February. The longest short month of the year, where every day is a week long and every week more interminable than the last. The slog of winter, the crusty grime of the season, chapped hands and staticky hair and muttered curses at a small rodent for twitching at shadows. Bah. And yet there is cause for hope. Seed catalogs have been showing up at my door, full-color photos promising lush flowers and vegetables. The sun has been winning its battle with cloudy gloom more often than not lately. Stores are starting to stock spring items and soon it really will be not February. Can't get here soon enough.

It's also Black History Month and we have a wonderful guest author lined up. Dr. Erinn Fears Floyd brings us a detailed article on how homeschooling can ensure educational equity for Black families. I encourage you to check out her footnotes and our resources (in pulled-from-a-hat order) for additional reading and ideas. I'd also love to hear your suggestions for additional resources so we can continue to build out our recommendation library.

In a few short weeks I'll return for the next newsletter and it'll be not February. Stay warm, stay safe, stay awesome.

Jen Merrill is a writer, musician, teacher, ed-tech marketing advisor, and gifted-family advocate. The mom of two boys, she homeschooled her twice-exceptional teen through high school while happily sending his younger brother off to his high school every morning. Those days now in the past, she is settling into the somewhat quieter life of an empty-nester. Her book, If This is a Gift, Can I Send It Back?, struck a nerve with families; her second book, on the needs of gifted parents and self-care, will be finished shortly before the heat death of the universe. In addition to writing on her longtime blog, Laughing at Chaos, Jen has presented at SENG, NAGC, and WCGTC.

When you use our code YSAGHF15 you can save 15%!

Click HERE to register.

Homeschooling has become a popular option for African American families. While homeschooling has grown over the past few decades, it has become progressively more popular since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, with African American families showing the most growth in this method for instructing their children. According to the first phase of the Household Pulse Surveys,¹ from April to October homeschooling rates increased five-fold, from 3.3% to 16.1% among African American households. Cheryl Fields-Smith, a University of Georgia professor well-versed in homeschooling, shared that some African American families tried as many as four schools before settling on homeschool for their children.²

To combat the ascribed failure of traditional schools to improve academic achievement and provide their children equitable education, African American parents have increasingly chosen to homeschool their children in recent years.³ Because schools have traditionally

operated from a mono-cultural, White middle-class value and belief system, African American parents chose to bridge the gap between their children’s home and school cultures to provide multicultural and culturally responsive⁴ schooling experiences by instructing them at home.⁵ Fields-Smith and Williams-Johnson posited that for African American parents, homeschooling provides full ownership of their children’s educational experiences and greater choice and empowerment.⁶ Determined to provide their children an unvarnished version of United States history and ensure culturally responsive instruction, parents of African American children have taken control of their children’s education to disrupt the marginalization of their conventional school experiences.

The option for African American parents to homeschool their children is not a new trend. For several decades, and increasingly more prevalent in recent years, escalating challenges to equal access in public schools has influenced the increase in homeschooling as the choice for African American parents. Historically, African American students, mostly male, have been plagued by negative stereotypes and images. Additionally, African American students have been victims of disproportionate representation in gifted⁷ and special education programs. Public and violent challenges to segregation, elitist programs, voting and civil rights, educational access, and fair treatment forced African families to question the safety and education of their children in predominately White educational settings.⁸ African American students continue to be overlooked for participation in gifted education programs, over-referred for special education services, and victims of disproportionate disciplinary action. As a result, parents have decided to create their own culturally appropriate, equitable, and safe learning spaces for their children.

The choice to homeschool lies within the family of each child. Benefits of homeschooling for African American families includes parents’ ability to tailor the selected curriculum to their cultural beliefs and practices, create positive learning experiences not typically previously experienced in public school settings,⁹ enhance family relationships, and individualize their children’s education.¹⁰ Electing to homeschool provides African American families the opportunity to guide their children’s learning experience and engagement, and protect them from the limited possibilities provided by traditional school

Notes:

1. United States Census Bureau (2020). Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Census.gov. Available from: https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html.

2. Fields-Smith, C.A. (2020). Voices Speaking Truths from Our Past and Our Present. In H. Lees and Michael Reiss (Eds.) Exploring Black Mothers’ Resistance Through Homeschooling (pp. 1-20). Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education.

3. Taylor, V. (2005). Behind the trend: Increases in homeschooling among African American families. In B. S.Cooper (Ed.) Home schooling in full view: A reader (pp. 121-133). Information Age Publishing.

United States Census Bureau (2020). Measuring Household Experiences during the Coronavirus Pandemic. Census.gov. Available from: https://www.census.gov/data/experimental-data-products/household-pulse-survey.html.

4. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy.

5. Fields-Smith, C.A. (2020). Voices Speaking Truths from Our Past and Our Present. In H. Lees and Michael Reiss (Eds.) Exploring Black Mothers’ Resistance Through Homeschooling (pp. 1-20). Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education.

Discovering Dyscalculia is quickly becoming the go-to reference and resource for parents and educators alike – grab a copy for yourself or as a heartfelt gift to someone who struggles with this learning challenge here: https://ghflearners.org/press/

For those of you who can give at least $500 we have created a special recognition program where you will be listed on the GHF website and in our monthly newsletter, The GHF Journey, as valued members of the community. Donations may be kept anonymous.

To empower every gifted family to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.

A diverse world of multi-generational families, educators, and professionals supporting each other through community, education, and creating content relating to gifted home education.

Empowering gifted families to make strategic, proactive, and intentional educational choices.

GHF values the uniqueness and humanity of each person in our community. We treat each other with love and kindness and particularly abhor bullying and negativity of any kind. We accept that it is our job to examine each day with a fresh perspective and continue to improve the organization to pursue our mission.

GHF is a 501c3 organization. Please consider supporting our community with your most generous gift today. For more information on our organization, please feel free to contact us. Thank you!