NHEG EDGuide Magazine September-October 2020

IISSUE 9- 10 

SEPTEMBER – OCTOBER-2020 

BACK To School 

Intelligence plus character 

— that is the true 

goal of education. 

Martin Luther King Jr. 

The Stevie® Awards 2020 

Homeschooling Is Changing My Child—In a Good Way 

2020 American Business Awards® 

NHEG Book Corner 

The New Heights Show on Education 

NHEG Student Corner 

The NHEG Learning Annex Our Courses 

Education on Star Trek

CONTENTS 

4 THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH 

7 MAGAZINE EDITORIAL TEAM 

8-13 ACHIEVEMENTS 

14-15 2019 TOP-RATED NONPROFITS USING GREAT NON PROFITS 

16-17 THE STEVIE® AWARDS 2020 

22-29 THE INTERNET RADIO PROGRAM FROM NHEG 

30 E.A.S.Y. TOONS COMIC BOOK 

32-33 U.S. PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD 

42 PRESS RELEASES - UPCOMING NHEG EVENTS 

57 SPONSORSHIP PACKAGES FOR NHEG 

67-69 NHEG DATA 

71 WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW VOLUNTEER INTERNET RADIO HOSTS 

70 ATTENTION POTENTIAL GUESTS! 

72-75 STUDENT CORNER 

78-79 NHEG SUPPORT GROUPS 

80-81 MISSING CHILDREN 

82-85 NHEG BIRTHDAYS - ANNIVERSARIES 

86-87 NHEG NEW VOLUNTEERS - VOLUNTEERS OF THE MONTHS 

90-92 REVIEWS ON MAGAZINE EDITORS 

104 NATIONAL NEWS REPORTS IN EDUCATION 

106-115 THE NHEG LEARNING ANNEX OUR COURSES 

122-147 FEE ARTICLES 

156-159 KELLY BEAR PRESS 

160-161 INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC COMPETITIONS 

162 NATIONAL HISTORY BEE 

163 NATIONAL SCIENCE BEE 

164-167 GET YOUR FREE EBOOK 

172-173 FUN CORNER 

176-181 RECIPES 

184-185 NHEG PARTNERS & AFFILIATES

www.NewHeightsEducation.org 

Thought for the Month 


Learning doesn’t expire it’s 

a lifetime of experiences. 

Our store is now live 

https://new-heights-educational-group.myshopify.com/ 

4 NHEG Magazine | September - October 2020 

September - October 2020 January | NHEG Magazine 2018 | 5 5


EDITORIAL TEAM 


Editor in Chief 

Pamela Clark 

NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com 

Production Manager 

Marina Klimi MarinaKlimi@NewHeightsEducation.org 

Proofreaders/Editors 

Kristen Congedo Kristenc@NewHeightsEducation.org 

Photographers featured in this issue 

Greg and Pamela Clark NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com 

Fran Wyner 

FranWyner@NewHeightsEducation.org 


September - October 2020 | NHEG Magazine 7











A COOL and VERSATILE 

homeschooling addition!! 

Your kids will LOVE 

these beautiful bird 

photos!! 

6” x 9” bird photo cards with 

descriptions on the back are 

perfect for... 

Research projects 

Art activities 

Field trip fun 

Display when done! 

For more information on Chirps of Joy please visit: 


www.startimaginingbirds.com/homeschool 

facebook.com/chirpsofjoy 







The Stevie® Awards 2020 





2019 Top-Rated 

Nonprofits using GreatNonprofits 

New Heights 

Educational Group 

Congratulations 

Your community has selected your organization as one of the 2018 Top-Rated 

Nonprofits using GreatNonprofits. You are among a distinguished few to 

receive this community endorsement. 


Perla Ni 

CEO Greatnonprofits 



THE INTERNET RADIO PROGRAM FROM 

NEW HEIGHTS EDUCATIONAL GROUP 






Internet Radio Show Spots now available 

The New Heights Educational Group is now offering the opportunity for the public or businesses that promote education to purchase sponsor advertisement on our internet radio show. 

All products, business and service advertisements will need to be reviewed by our research department and must be approved by NHEG home office. 

All advertisements must be family friendly. 

Those interested in purchasing packages can choose for our host to read the advertisement on their show or supply their own pre-recorded advertisement. 

If interested, please visit our website for more details. 

https://www.newheightseducation.org/nheg-radio-show/ 

The NHEG Radio Show is an internet radio program in which the hosts cover various topics of education for Home, Charter and Public School families in Ohio. 

These Communities include Paulding, Defiance, Van Wert, Delphos, Lima, Putnam County, Wauseon and Napoleon. For an invitation to the live show, visit us on Facebook or Twitter to sign up, or email us at info@NewHeightsEducation.org 

If you are looking to listen to past shows, please check out this document 


https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oW5gxFB7WNgtREowSsrJqWP9flz8bsulcgoR-QyvURE/edit#gid=529615429 

that lists all the shows that have been released. 




The New Heights Educational Group 

Welcomes Radio Host Buffie Williams To Our Online 

Airwaves 

Contact: 

Anyone interested in finding out more about NHEG can email NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com or call 419-786-0247. 









Barnes and Nobles 

Kids in Grades 1-6 Earn a Free Book! 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/h/summer-reading-lists?list=kidsbrages-0-7 


You can read it at the following link 

https://www.NewHeightsEducation.org/NHEG-blog/e-a-s-y-toons/ 



U.S. PRESIDENT’S VOLUNTEER SERVICE AWARD 

ThePresident’sVolunteerServiceAwardrecognizesandcelebratesAmericanswhomake 

a positive impact to not only their community but the country as a whole 

VOLUNTEER HOURS 


About PVSA 

The President’s Volunteer Service Award is the premier volunteer awards program, encouraging United States 

citizens or lawfully admitted permanent residents of the United States through presidential recognition to live a life of service. 

New Heights Educational Group (NHEG) is an official certifying organization for The President’s Volunteer Service Award. We encourage all 

volunteers to create an account and begin tracking their service hours. 

Please contact us at info@newheightseducation.org or by phone at 419.786.0247 for a verification form, and log your hours by creating a profile 

on the President’s Volunteer Service Award website using the Record of Service Key: 

TTG-43498 , to identify New Heights Educational Group as your institution. 

Your recognition inspires others to take positive action to change the world! 

