Homeschooling: A Family's Journey

by Gregory and Martine Millman

One of the most powerful educational reform efforts of the mid-twentieth century, life-adjustment education, aimed at removing traditional academics from schools altogether, at least for the majority of students. As one proponent of life-adjustment education wrote in the Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals: “We shall some day accept the thought that it is just as illogical to assume that every boy must be able to read as it is that each one must be able to perform on a violin … When adults finally realize that fact, everyone will be happier ... and schools will be nicer places in which to live.”

How many people stop to think about what the school is doing, or why? Who considers the purpose of the school curriculum? …
The difference between home schooling and public schooling is mainly a matter of focus. There are many different approaches to home schooling, many different curricula and teaching styles. But they all have in common the practice of education through personal relationship. How can a home schooling mother with very little formal education and very little money educate a child to a higher standard than public schools with budgets measured in the millions? Primarily by providing a dimension of personal relationship that fosters genuine learning. Home schooling always occurs in the context of a personal relationship, sometimes of many personal relationships. Home schooling multiplies personal relationships through home schooling groups and networks. As these personal relationships form and develop, home schooling appears more and more contrary to the stereotype of isolationist individuals cutting themselves off from the mainstream. On the contrary, home schooling is an intensely personal and social system, one that is powerfully human in its creativity, its intelligence, its responsiveness to change.

1 For a history of this movement see Kliebard, Herbert The Struggle for the American Curriculum 1893:1953. pp 240-271.
2 Lauchner, A.H. (1951) How can the junior high school curriculum be improved? Bulletin of the National ssociation of Secondary School Principals, 35(177), 296-304. Cited in Kilebard, Struggle, pg. 262.
About the Authors

About the author:

Gregory and Martine Millman homeschooled their six children (and continue to), from infancy to top colleges. Gregory Millman’s books include The Vandals’ Crown: How Rebel Currency Traders Overthrew the World’s Central Banks and The Day Traders: The Untold Story of the Extreme Investors and How They Changed Wall Street Forever. Martine Millman worked as a writer and editor in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and New York City before deciding to devote much of her time to the challenging and rewarding work of a homeschooling mother.

Visit their web site: http://gjmillman.com/homeschooling/

About their Book
From Helen Hegener, publisher of Home Education Magazine:

“Every so often a book comes along which raises the bar on a certain sub-genre of homeschooling literature; that is, the thoughtful examination of not just how but why we homeschool. Hard Times in Paradise by David and Micki Colfax (1992) was one such book. Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense by David Guterson (1993) was another. And now we have Homeschooling: A Family’s Journey by Gregory and Martine Millman. Applying the important lessons learned since the first two books were published, this one is the best and most thoughtful of the lot.

Gregory and Martine Millman took the road less traveled by. They turned their backs on conventional wisdom, listened to their hearts and followed their dreams. And they taught their children to do the same. Now they’ve taken the time to share their story, their insights and experiences, what worked and what didn’t. For those just discovering the homeschool option this book will provide an eye-opening exploration of how one family charted a course through education by choosing to fully live their lives. And that has made all the difference.

A richly rewarding, encouraging, empowering book!”