Parents Continue Homeschooling Even After COVID-related Closures

The coronavirus health crisis¹ 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.

There are many different reasons for this. The Associated Press spoke² to several families. Some families have children with special educational needs. Others seek religion-based schooling³ or say their local schools have too many problems.

They all have something in common: they tried homeschooling as a temporary measure and found that it helped their children.

The U.S. Census⁴ 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.

The 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.

Arlena and Robert Brown of Austin, Texas have three school-age children. Then the pandemic took hold. After experimenting with online learning, they decided⁵ to try homeschooling. They taught a curriculum⁶ provided by Seton Home Study School that is based on Catholic⁷ religious teachings. The homeschooling service has 16,000 students in the United States.

The 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, aged⁸ 9, has a learning disability.

Robert 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.

Arlena 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."

Race played an important part in the decision of another Black family to homeschool their 12-year-old son Dorian.

Angela Valentine said Dorian was often the only Black student in his classes in public school in Chicago. He was sometimes treated unfairly by administrators⁹ and was hurt when other children stopped playing with him.

As 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.

Valentine 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."

Joyce 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.

Burges 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.

"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."

Words in This Story

curriculum –n. the classes and subjects that are taught by a school or college

disability –n. a condition (such as an illness or an injury) that damages or limits a person's physical or mental abilities

comfortable –adj. not having any physical unpleasant feelings; experiencing physical ease or comfort

journey –n. an act of traveling from one place to another- often used to represent any process that takes a long time

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 schooling   

n.教育；正规学校教育

参考例句：

• A child's access to schooling varies greatly from area to area.孩子获得学校教育的机会因地区不同而大相径庭。
• Backward children need a special kind of schooling.天赋差的孩子需要特殊的教育。

4 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

7 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

8 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

9 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城