Learn more at https://www.presidentialserviceawards.org/ 

Criteria 

Individuals, families and groups that meet the criteria are eligible for the PVSA. 

Recipient(s) must be a United States citizen or a lawfully admitted permanent resident of the United States. 

Awards are issued for service hours served within a 12-month time period or over the course of a lifetime. 

Awards are issued for volunteer service only; additional levels of participation with the organization (i.e., charitable support) are not a factor 

considered for the award. 

Court-ordered community service does not qualify for the award. 

Awards are issued by approved Certifying Organizations. 

Service must be with an approved Certifying Organization that is legally established in the United States, 

the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico or one of the U.S. territories. 

Eligibility 

Pamela Clark – Bronze – Silver – Gold – Life Time 

Briana Dincher – Gold 

Khrista- Cheryl Cendana – Bronze – Silver 

William Naugle – Bronze – Silver – Gold – Life Time 

Michael Anderson – Bronze – Silver – Gold 

Robert Hall – Bronze – Silver – Gold 

Sapna Shukla – Bronze – Silver 

PVSA RECIPIENTS 

Hours are measured over a 12-month period and awards are designated based on cumulative hours. The awards are offered in multiple levels 

and are designed to recognize each milestone of your service achievement. Levels include bronze, silver, gold and the highest honor, the President’s 

Lifetime Achievement Award for those who contribute more than 4,000 hours of service in their lifetime. 




The New Heights Educational Group (NHEG) 

announced recognition 

The New Heights Educational Group (NHEG) announced recognition of Mr. Michael Anderson, 

Assistant Virtual Development Director of Website Design and WordPress Expert. 

Mr. Anderson not only volunteers with NHEG but many other organizations. 

Due to his contributions, he has earned the Gold Presidential Service Awards. 

This recognition includes a signed certificate from the President of the United States 

along with a coin. 

Pamela Clark, Executive Director of NHEG stated, “Michael Anderson has a big heart and passion for making positive 

change in the world of education. We are fortunate for his volunteer service.” 

Here are some of the differences: 

Charter Schools 

1. May use a lottery system if the charter school is popular and 

hard to get into for the 

student. 

2. Smaller class sizes. 

3. Transportation is arranged by the students. 

4. Private board. 

Why Charter 

By Khrista Cendana 


Why do you want to go to a charter school? My mom has been telling me that 

if I were still in 

school, she would have enrolled me in a charter school rather than a public 

school. Are charter 

schools better? What are the differences and options when enrolling? I always 

thought that 

charter schools help students more than public schools, is that true? Are they 

clearly different or 

are they the same? To find out the correct answers to these questions, we 

need to dig a little bit 

further. 

If you want to know more, check out Public vs Private Vs Charter 

What is the same in charter vs public schools? 

1. They are both free 

2. Cannot discriminate students. 

3. Both school systems are considered public. 

If you want to know more, check out Charter Vs Public Comparison 

Online Charter School 

Public Schools 

1. They must accept every child in its district. 

2. Larger class sizes. 

3. Education standards set by the state education board. 

4. Transportation provided by school within designated area. 

San Diego - diploma, one-on-one attention, individualized program, accreditation, online classes, respected education. (California) 

The Delta Academy - online model, attend evening sessions once a week, teachers availability face-to-face, tech lounge, flexibility, etc. 

(Nevada) Ohio Connections Academy - free, certified teachers and coaches, online multimedia, accessible everywhere. (Ohio) Buckeye 

Online School For Success - tuition free, grades K-12, 100% online. (Ohio) 

Are they clearly different or are they the same? 




I think it depends on what charter school you want to attend online or even physical. The ones I checked are in California, Nevada and 

Ohio and have different requirements for the students to be able to learn online. Moreover, it depends on the individual state to have 

Teachers Certified Or Not by the education commision. Charter schools are run by nonprofits ( What Are Charter Schools ) and are 

funded by the federal government with the amount depending on how many students are enrolled. 

Charter schools at the end are like ‘traditional’ schools, and they differ from one another like any 

other school does, depending on their sizes, number of students and state regulations. If I were 

looking for either a public or charter school, I may go for charter school for my kid because it has 

fewer students. It’s up to you, however, to choose what school is good for your children. 

Websites Used In Article: 

Public vs Private vs Charter 

Charter Vs Public 

Comparison 

San Diego 

The Delta Academy 

Ohio Connections Academy 

Buckeye Online School For Success 

Teachers Certified Or Not 

What Are Charter Schools 

From the world of imagination: 

a day in the park with preschool students 

Photo credit: Sunder_59OK http://photopin.com 

different planets?” 


Without hesitation, Peter ran enthusiastically toward the box and carried it in his arms gave it to his friend. 


On a sunny morning a group 

of preschoolers went to the 

park with their teachers. Two 

students, Arthur and Peter, 

after playing a lot in the park 

with their toys, found a large 

cardboard box that was in the 

school’s recyclables. Arthur 

looked at Peter and with bright 

eyes of joy exclaimed: 

“Peter, why don’t we take this 

box and build a spaceship so 

we can travel to space and visit 

Under the watchful eyes of the class, Arthur and Peter decided to tore the back of the box, and suddenly the object looked like a sleigh. 

Then Arthur, looking at Peter, suggested: 

“Our spaceship is almost done; now all we have to do is to add fuel.” 

So Peter started collecting some sand with his bucket and dumped it into the box. Excited, he turned to Arthur and said: 

“All set. Countdown to takeoff!” 

Holding a branch in his hands, Arthur sat at the front of the “spaceship” and, with the help of his co-pilot Peter, began to announce aloud 

to the other children in the park: 

“Guys, we’ll visit other planets with our spacecraft. Who wants to go with us? Come on take your seat and let’s take a trip!” 

Little by little, other children began to sit down in a row inside the box and, with the help of the teachers, started the countdown to 

launch: 

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1. Takeoff”. 

Laughing, the children began to wave to the teachers and to the other students in the park, saying: 

“Bye, bye, see you later!” 

“Bye, bye guys. Have a safe trip and have fun, teachers replied”. 

And this was undoubtedly an amazing trip around the world. From the world of imagination... 




