Defined:
“There is no school equal to a decent
home and no teacher equal to a
virtuous parent.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
homeschooling, also called home
education, educational method situated in the home
rather than in an institution designed for that
purpose. It is representative of a broad social
movement of families, largely in Western societies,
who believe that the education of children is,
ultimately, the right of parents rather than a
government. Beginning in the late 20th century, the
homeschooling movement grew largely as a reaction
against public school curricula among some groups.
HISTORY
• Mid-19th century – apprenticeships and
communal activities
• Early 20th century - universal compulsory school
attendance laws established
• 1883 - Hints On Home Training and Teaching by
Edward A. Abbott
• 1912 - The School in the Home by A.A. Berle
• 1977 - John Holt – “unschooling”
• 1977-2001Growing Without Schooling magazine
• 1980s - 20,000 homeschoolers in United States
• Today – 2.4 million homeschoolers
“I suppose it is because nearly all children go to school
nowadays and have things arranged for them that they seem so
forlornly unable to produce their own ideas.” ~Agatha Christie
Famous Homeschoolers
George Washington, John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson
Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Agatha Christie, C.S.
Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joseph Smith, Blaise Pascal
Ansel Adams, Florence Nightingale, Clara Barton, Andrew Carnegie
Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander the Great, Julian Assange (WikiLeaks)
Francis Collins (physician-geneticist, leader of Human Genome Project),
Reid Barton (most successful mathematician in contests in history)
Joey Logano (youngest driver to win NASCAR), Kaitlyn Maher (top 10 on
America’s Got Talent), Tim Tebow
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“As regards moral courage, then, it is not so
much that the public schools support it feebly, as
that they suppress it firmly.” G.K. Chesterton
WHY?
Not just “No Sex” “No Darwin”
Deficiencies in public/private education system
Quality time (one on one)
Family as mission
Religious reasons/Counterculture
Moral/Ethical
Safety concerns
Unique educational, physical, or mental health
needs (personalize education)
HOW?
“Fun isn’t hard if you’ve
got a library card”
MY
STORY
I WAS
HOMESCHOOLED
Library Services and
Resources
Talk to them
Google your city and “homeschool”
Homeschool groups
Local homeschooling conferences, lectures,
fairs
Surveys or focus groups
• Traditional marketing
• Special area in library
• Volunteer program
• Teen advisory boards
• Homeschoolers as library advocates
• Extended loan period
• Grants
Programs
“It is the mark of a truly educated
man to know what not to read.”
~Ezra Taft Benson
Orientation
Basic library skills instruction (57 Games to Play in the
Library or Classroom by Carol K. Lee)
Advanced Information Literacy Skills (Information Power:
Building Partnerships for Learning from AASL and AECT)
Encourage use of library meeting rooms
Handouts listing state laws
Programs for parents
• Library catalog
• NoveList
• Reference Books:
A to Zoo: Subject Access to Children’s Picture
Books
• Best Books for Children: Preschool through Grade 6
• Best Books for Middle School and Junior High
Readers: Grades 6-9
• Best Books for High School Readers: Grades 9-12
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Other Programs
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Storytimes
Book Groups
Craft programs
Other activities: Back to Homeschool Party
Open Houses
Literature based programming (book themed
event)
Curriculum Swap
Displays
Preparing for College
Booktalks
Pathfinders
Fiction featuring
homeschooling
Alice, I Think, by Susan Juby (12 & up)
Ida B… and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid
Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine
Hannigan (10-14 yrs.)
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan (11
& up)
What Would Joey Do? By Jack Gantos (10 -13 yrs.)
Special Collection
Homeschooling collections statement
Periodicals
Books
Curriculum and supply catalogs
Teaching Aids, Equipment, and Manipulatives
Curriculum kits
What Homeschoolers
Want from Public Libraries
Laws and compliance
regulations of state regarding
homeschooling
Listing of area agencies,
museums, park services,
educational resources
Directory of homeschooling
groups in area
Booklists of library materials
Statewide and national
homeschool organizations
Contact people in local
schools/state superintendent
Children’s programs and
services
Listing of homeschooling
suppliers (publishers,
correspondence, distributor
catalogs)
• Library involvement with homeschooling organizations
• Bulletin board in library for meeting calendars, contest information,
reviews of new books of interest, monthly pages from Chase’s Calendar
of Events, dates of book sales
• Displays of home school projects, art, hobbies, etc.
• Curriculum guides from local schools
• Workshops on topics such as various subject areas, new books, etc.
