It’s a mid-October morning and the wind is sweeping through Carrollton, Texas, announcing that winter is approaching. The sun sneaks through the tree branches onto a playground of slides, seesaws, a tree house and an open field.Children of grade school through middle-school ages run around in Harry Potter style robes that catch in the wind behind them as they leap through the field. Others sit on benches beneath the shade laughing with each other.Several mothers are talking to each other on the sidewalk, while others continue to let their children out of their mini vans in the surrounding parking lot. At first glance this appears to be a typical day at a school, but actually this is the only school-like day the children experience all week.
This is a day at an educational co-operative, and the children are homeschoolers.
The Homeschoolers Excel group is a “secular, inclusive support group for homeschoolers seeking cooperative educational and social opportunities,” according to its’ website.It brings homeschooling families together from all over the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex once a week for field trips and classes. This semester’s theme is Hogwarts, which means the children get to wear witch and wizard gear and take classes related to the theme. The class days take place at Horizon Unitarian Universalist Church.
Nine-year-old Brooke Leonard has been homeschooled for “as long as I can remember,” she said. She wears a shy smile on her rosy-cheeked face, and her thin brown hair in pigtails. She begins her day at co-op playing with friends on the playground. They walk through the woodchips whispering and giggling until they decide to run over to the boys playing tag on the field. “Co-op is fun because I get to play with kids like me,” Brooke said with a chuckle. “At home I’m with my 2-year-old and 7-year-old siblings, so how much could they really be like me?”
After some morning playground time, Brooke follows some of her classmates into the church classroom for what the program calls transfiguration class, based on the complex magic class of Hogwarts. Girls and boys of similar ages sprint into the room and fall into chairs surrounding two small tables. The walls are lined with whiteboards, and the tables are covered with photos of costume makeup. “Today we are learning about the different types of makeup that go into the transfiguration of a face,” says a shorthaired, middle-aged woman. She is Teri Davis, a teacher and mother of homeschooled kids who attend co-op. She and her kids have been with the co-op for seven years and she says it is a highlight for them each week. Even by today’s admittedly lax standards, this classroom is no model of decorum. The kids demonstrate short attention spans, jumping up and down and running over to tap on the teacher’s shoulder during the class. Kids are screaming about which makeup they want to use for the end of semester show, and Davis is laughing it off. There is no raising your hand to be called on, and there appear to be no rules at all.
After class, the kids throw out their papers and disperse to their next classes. When parents aren’t acting as teachers, playground supervisors, lunch supervisors or hall monitors, they can relax in the parents lounge. The lounge is a trailer off of the church building where parents can sit and discuss different approaches to homeschooling. It’s almost noon and while Leopard and her other classmates are in music class, the lounge is buzzing with parental discussion. Seana Saxon, the mother of three homeschooled kids, sits on the edge of a leather couch cutting pipe cleaners for a craft project, talking about her “un-schooling” philosophy. “There is no set curriculum at my house,” she said.“My kids choose what they want to learn about, and have much stronger ownership over what they do. ”Davis, sitting at the couch across from her nods her head, but her face displays slight disagreement. “My kids have a daily schedule of literature, language arts, science, math and foreign language, so they’re staying on track and not just doing what they feel like.”
In the state of Texas, there is no mandated curriculum for students.Homeschoolers can set their own graduation requirements and don’t have to turn in any grade reports. When the parents turn to mother Amy Latham, who has been quiet in the corner during the discussion, and ask her what her philosophy for homeschooling is, she looks down. “Well… my kids are still younger,” she said. “Well.. I guess not that young anymore. They are 8 and 9.But so far I just let them be children and don’t force too much on them.” Latham looks to the others for reassurance but doesn’t receive it. She slides her hands over the arm rests of the couch and tells a story of how her daughter cried when she tried to teach her to read, so she decided to let her wait until she was ready. “I just want to raise my own children rather than hand them to someone else to raise,” she said. Davis flings her hand out and cuts in.“I agree,” Davis said. “Critics of homeschooling may say my kids are missing out on socialization, but my kids don’t want to be in school. They might not be sitting in a classroom with kids their age all day, but they go out to museums and even the grocery store and experience real life with people of all different ages and socio-economic backgrounds. ”The others nod in agreement, but it’s beginning to feel as though they’re trying to reassure themselves as well.
Next period, Leonard is playing Quidditch with her friends on the outdoor fields, laughing as she jumps into the air holding a broomstick between her legs. “I’ve asked my mom about going to a real school sometimes, but she told me I wouldn’t have as much time to do what I really want to do, like ride horses and play soccer,” she said. Two young girls in matching royal blue robes sprint after Leonard toward the goal post to catch her ball.They both dive, determination on their faces, and one catches it. All three scramble to their feet and give each other high fives. “Co-op is cool because it’s like school but just once a week,” she said.