Education on Star Trek 

• Military time 



• Military ranks 

• History/Astronomy 

On Star Trek, the time is stated in military time. Someone might say 0900 hours, which means 9:00am. It took me a while to understand 

the military time as I was also a kid while watching the show, and even to this day I sometimes make mistakes. However, if you’re interested 

in military topics, this is something worth learning as it coincides with real life. 

The military ranks in Star Trek are different from real life, of course, but kids could understand the concepts—for example, what’s the 

highest rank in Star Trek—and they might even ask, what the highest rank is in the army in real life. 

Lastly, history and astronomy! Not a lot of kids like learning history or astronomy. However, if they see an episode of Star Trek that involves 

history, astronomy and the past, classes may become interesting to them. 

Who doesn’t like to learn about Amelia Earheart? Or who doesn’t like knowing about the history of space? We learn a lot about the planets 

above us; Star Trek might be able to get the kids into this topic as well. 

Have you ever wondered if watching Star Trek is good for kids? I started watching Star Trek back in the middle of the ’90s as a kid, and 

as of right now, I am still hooked on the fandom. Besides the awesome characters, episodes and music, did you know that there’s also an 

educational element within the Star Trek series? Star Trek is good for kids to watch, and adults can watch it with them if you think the 

episode may be too graphic. Here are some things kids can learn from watching Star Trek: 

1.Culture 

Star Trek is technically about living in space and meeting new civilizations “to seek out new life and civilizations” (James T. Kirk). The 

characters encounter different cultures, and even before landing on their planet, they have to learn what the customs are. For instance: 

• Greetings - hand salute (Vulcuns, humans) 

• Language - Kardasi, English, Klingon 

• Race - Cardassian, Humans, Bajorans, Klingons 

Just like in the show, in real life we have different cultures that we have to abide by. In school, we will learn the basic language, like Spanish, 

Chinese, or Japanese. We even learn the basic greetings: buenos dias (Spanish), Nihao (Chinese), konnichiwa (Japanese). Lastly, we 

learn about the foods, history, etc. of the people who speak Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. 

The episodes that teach about culture will sometimes let the viewers see how to meet and greet someone they don’t know for the first 

time. 

2.Education 

Besides culture, there are even some real-life topics on the TV series that kids could learn about if they watch enough Star Trek episodes: 








Press Releases 


8/5/2020 

New Heights Educational Group (NHEG) announces Jyoti Aggarwal was recently named Lead HR 

Coordinator. 

Pamela Clark, Executive Director, stated, “Jyoti Aggarwal is a new but vital team member who shows 

dedication, leadership and communication skills. We are thrilled to promote her as Lead HR 

Coordinator. She deserves it. NHEG is fortunate to have Jyoti Aggarwal as a team member.” 

For every new subscription to PEACE Readers INTL 

6/30/2020 

The New Heights Educational Group (NHEG is announcing a new partnership with Hip Hop Healthy Heart Program for Children. You 

$25 

can learn more about their program by visiting https://shapeupus.org/mission-vision/. 

Pamela Clark, Executive Director of NHEG, stated, we are happy to partner with The Hip Hop Healthy Heart Program for Children 

. We have always promoted physical education and the Brain Gym program, and Hip Hop Healthy Heart Program for Children is 

will be donated to: 

another great resource for families to consider. 

Especially now since most learning is being done at home. You can learn more about their program by 

visiting https://shapeupus.org/mission-vision/. 

This link is about the curriculum - https://shapeupus.org/hip-hop-healthy-heart-program-for-children/about-the-curriculum/ 

This is link is to purchase the curriculum with your code - NHE 

New Heights Educational Group 

https://shapeupus.org/hip-hop-healthy-heart-program-for-children/purchase-the-modules/ 

Subscribe/Donate NOW: 

https://www.patreon.com/join/read4peace? 

FAQ’s: https://read4peace.org/faq/ 

Contact: d.white@read4peace.org 

Good Info, Better People, a Greater Cause 

















50 NHEG Magazine | September - October 








The New Heights Educational Group Inc Receives 2019 Best of Defiance Award 

Defiance Award Program Honors the Achievement 

DEFIANCE December 21, 2019 -- The New Heights Educational Group Inc has been selected for the 2019 Best of Defiance 

Award in the Education Centers category by the Defiance Award Program. 

Each year, the Defiance Award Program identifies companies that we believe have achieved exceptional marketing 

success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image 

of small business through service to their customers and our community. These exceptional companies help make the 

Defiance area a great place to live, work and play. 

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2019 Defiance 

Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally 

by the Defiance Award Program and data provided by third parties. 

About Defiance Award Program 

The Defiance Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local 

businesses throughout the Defiance area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use 

their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value. 

The Defiance Award Program was established to recognize the best of local businesses in our community. Our organization 

works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, professional associations and other business advertising 

and marketing groups. Our mission is to recognize the small business community’s contributions to the U.S. 

economy. 

SOURCE: Defiance Award Program 

CONTACT: 

Defiance Award Program 

Email: PublicRelations@2019city-bestof.com 

URL: http://www.2019city-bestof.com 





NHEG Membership Levels 

These are the available NHEG Membership Levels that a person may select in order to access 

certain parts of the New Heights Educational Group website. 

Audio 

One commercial spot played 6 times (3 times during a live 

broadcast and 3 times during rebroadcast): 

30 seconds - 1 week: $250; 13 weeks: $3,250 

60 seconds - 1 week: $450; 13 weeks: $5,850 

Please note: costs include airtime buy only. Spots can be professionally 

produced for a $250 fee. 

Video Streaming 

On host page (video must be supplied by advertiser): 

30-60 seconds - 1 week: $300; 13 weeks: $3,500 

1-3 minutes - 1 week: $900; 13 weeks: $9000 

Becoming a Member of NHEG 

1. Select the membership level 

1. Fill out the registration form 

1. You will be redirected to make your first payment on PayPal. 

1. Once payment is completed, you will receive an email to confirm your account. 

Banner Advertising 

Linkable banner ad (single image, hyperlink, multiple static) 

Host (728 x 90 leaderboard): 1 week: $200, 13 weeks: $3,000 

Level 

Standard NHEG Member 

Student Membership expires after 6 Months. 

Teacher Membership expires after 6 Months. 

Price 

Free 

$10.00 every 6 Months. 

$35.00 every 6 Months. 