• Tours of the library, ILL information, printouts from periodicals
• Special programs, reading programs, bibliographic instruction
• Volunteer program (tutoring, fundraising, reviewing materials, lobbying,
putting on plays for other children)
• Access to recent publisher’s catalogs and book review journals
• Audiotapes and CDs
• Use of library’s meeting room
• Use of personal computers or audiovisual equipment
• Library column in local homeschooling newsletter
• Excellent readers’ advisory service
• Special borrowing privileges
• Good collection of children’s books, creative materials, historical
fiction, biographies, trade books on science, math, and history
SUGGESTED READS
Anderson, E. (1996).Homeschooling and libraries--An intimate view. Alki. 12, 223.
Brostrom, D.C. (1995). A guide to homeschooling for librarians. Fort Atkinson, WI:
Highsmith Press.
Brostrom, D.C. (1997). No place like the library. School Library Journal. 3, 106-9.
Campbell, C.B. (2002). Shelby county public libraries and homeschooling
parents. Alabama Librarian. 1, 11-12.
Furness, A. (2008). Helping homeschoolers in the library. Chicago, IL: American
Library Association.
Furness, A. Helping homeschoolers in the library. [PowerPoint presentation].
http://homeschoolingandlibraries.files.wordpress.com/2007/10/helpinghomeschoolers.ppt Retrieved February 13, 2009.
Gemmer, T. (1987). Homeschoolers
Gemmer, T. (1991). The library response to homeschooling. Alki. 3, 20-3.
Isenberc, E.J. (2007). What have we learned about homeschooling? Peabody
Journal of Education. 82 (2/3), 387-409.
Kaplan, P. (2001). Reaching out to homeschooling families: Services and
programs. Illinois Libraries. 1, 44-6.
Kleist-Tesch, J.M. (1998). Homeschoolers and the public library. Journal of Youth
Services in Libraries. 3, 231-41.
Klipsch, P.R. (1995). An educated collection for homeschoolers. Library Journal.
120(2), 47-50.
Lerch, M.T. & Welch, J. (2004). Serving homeschooled teens and their parents.
Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited.
Madden, S.B. (1992). Learning at home: Public library service to homeschoolers.
Alki. 3, 20-2.
McCarthy, A. & Andersen, D.L. (2006-2007). Homeschoolers at the public library:
Are library services and policies keeping pace? JLAMS, 3(1), 5-44.
McLean, C. (2001). Outreach to homeschoolers. Alki,3,13.
Ray, B.D. (2004). Homeschoolers on to college: What research shows us. The
Journal of College Admission, 184, 5-11.
Sheffer, S. (1995). A sense of self: Listening to homeschooled adolescent girls.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc.
Scheps, S.G. (1999). Homeschoolers in the library. School Library Journal. 2, 389.
Scheps, S.G. (1998). The librarian’s guide to homeschooling resources. Chicago,
IL: American Library Association.
Slattery, A. (2005). In a class of their own: as more families turn to
homeschooling, public libraries can be an invaluable resource. School Library
Journal. 8, 44-6.
“Homeschooling will certainly produce
some socially awkward adults, but the
odds are good they would have been
just as quirky had they spent twelve
years raising their hand for permission
to go to the bathroom.”
~Quinn Cummings, The Year of
Learning Dangerously: Adventures in
Homeschooling
Bibliography
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Dreher, Rod. Crunchy cons: how birkenstocked burkeans, gun-loving organic gardeners, evangelical free-range
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Encyclopædia Britannica Online, s. v. "homeschooling", accessed March 21, 2013,
farmers, hip homeschooling mamas, right-wing nature lovers, and their diverse tribe of countercultural
conservatives plan to save America (or at least the Republican Party). Crown Pub, 2006.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/270081/homeschooling.
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Helping homeschoolers in the library. American Library Association, 2008.
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Homeschooling. http://www.conservapedia.com/Homeschooling
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Homeschooling. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_homeschooled_people
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Homeschooling. Dan Boylan; Joy Chong-Stannard; Colette Fox; Joshua Kamakawiwoʻole; Dan Mather; Lisa Rabe;
Stacey Roberts; PBS Hawaii. ; 2007
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Johnson, Abbey. “Make Room for Homeschoolers.” American Libraries Magazine,
2012.http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/youth-matters/make-room-homeschoolers
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Library Services for Homeschoolers.
http://www.libsuccess.org/Library_Services_for_Homeschoolers#Excellent_Websites.2FInitiatives_for_Homescho
olers
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PERLSTEIN, LINDA. "DO-IT-(ALL)-YOURSELF PARENTS. (cover story)." Newsweek 159, no. 6 (February 6, 2012):
46-51. Vocational and Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2013).
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Scheps, Susan G. The librarian's guide to homeschooling resources. American Library Association, 1998.
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Shinn, Lora. "A Home Away from Home." School Library Journal 54, no. 8 (August 2008): 38-42. Vocational and
Career Collection, EBSCOhost (accessed March 21, 2013).
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Quotes About Homeschooling. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/homeschooling?auto_login_attempted=true