Homeschool: An American History

Homeschool: An American History

This is a lively account of one of the most important and overlooked themes in American education. Beginning in the colonial period and working to the present, Gaither describes in rich detail how the home has been used as the base for education of all kinds. The last five chapters focus especially on the modern homeschooling movement and offer the most comprehensive and authoritative account of it ever written. Readers will learn how and why homeschooling emerged when it did, where it has been, and where it may be going. Please visit Gaither's blog here: http://gaither.wordpress.com/homeschool-an-american-history/Review"This is a thoughtful, capacious account of what is surely among the most important educational movements of our time. Home education is not only or even primarily about the quality of children's academic instruction. It illuminates far larger problems in American society: the contradiction between home and work for contemporary mothers; disagreements about the proper place of religion in civic and political life; and the puzzle of cultural difference and its ethical accommodation in formal organizations of all kinds. Gaither understands all of this and makes it clear by locating home education within the broad coordinates of U.S. cultural history."--Mitchell L. Stevens, New York University; Author of "Kingdom"" of Children""Set within the broad contours of educational, religious, political, cultural, and economic history, "Homeschool "describes in rich detail home-based education in early America and the forces and individuals that have shaped the modern homeschool movement. General readers and scholars alike will find this finely crafted, informative, and at times provocative work an invaluable resource for understanding why a growing number of parents are choosing to teach their children at home."--James C. Carper, University of South Carolina"This is a thoughtful, capacious account of what is surely among the most important educational movements of our time.Home education is not only or even primarily about the quality of children's academic instruction.It illuminates far larger problems in American society: the contradiction between home and work for contemporary mothers;disagreements about the proper placeof religion in civic and political life; andthe puzzle ofcultural difference and its ethical accommodation informalorganizations ofall kinds.Gaither understands all of thisand makes it clear by locating home education within the broad coordinatesof U.S. cultural history."--Mitchell L. Stevens, New York University; Author of "Kingdom"" of Children" "Set within the broad contours of educational, religious, political, cultural, and economic history, "Homeschool "describes in rich detail home-based education in early America and the forces and individuals that have shaped the modern homeschool movement. General readers and scholars alike will find this finely crafted, informative, and at times provocative work an invaluable resource for understanding why a growing number of parents are choosing to teach their children at home."--James C. Carper, University of South Carolina"While compelling quantitative research on homeschooling remains rare, quality scholarship in this area does exist. The finest example of such work is Milton Gaither's "Homeschool: An American History."Besides being the best historical analysis available, Gaither's text deserves recognition as the most thoroughly researched, comprehensive look at the topic altogether." --Robert Kuzman, "Books & Culture""About the AuthorMilton Gaither is Professor of Education at Messiah College, USA.