Full: $7,000 

» 13-week sponsorship of show series 

» 30-second spot (production included) played 6 times 

(3 during live broadcast, 3 during rebroadcast) 

» 30-60 second video spot (content must be provided) 

» Opening & closing billboards on show 

» One live mention by host 

» Banner ad on host page 

» Banner ad on host personal/business website 

Half: $3,000 


» 30-second spot (production not included) played 4 times 

(2 during live broadcast and 2 during rebroadcast) 




» Possible guest appearance with NHEG staff. (subject to 

approval) 

NHEG Membership Navigation 

1. Account Profile 

1. Account Confirmation 

1. Membership Levels 

1. Membership Checkout 

1. Account Invoice 

1. Cancel Account 

1. Billing Info 

Quarter: $1,750 


» 30-second spot (production not included) played 2 times 

(1 during live broadcast, 1 during rebroadcast) 




» Possible guest appearance with NHEG staff. (subject to 

approval) 

Optional Advertising for Half and Quarter 

Sponsors 


» Audio commercial production: $250 

» 30-60-second video (content must be provided): $300 

Special note: Additional charges may be incurred for special requests. 

These requests would include things like custom music, additional VO talent, inclusion 

of still graphics, creation of still or animated graphics, video content, video editing, on 

location productions, or anything that complicates production and slows development. 












Partnership Announced! 

NHEG Data 


The New Heights Educational Group (NHEG) proudly announces a newly 

formed partnership with Kelly Bear and Leah Davies, M.Ed.!! 

Benefits of this partnership include: 

*105 complimentary TEACHER/COUNSELOR articles 

*PARENTING handouts, activity/worksheet 

*Thoughts on Parenting videos 

*CHILDREN’S activities: http://www.kellybear.com 

Pamela Clark (director of The New Heights Educational Group) stated, 

“NHEG is proud to partner with Leah Davies and share her talented works! 

Without a doubt, parents will appreciate and 

treasure these valuable resources!” 

Visit http://www.NewHeightsEducation.org 









ADVERTISE WITH NHEG 

Urgent 

We are looking 

for New Volunteer 

Internet Radio Hosts 

Contact us for more details 





NHEG OFFICE CURRICULUM LIBRARY 

Hello Box Tops Coordinators, 

Let me first say thank you for all you do to help schools get what they need. Your tireless dedication and support are inspiring, and we 

value everything you do. 

A really exciting change is coming to Box Tops, which a few of you are aware of because we had a little bit of a surprise. A new Box Tops 

product - Blueberry Cheerios - showed up on shelves much earlier than expected and broke the news ahead of our intended plans: Box 

Tops is going digital in the next year! 

This June, you’ll start to see the new digital Box Tops and we’ll launch with a brand new app. With the help of feedback from local coordinators, 

we are rebuilding Box Tops for Education from the ground up. 

The modernization of Box Tops allows for the next generation of supporters to participate and the opportunity to engage new brands so 

we can keep doing what we’re here to do: help schools get what they need! 

We always intended for Coordinators to be the first to know - to hear it from us, with onboarding tools, Q&A sessions, events and 

fanfare. We have exciting sweepstakes, retailer Bonus Box Tops offers, a fun online Coordinator Kit and other tools - we can’t wait to 

share more with you in June. 

There is SO MUCH I want to share and show you, but it’s just too much for one email and some of it is not quite ready. We know you have 

questions, and we’ve tried to answer as many as possible in the coordinator resource center but we know we haven’t answered them all, 

so we’ve set up this page for you to submit your questions and share your feedback. 

We need your support to help ensure Box Tops grows to reach more schools than ever. We know change 

is hard, but it’s going to take everyone rallying together to help ensure Box Tops is here for another generation. There is so much potential 

for the future of Box Tops, and we are excited for your partnershipin this journey. 

We would like to offer educational events, computer labs, public events, tutoring 

and other educational activities in this location and plan to continue 

offering classes, tutoring, and some afterschool events in Defiance. 

Short term goals: Our vision includes reacquiring a building in Defiance, 

Ohio. This can be achieved either by obtaining funding or a donated building. 

This building will house our curricula library, public educational events 

and providing fill-in-the-gaps, high-quality tutoring, place for families to 

come in and use technology including computers, obtain a GED, or educate 

their own children on site. 

Families will be able to walk in without an appointment to ask any educational 

question. 

Longer term goals: 

We foresee a daycare for young mothers and fathers in high school 

(main target) and college and 

will provide affordable daycare in hopes of keeping them in school. 

https://www.boxtops4education.com/coord_sneakpeek?utm_source=Email_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BT- 

FE_05_02_2019&vcode=AQAAAAEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBJhjBeBolhNg3r1dBvplztUDw2CNJI6h4z3i5IvJ80knjrQYlQTPn8NYX7f- 

CZBQD_3dfqTwXfFpDbi78E6g_aVQ== 

New Video 

https://youtu.be/KHkfw6VPgYc 

Sincerely, 

Erin Anderson 

HELP SPREAD THE WORD! 




Attention potential guests! 

Guidelines: 

1. Please stay on topic and answer all emails from hosts and NHEG staff. 


4/19 

Attention potential guests! 

We are currently offering a few opƟons for those looking to adverƟse their books, products or services on 

the “New Heights Show on EducaƟon.” 

Option 1. 

NHEG is requesƟng that all guests make a free will donaƟon to our organization. 

The donaƟon can be any amount and is tax-deducƟble. In return, you will have a 30-minute interview with 

one of our hosts, and your product or service will be shared on our blog and in one edition of our bi-monthly 

magazine. All products must be educational and family friendly, and they must respect NHEG values and 

beliefs. Products will also need to be approved by our research department before you can be a guest on 

our show. 

Option 2. 

Any potential partners or affiliates must pay advertasing costs or pay 20% of any profits made via our 

website directly to NHEG. This includes outside instructors looking to sell courses via our website. All such 

services will be reviewed and approved by our research department. 

Option 3. 

To be hosted for free, please share your Amazon Associate link. 

Disclosure (and why I host at no cost): We use our Amazon Associate link to point to your books or products 

in the posts. That way, if someone clicks on it and downloads it, we earn a percentage of anything that person 

ends up buying within 24 hours of clicking the link. 

It’s free publicity for you, and all you have to do is submit your content. If you do not have an amazon link 

for your book or product, yours is considered a sponsored post, and we suggest you refer to our advertising 

costs or one of the options above. 

