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Home schooling just got a little hipper
By AprillBrandon in Pop Goes the Culture
October 20, 2008

Oh those crazy hip New York parents. What will they think of next?

Great story last week by the New York Times on a group of New York City moms opting out of both traditional public education and home schooling methods for their kids.

To sum up: The kids get to sleep in, maybe check out a museum or two or just spend some time walking around, practicing reading by reading aloud the street signs. The point isn't so much to have rigid schedule or even a well thought out curriculum, but to let the kids explore what they want. It's laid back and low pressure. Dare I say, it's even fun, for both the kid and the parent.

Now granted, the story only focuses on kids ages 3-6 but I still find it a fascinating approach to early education. Most of the moms interviewed in the story said they are trying this new approach (called "anti-schooling" in the article) because they are tired of the high pressure academic situations you get in New York schools.

But I also think it provides a nice alternative for parents who are fed up with a public school system that has increasingly become more focused on standardized tests.