-one interaction with her. “[I] love it,” he said of his teaching environment. “She’s a very good teacher and I think she has a lot of knowledge and she has a goal that she sets every year.”
This year, during the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science Engineers Week 2011, a day was specifically set-aside for parents and their home-schooled children.
Sarah Caughron, the Lead Educator at the Dallas Museum of Nature & Science, says the event was tailor-made. “From my experience from working with home school children, they seem to be more engaged, because they’re getting more one-on-one contact.”
Home schooling may not be for everyone but with deep budget cuts looming, national home school organizations believe more parents are considering teaching their children at home. LINK
The Home School Legal Defense Association is watching the budget battles unfold. According to the association’s Deputy Director, Jeremiah Lorrig, each year the number of families that home school their children increases by 15-percent, but this year that number could go even higher.
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