Submit your guest post for publication on our radio show, blog, social media and magazine. 

Please follow our guidelines to apply to be on our show. Failure to comply to these regulations, 

may result in your post being rejected (this is valid for both individual authors and those submiting 

through tour companies). 

1. All guest posts must be original content. 

1. Articles/Advertisements should be between 400 and 750 words. We will consider longer posts and may break them 

up and use them as a series of posts. 

1. We welcome submissions from both experienced and beginner writers. 

1. All submissions should be sent in the body of an email to NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com with “guest post” in the 

subject line. Send in plain text. 

1. Include an author/creator byline, bio and photo of product with your web-link. 

1. NOTE: You may only include a maximum of 2 links, and they must be directly relevant to the post to your author 

website or the product page for your book. ALL guest posts MUST include an author byline. 

1. Authors - Please make sure you submit an author or book cover photo to be posted with your article. Images should 

be sent as jpeg or png attachments. Tour banners and a book cover are also welcome. 

1. Copyright should be that of the author or product creator submitting the article. Copyright will remain with the 

author. 

1. If you have already reserved a date for posting, the guest post must be sent at least 3 days prior the scheduled 

posting date. 

Donations can be made via our website or by following the following link: 

https://www.paypal.me/NHEG 




NHEG STUDENT - CORNER 

EDGEWOOD COUNTRY CLUB ALL SPORTS CAMP COVID-19 PROTOCOL 

Dylan Schnur (Educational Writer) 

Edgewood Club All Sports Camp, located in River Vale, NJ, has hosted its second year of camp for 4-12 

year olds. Edgewood has successfully been operating under COVID-19 Camp Policies and Procedures. 

Campers may choose to attend the summer camp from 8 AM - 2 PM or 8 AM - 4 PM. 

As part of the CDC guidelines, all camp staff are undergoing health checks, which includes “temperature 

checks, screening questions, and self-reporting” (CDC Guidelines). Each morning, head counselors 

are recording temperatures of their assigned group counselors and campers upon their arrival at 

camp. 

• Staff members are trained to abide by COVID-19 protocol themselves and advise their campers to 

follow COVID-19 safety procedures. Counselors have been provided with a fanny pack containing 

hand-sanitizer, rubber gloves, additional face masks, and first aid kits. 

• Hand sanitizer is also provided to all campers and counselors before and after sport activities and 

before and after lunch and snack. 25 hand sanitizers have been placed throughout the camp, and 

expected to be frequently used by all camp participants. 

• In bathrooms, campers and counselors must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds. 

• Counselors must wear rubber gloves while filling water bottles, serving lunches and snacks, and 

when providing first aid to campers and counselors. 

• Counselors are required to wear face masks everywhere, including inside the Clubhouse and outside 

at the pool area and lunchfield. However, campers are required to wear face masks inside the 

Clubhouse but are not required to wear face masks outside (CDC Guidelines). 

• First Aid Kits contain bandages and anti-bacterial wipes. 

• Current counselors have shared the following thoughts about the many COVID-19 safety expectations 

at Edgewood: 

Counselor Mary Petito from Red Group: “In terms of protocols, I think that the camp definitely 

stressed it. We did try our best where it was needed. It was definitely a challenge, considering how 

many kids there were, but it was completely doable.” 

Counselor Jacob Steinberg from Orange Group: “Edgewood and the administrators have done 

their very best to adhere to the protocols as best as possible. Having all the counselors wearing 

masks, having kids’ temperatures checked every morning, and using frequent hand-sanitizer 

throughout the day has definitely been very beneficial.” 

While COVID-19 protocols like hand-washing and temperatures are being implemented, the Edgewood 

Club All Sports Camp has also addressed the concern of social-distancing in the best way possible 

during circumstances like swimming, playing tennis, eating lunch, and arriving at camp. 

• Pool: Though campers are permitted to swim, Edgewood has resolved concerns about COVID-19 

spreading through pools by increasing the chlorine level in the pool, since the CDC states that 

the “disinfection of water (with chlorine or bromine) should inactivate the virus” (CDC Guidelines). 

• Tennis: All campers must bring their own tennis rackets and water bottles. Camp counselors 

and instructors are only allowed to clean up tennis equipment such as tennis balls and hoppers. 

Each group transitions throughout sports, so one group plays while another group gets a water-break--this 

helps the camp maintain small groups and implement social-distancing among 

campers. 

• Lunch: Chairs and tables are cleaned with anti-bacterial wipes before campers proceed to 

lunch. No more than 8 campers are allowed at one table. 

• Arrival and Dismissal: Campers are arranged in single-file and spaced six feet apart from each 

other. 

The dedicated efforts by all staff members and campers in following COVID-19 protocol has earned 

the All Edgewood Sports Camp official recognition from the New Jersey State Health Department with 

a Camp Satisfactory placard. Camp Director Nicole Moore was very impressed with her staff in helping 

her provide “a well-deserved safe, healthy and enjoyable summer for our campers!” 

Stuck in a lazy summer schedule? 

Here are the answers to your 3 biggest problems 

Senadee Atapattu, NHEG Student Article Writer, August 5th, 2020 


As the new school year begins, it can be difficult to get out of your summer vacation mindset. Staying up late, 

sleeping in, and doing no work have been regular activities for two months, so it’s hard to suddenly change 

your routine. But getting into a school/learning schedule quickly is not impossible, and there are many ways to 

fix your biggest problems: going to sleep after midnight, waking up late, and being unproductive. 

When you have no set routine, it’s easy to sleep late just because you can. Yet when we have to wake up at 

dawn for school or work, staying up just isn’t acceptable. Although trying to suddenly go to sleep earlier is easier 

said than done, there are a few good habits you can practice not only to fall asleep quickly, but also to have 

a better sleep in general. The biggest rule to abide by is avoiding screens. There’s a high chance that you’ve 

heard this piece of advice before, but there’s a good reason why it’s so important. A gland in our eyes naturally 

creates melatonin to induce sleep under the instruction of our brain. Yet when we shine the harsh blue light 

emitted by mobile devices through our eyes before going to sleep, the light tricks our brain into thinking it is 

morning, reducing melatonin levels, and preventing quick or deep sleep. Staying off your phone for at least 

one hour before going to bed will significantly improve sleep. If this is too hard for some, buying blue-light 

glasses or turning on the night-shift modes available on some devices will convert the harsh blue light to subtle 

yellow light, although this is not as effective as staying off phones entirely. Another key tip to remember is to 

keep your bedroom dark and cool to fully signal to your brain that it is night, and your melatonin levels should 

rise. For busy thinkers, reading or journaling your thoughts are great ways to clear your head and relax before 

going to bed. 

