PPS Budget Madness

The news has been all over the place that Portland Public Schools are in a financial bind and ready to slash everything they can get away with. It seems like every time I read the news, there's another article about it; the damage it will do, the outcry, and the lack of options.  Clearly they are strictly in survival mode, just trying to figure out how to comply with legal minimum requirements.  They have already made massive cuts, but have to make still more.  Now it looks like kids can look forward to reduced school days, still larger class sizes, schools with no librarians, no gym teachers , art teachers, or music teachers, drastically cut special education and ESL services  (for the kids who need help the most!), and no Outdoor School, a legendary week long camping experience for 6th graders that's been going since 1966. In every area they are cutting staff, which will greatly reduce the number of adults per child, minimizing the amount of adult attention each child receives and increasing their dependence on peers.   Portland Public Schools currently have a dropout rate of 41%.    Although there's certainly lots of rhetoric from the schools that they are still "striving to give kids a great education", how can anyone realistically expect that from them?  It seems like pretty unfair odds to me.  

Our children are our future, and we cannot calculate the harm to our community and our nation if the next generation is poorly educated.  What can homeschoolers do?  Of course, we can vote to support schools financially when we're given the option.  We are also in the unique position to do something positive for other families by helping them learn about homeschooling as an option.  It absolutely won't work for everybody!  But misconceptions and a lack of knowledge about resources shouldn't be the reason it's not an option. I have a whole page of homeschooling resources here, and  the Oregon Home Education Network is a great place to start.  Every two years, they organize a homeschooling convention, with some amazing workshops and tons of  vendors (many of them local), and the next one is coming up on June 30.  They also regularly host "Homeschooling in Oregon" events, bringing a panel of veteran homeschooling parents to local libraries to clarify Oregon homeschooling law, discuss how  homeschoolers apply to college, and offer resources.  Let's spread the word!

Here are a few reasons I've personally heard for not even considering homeschooling:

• I can't teach my own kids.  Most of what teachers learn in college is how to manage a classroom, instead of any in-depth knowledge of any subjects they will be teaching. You'd be surprised by how much of an advantage a super-low student teacher ratio actually is.  You can buy curriculum too, if you want it.  Since schools are a much bigger market,  most of what is available is what schools (both public and parochial) actually use. And please don't forget that there are lots of other people your kids can learn from when you homeschool.
• We can't make it on one salary.  This may be true, or it may not be.  Many people find that the cost of before- and/or after-school care, and child care during breaks, sick days, and other no-school days, added to the cost of working (commuting, work attire, etc.) sadly makes it even out.  Others have to make hard choices about lifestyle vs. education.  And still others make part time jobs work.
• Homeschoolers are mostly religious "wackos" with really different values from me.  They discipline harshly, reject women's rights, and teach their kids to avoid anyone who doesn't share their exact beliefs, so my kids will never make friends.  I personally have never met a family who fits this stereotype.  I have met many homeschooling families who are strong in their Christian faith, and are tolerant of others.  I have also met many who follow different faiths or no faith at all.  Maybe the families who fit the stereotype just move in different circles from me.  All I can say is, it's not really the norm in Portland.  Nationwide budget cuts are definitely making more and more families try homeschooling for reasons other than their faith.
• Homeschoolers are weird.  A parent who was considering homeschooling actually said this to me. She used another family as an example, she didn't have the chutzpah to name mine  (she pointed out that their kids "read too many books" and "aren't athletic enough").  I won't lie- it hurt my feelings.  I find it interesting that without strong peer pressure to conform to everyone else in all things, homeschoolers can and will follow their own muses. I remember my son at 3, having grown up in a house without tv, being told by another mom how to play with a toy "correctly" in accordance with the television show it was based on. An awful lot of what it takes to be "normal" we can do without!  I wonder if people who worry about this issue are worried about whether they themselves will lose perspective on what's "normal" behavior vs. what's just not socially acceptable,  or if they think that the homeschooler who lets their kids wear pajamas all day will give them cooties.  
• My kid won't be able to participate in team sports.  I know a child who has been on his local school's soccer team. I even know a family that has been sending their kid to school for a couple of regular classes.  You can always ask.
• My kid won't receive the special education services they need.  You do not give up your right to services listed on your child's IEP when homeschooling begins.  Although the law does require special education services to continue, the budget cuts are reducing them for all students.  You might consider enrolling your child in an Oregon distance learning charter school, because they pay for private therapy that is higher quality and individualized. (I have yet to find a completely up do date list which includes only distance learning charters- try this one, and bear in mind that some brick-and-mortar schools listed here have statewide distance learning programs, and you may have to contact them to ask.  The likely candidates are ones in very small towns that do not have enough students enrolled to keep their doors open without distance learning programs.)  For all students, they also offer varying degrees of academic support and sometimes a stipend.
• I can't handle that much time with my family.  You don't really mean it that way, do you?  I never know what to say when I hear this.  How about we pretend you don't really mean it?