Traditionally, the end of summer signals back to school for kids. For an increasing number of city families, though, “back to school” has nothing to do with returning to a school building. For them, the entire city is a classroom, and their parents are the teachers.
What? Homeschooling in New York City? Is that even legal? As a matter of fact, it is legal, flourishing and has its own office within the NYC Department of Education. What’s more, there is a vibrant community of homeschooling families—families who began their journeys for a variety of reasons, and support each other by sharing information and resources.
Homeschool pioneer Laurie Block Spigel, author of the book “Education Uncensored,” runs the website HomeschoolNYC.com. Spigel homeschooled her two sons, now successful young adults, ages 19 and 25. With their homemade high school transcripts, the boys were accepted to their first-choice colleges with scholarships. Through her website, Spigel helps parents take advantage of all the city has to offer when it comes to homeschooling. “It’s ‘world schooling’—you’re not at home, you’re exploring and experiencing,” she says. “And what better place to do this than in New York City? We have an educational and cultural candy store right outside our door.”
Jane Ray, an East Village mom, decided to try homeschooling as “a last resort.” Ray’s son, Simon, had attended Montessori preschool and started at a public school kindergarten, which turned out to be a “disaster,” she says. “Simon was diagnosed at a very young age with ADD,” she explains. “He is also exceptionally gifted. These twice exceptional children fall through the cracks.” Ray pulled Simon out of public school in the middle of first grade.
They tried a small private school north of the city, which wasn’t a good fit, either. They were waitlisted for three different gifted programs; they went on interviews for private schools. “His needs were just not being met, so I decided to give homeschooling a go.” Simon has now been homeschooled for first, second and third grades, and he will start at a private school this fall. After the “breather” that homeschool provided, Ray says, Simon feels ready to head back to a traditional school environment.
Sandra Leong, a native New Yorker who attended private schools, approached homeschooling a bit more intentionally. Her 5-year-old son, Brennan-Pierson Wang, had also been enrolled in a Montessori program when he was about 2-and-a-half, but he dropped out halfway through the second year. “I felt like we were paying a lot for not so much; it seemed more like daycare,” says Leong, who lives in the Financial District. “The more I read and the more information I gathered, the more I believed homeschooling was the
right path for us.” Leong’s 3-year-old son, Julian-Alexandre, has been
exclusively homeschooled. “My husband was not on the boat at first, but
he saw the development,” Leong says. “It’s amazing how much children
absorb if you give them the chance.”
For
Spigel, homeschooling puts the joy of learning back in education. “Our
schools are becoming all about fear: kids terrified of tests, teachers
imprisoned by a test-driven curriculum. That’s not a quality learning
environment,” she says. “Getting
A’s in school is not about learning, it’s about pleasing the teacher.
Is that who we want our children to be? Don’t we want them at some point
to change the world and not just say ‘yes’ and be blindly obedient?
Where is the enthusiasm?”
Ray and Leong agree. “This individualized
focus is the way every kid should be taught,” Ray says.
“Kids have so
much capacity to learn; adults hold them back,” says Leong. “Let the
child blossom, and they tell you what they need.”
Is
it too much empowerment, though, letting the kids run the show? Spigel
doesn’t think so. “Child-led learning is inquiry-based and
interdisciplinary, but there is still structure,” she says. “I have a
plan, but I’m willing to throw it out. There is creative expression and
creative freedom, but I still said, ‘It’s time for math.’”
Ray concurs,
saying, “With a filmmaker father and an actress mother, there is a lot
of creativity in educating Simon. I hired tutors for a few hours a week
for more rigorous math and science, for example, but Simon loves to read
a lot and we studied Latin when he read Harry Potter, and he wrote
poetry in Latin. He loves martial arts and was able to study it in a way
he never could have going to a school.”
Ultimately, says Spigel, “There is no one-size-fits-all.”
Just
the way no two schools are the same, no two homeschooling families are
the same. “Part of the beauty of homeschooling is that you can change if
your kid changes, you can adjust how much structure you need, you adapt
as you see fit,” she says. “You create a curriculum based on the
interests of the child. Kids are encouraged to become experts in what
they love.”
Resources For Homeschoolers In NYC
Thinking about homeschooling? Here are some helpful resources for city families:
The Central Office of Home Schooling, NYC Department of Education, 333 Seventh Avenue, 7th Floor, 917-339-1748, homeschool@schools.nyc.gov
NYC Department of Children’s Services
New York City Home Education Alliance
New
York State Loving Education At Home
Pictured: Sandra Leong at home with her sons, Brennan-Pierson Wang, 5; and Julian-Alexandre Wang, 3. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.