A big problem that comes with the typical summer sleep deprivation and disrupted routines is waking up too 

late. With commitments that have rigid time schedules such as school or work, sleeping an hour or two more 

in fall results in large consequences. Yet even when it’s already 2 AM and you need to wake up at 6 AM, there 

are a few ways you can ensure that you get out of bed at the right time. First and foremost, set more than one 

alarm. If one alarm stops working in the middle of the night, you can make sure that another one will still ring, 

and if not, you will have a louder noise waking you up. Place the alarms away from your bed; this way you will 

have to get out of bed to turn the sound off, and you are less likely to hit snooze. There are even some apps 

that make you take a picture of a certain item in order to mute the alarm. It’s also a good idea to have a family 

member check up on you if it’s possible. Sometimes, no matter what we do, our alarms just don’t wake us up, 

so it’s better if you have someone who can shake you awake as well. As for breakfast, eating energizing foods 

with lots of fat or protein will rev you up more than calming foods like bananas or oats. 

The most important skill to have in the school/work season is productivity. But after two months of doing 

nothing, getting the motivation to work may be a difficult thing to do. When you begin to work, it’s efficient to 

take short breaks in intervals—for example, every 25 minutes, you take a 5-minute break—because you are 

less likely to burn out when you have another break coming soon. Setting your own deadlines and rewards 

before the ones established by your institution makes it easier for you to keep track of your work and see the 

value of finishing tasks. With positive thinking, good planning, and removal of distractions, it’s easy to be productive! 

Though it may be tedious, these tips will make your transition from summer vacation routines much easier. 

Even more, once you adapt to your new working groove, the next summer break will come in no time! 




NHEG STUDENT - CORNER 


MANAGING STRESS DURING COVID-19 

By Charlotte Picardo Posted July 16, 2020 In Student Corner 

Among many global health, economic, and societal disruptions, the COVID-19 Coronavirus outbreak 

has forced millions to physically isolate as this is not just a city’s, state’s or a country’s problem. It has 

become a WORLD PANDEMIC. Combine this with the extensive news coverage on the pandemic and 

an unknown future, it’s no wonder that anxiety is on the rise. 

As a student, I am able to self-isolate in a safe environment and have access to resources to ensure my 

well being. Still, I too have experienced feelings of stress during this time. I have realized one important 

thing. I am extremely lucky to have resources to help me through this pandemic. I cannot even 

begin to fathom the insurmountable stress being experienced by those without such resources. This 

is all that we have been hearing in every word reported on the insensible and ruthless radio. Sure, we 

all think about needing to manage stress, but it doesn’t ever come easily. We are only humans with 

emotions. In the world we are living in today, it makes sense that we all have some amount of stress. 

Hans Selye, a prominent Canadian endocrinologist who conducted important scientific work on the 

hypothetical non-specific response of an organism to stressors states that, “It is not stress that hurts 

us, it is our reaction to it.” Dr. Selye was the first who discovered stress and gave it its name. I love this 

quote because it highlights just how much impact we have on our own stress levels. Therefore, I believe 

that we shouldn’t pressurize ourselves. 

The way I see things is that it is normal to feel sad, stressed, confused, scared or angry during a crisis. 

The NHS hospital has stated that “Talking to people you trust can help. Contact your friends and family” 

as a way to encourage relaxation. News reports in ‘The Telegraph’ have encouraged us to “Close 

your eyes, breathe the fresh air and relax yourself…” 

The UK government has also stated “If you are not a key worker, it is kindly urged that you must stay 

at home.” I agree, and I recommend that instead of being idle and getting bored at home, you try 

maintaining a healthy lifestyle – including proper diet, sleep, exercise and social contacts with loved 

ones at home and by email and phone with other family and friends. I know this list seems long, but 

once you start this “to-do list,” I assure you that it will bring back that smile again. Consider that you 

could also “draw on skills you have used in the past that have helped you to manage life’s adversities 

and use those skills to help you manage your emotions during the challenging time of this outbreak.” 

I believe that in a constantly changing environment, having life skills is an essential part of being able 

to meet the challenges of everyday life. To cope with the increasing pace and change of modern life, 

students need the ability to deal with stress and frustration. 

The medical doctors have also stated to “limit worry and agitation by lessening the time you spend 

stressing and doing work, instead give some time to spend with your lovely, caring family by watching 

movies or listening to music.” It’s my belief that even if you’re alone, perhaps you should start doing 

something you love and enjoy, something that makes your heart as joyous as possible. Some of my 

recommendations include: 

• Playing a sport 

• Researching 

• Being updated with news around the world that is relevant 

• Studying 

• Listening to music, drawing, painting, dancing 

• Cooking and/or baking delicious food 

• Volunteering virtually 

I know it isn’t easy to be “normal” during this time. But even the UK government recommends “to not 

invite people to your house and have parties. It is the time that we deal with this situation with patience 

and maintain social distancing.” 

Cleanliness also plays a role in this pandemic. I have seen a YouTube video which I thought might 

be interesting to share with you all about washing your hands with an anti-bacterial handwash for 

at least 1 minute. Singing ‘Happy Birthday’ while doing this will help you keep track of time. Isn’t this 

something we all can try? 


The ‘UK government’ does encourage “to roam in your own house garden, or surrounding area. Go out only 

when an emergency or to buy essential household groceries. Obviously, food plays a significant part in living.” 

But this means that you also have options for wellness and joy right where you are. Take advantage of your 

time sheltering in place by gardening, reading, meditating, etc. And when you need to leave, do it thoughtfully 

by planning out your necessary stops. 

Exams have been cancelled in some parts of the world, while others have no news about what’s going to happen 

in the future – the biggest news that has shaken all of us students. I understand that this was the worst 

part, as every student has been preparing for years and awaits to do their boards. The Study Tube Project 

suggests, “Try and use your time wisely. Why not start preparing for your next year if your current exams have 

been cancelled?“ I feel that this will make your life a lot easier when you go back to school as you will already 

know the basics of the content. Remember what Denis Waitley, a prominent American speaker, writer and 

consultant said, “Continuous learning is the minimum requirement for success in any field.” That’s so true, 

and is what keeps me constantly motivated. 

I believe that having involvement in the things that you love to do and truly enjoying having it done is a key 

way to deal with stress. Developing skills can create a positive mindset and attitude as it allows you to focus 

on the goal you want to achieve. Following social distancing rules is very important as in this way you are not 

only helping yourself, but also others who are around you by delaying the spread and lowering your risk of 

catching the virus. In the ‘Conversation’ article, which spoke about why we “shouldn’t worry about cancelled 

exams” we learn that “We should do whatever we can to bring joy back to the classroom – or, as it is now, the 

virtual classroom. We must trust our teachers to teach the curriculum and to assess students’ progress and 

abilities. The well being of students, their parents and their teachers would benefit from it.” I certainly agree 

with this as it is what it is. Now we have the chance to support each other through this difficult time. 

The dedicated efforts by all staff members and campers in following COVID-19 protocol has earned the All 

Edgewood Sports Camp official recognition from the New Jersey State Health Department with a Camp Satisfactory 

placard. Camp Director Nicole Moore was very impressed with her staff in helping her provide “a 

well-deserved safe, healthy and enjoyable summer for our campers!” 

Below are some useful links: 

• Covid-19 FAQs 

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/covid-19-frequently-asked-questions 

• 5 key steps to staying well 

https://www.bipolaruk.org/blog/bipolar-coronavirus-5-steps-to-staying 

• Tips if you are worried about Coronavirushttps://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips/ 

• 10 tips and activities during lockdown – 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/coronavirus-tips-mindfulness/ 

• Happy Handwashing songhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHPQrYthn6M 

• “Don’t worry about cancelled exams” article 

https://theconversation.com/dont-worry-about-cancelled-exams-research-shows-we-should-switch-toteacher-assessment-permanently-134709 

• Questions about your life yourlifeyourvoice.org or https://www.yourlifeyourvoice.org/Pages/home.aspx 

– Your Life Your Voice – 24 hour teen crisis hotline – 1-800-448-3000 

• if you need any help – 

https://teenlineonline.org/ 

• if you need any help (UK)- 

https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/stress/ 

• -Helpline: 01708765200 

• -Email: info@supportline.org.uk 

No matter how much falls on us, we keep plowing ahead. That’s the only way to keep roads clear. Stay safe 

September - October 2020 | NHEG Magazine 75 

and take care of your loved ones.


THE NHEG BANNER 

originally designed by Mac Clark, was recently updated by Courteney Crawley-Dyson and Jeff Ermoian, with 

feedback from Mac Clark, Lyndsey Clark, Greg Clark, Desiree Clark, Pamela Clark, Mike Anderson, Sherri 

Ermoian. 


STUDENT ADVISORY GROUP CREST 

originally designed by Kevin Adusei and Rebekah Baird with feedback Student Group,was 

recently updated by Courteney Crawley-Dyson, Jeff Ermoian, with feedback 

from Mike Anderson, Sherri Ermoian. 

THE STUDENT LEADERSHIP COUNCIL CREST 

originally designed by Kevin Adusei and Rebekah Baird with feedback Student Group, was recently updated by Jeff Ermoian, with feedback from 

Mike Anderson, Sherri Ermoian. 





NHEG Support Groups provide various support to not only our board members but to students, parents and the teachers in Ohio. Each group provides a pivotal function in our organization to strengthen our programs and services plus help support and educate children and adults, so 

they can build a much stronger educational background 

NHEG SUPPORT GROUPS 

STUDENT STUDENT VETERANS & FIRST ADULT ADVISORY 

Learn More About SLC Learn More About SAG Learn More About This Group 

Learn More About AAG 

HOME SCHOOL FAMILY 


CHARTER SCHOOL 


PUBLIC SCHOOL 




Sex: Female 

DOB: May 16, 2018 

was last seen July 14, 2020. He was last seen wearing a diaper, 

Thaddeus 

pants, and a red shirt.Thaddeus may be in need of medical attention. 

Spiderman 

was last seen on August 4, 2020. He may still be in the local area or he may 

Jolexis 

to Baltimore, Maryland or Washington, D.C. When Jolexis was last seen, he 

travel 

wearing a white tank top, dark colored basketball shorts and white Nike Kyrie 

was 

shoes. 6 



MISSING CHILDRENHELP BRING ME HOME 

National Center for Missing & Exploited Children 

NCCMECC: 1399324 

NCMEC: 1398000 

NCMEC: 1399239 

Missing Since: Aug 20, 2020 

Missing From: Cleveland, OH 

DOB: Dec 11, 2003 

Missing Since: Aug 4, 2020 

Missing From: Clinton, MD 

DOB: Dec 12, 2010 

Missing Since: Jul 7, 2020 

Missing From: Marblemountt, WA 

DOB: Nov 20, 2009 

Extrraa Photo 

Saage Adaams 

Joolexis Broown 

CCaamrryn Lopeerr-CCaarreey 

Age Now: 16 

Age Now: 9 

Age Now: 10 

Sex: Male 

Sex: Male 

Race: Black 

Race: Black 

Race: Whitte 

Hair Color: Black 

Eye Color: Brown 

Height: 5'2" 

Weight: 124 lbs 

Hair Color: Black 


Height: 4'0" 


Hair Color: Ltt. Brown 

Eye Color: Hazel 

Height: 4'1" 


Both photos shown are of Camryn. She may travel to Youngstown or Akron, Ohio. 

Sage was lastt seen on July 7, 2020. 

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CCONTACCT 

Case handled 

by 

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT 

Case handled 

by 


Case handled 

by 

NCMEC: 1396337 


Missing Since: Jul 14, 2020 

Missing From: Madera, CA 

Thaddddeus Sran 

Age Now: 2 

Sex: Male 

Race: White 

Hair Color: Brown 


Height: 2'0" 



Case handled 

by 

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office (Ohio) 1-614-525-3333 

DON’T HESITATE! 




NHEG Birthdays 

August 11th 

August 20th 

Sheila Wright 

Bruno Moses Patrick 

September 23rd William Atkinson 

September 24th Erin Ryan 

October 11th 

Sahaja Ampolu 

August 24th 

August 31st 

Ruzzel Solayao 

Norma Makk 

September 26th 


Aayush Gauba 

Aditi Chopra 


October 22nd 

Ashmeet Kaur 

Jaanya Chadha 

September 2020 

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 

30 31 

1 2 3 4 5 

October 2020 


27 28 29 30 

1 2 3 

September 2nd 

Janene Kling 


Lynette Lim 


Sampan Chaudhuri 

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 


Marina Klimi 


Jane Wen 


Jasmine Wu 

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 


Caroline Chen 


Veronica Felipe 

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 

September 21st 

Priscilena Shearon 


Ming Wei Chong 

27 28 29 30 1 2 3 

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 

© Calendarpedia® www.calendarpedia.com 7: Labor Day Data provided 'as is' without warranty 

© Calendarpedia® www.calendarpedia.com 12: Columbus Day Data provided 'as is' without warranty 

September 23rd Shalin Hand October 10th Noemi Vallone 



Michael Anderson 



NHEG Anniversary! 

Greg and Pamela Clark - 32 years 

August 28th 

Marina Klimi 



Roberta Perkins 


September 2020 


30 31 

1 2 3 4 5 

October 2020 


27 28 29 30 

1 2 3 



Daniela Silva 

Alain Philippe Binyet Bi Mbog 

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 


Victoria Lowery 

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 


Buffie Williams 

27 28 29 30 1 2 3 

25 26 27 28 29 30 31 

© Calendarpedia® www.calendarpedia.com 7: Labor Day Data provided 'as is' without warranty 

© Calendarpedia® www.calendarpedia.com 12: Columbus Day Data provided 'as is' without warranty 


Priscilena Shearon 




New Volunteers 

Volunteers of the Month 


Samuel Iglesias 6/24/2020 

Music Tutor 

Sahaja Ampolu 6/24/2020 

Science Tutor 

Shriya Venkataraman 6/29/2020 

History Tutor (Holidays Around the World Course) 

Vanessa Lassy 6/30/2020 

HR Coordinator 

Nimisha Basarkar 7/10/2020 


Jasmine Wu 7/10/2020 

Science and Math Tutor 

Julia Landy 7/12/2020 

Graphic Designer 

Mariam Qudoos - 7/21/2020 

Student Leadership Council 

Bernadette Ifediora 7/21/2020 


Israa Hammond - 7/22/2020 

Student Leadership Council 

Sampan Chaudhuri - 7/23/2020 

Math Tutor 

Jaanya Chadha 7/23/2020 

Educational Writer Volunteer/Intern 

Dylan Schnur 7/27/2020 


Senadee Atapattu 7/27/2020 


Setiani Bhuiyan 7/28/2020 (Tia) 

Assistant Accountant 

Nusrat Khan 07/29//2020 

Cartoonist/Graphic Designer 

Cassidee Jackson 08/05/2020 

Educational Writer Intern 

Erica Castillo 8/12/2020 

Photo Editor 

Samantha Griffith 

Photo editor, video editing, new media 

Jyoti Aggarwal 

Dannah Altiti 

Dannah Altiti 

Michelle Alwin 

Michelle Alwin 


Chinmay Arvind 

Senadee Atapattu 

Enjoli Baker 

Setiani Bhuiyan 

Philippe Binyet Bi 

Hamsatu Bolori 

Katie Buchhop 

Sampan Chaudhuri 

Caroline Chen 

Ming Chong Wei 

Kristen Congedo 

Kristen Congedo 

Rachel Fay Jean 

Aayush Gauba 

Sarika Gauba 

Israa Hammond 

Erika Hanson 

Rhone-Ann Huang 

Ashmeet Kaur 

Padmapriya Kedharnath Priya 

Meghna Kilaparthi 

Marina Klimi 

Julia Landy 

Tyler Maxey-Billings 

Nayana Mogre 

Anusha Nemali 

Alexandre Oliveira 

Bruno Patrick Moses 

Charlotte Picardo 

Mariam Qudoos 

Kaitlyn Rottingen 

Fatima Saad 

Fatima Saad 

Leah Sedy 

Leah Sedy 

Diya Sharma 

Alina Sheikh 

Ruzzel Solayao 

Anagha Sridharan 

Jane Wen 

Elizabeth White 

Buffie Williams 

Sheila Wright 

Fran Wyner 

Allene Yue 

Khrista-Cheryl Cendana 

Nusrat Khan 

Dylan Schnur 

Volunteers of the YEAR 

Marina Klimi - Production Manager of the Year 

Marina Klimi Marketing Person of the Year 

Khrista- Cheryl Cendana - Educational Writer of the Year 

Khrista- Cheryl Cendana - Researcher of the Year 

Sheila Wright - Grant Writer of the Year 

Lyndsey Faye Clark - Proctor of the Year 

Michael Anderson- Website Designer of the Year 

Michael Anderson - Content Builder of the Year 

Nayana Mogre - Database Manager of the Year 

Aayush Gauba - Data Compilation Person of the Year 

Tyler Maxey-Billings - Graphic Designer of the Year 

Kristen Congedo Proofreader/Editor of the Year 

Noemi Vallone Script Writer of the Year 

Erika Hanson - Internet Radio Host of the Year 

Rachel Jean Fay - Cartoonist of the Year 

Jane Wen - Comic Colorer/Inker of the Year 

Anusha Nemali - HR Coordinator of the Year 

Padmapriya (Priya) Kedharnath- Accountant of the Year 

Kaitlyn Rottingen- Certificate Builder of the Year 

Fran Wyner - Photographer of the Year (third year in a row) 

A sad goodbye to Noemi Vallone and Anusha Nemali - NHEG wishes you all the best! 

Thank you for 

sharing your talent with us. 

Attention Ohio Home School Families 

There are potential changes/requirements for Ohio Home School parents. Please know that the changes ARE NOT in effect yet. 

There is one more hearing to go through which has NOT happened yet. 

They will most likely go into effect, but as of now, they have not. 

Please see CHEO’s update here. https://www.cheohome.org/category/cheo-front-page-news/ 

86 86 NHEG | GENiUS Magazine MAGAZINE | September - September - October 2020 | NHEG Magazine 87 

| October www.geniusmag.com 2020 

January 2018 | 87






NEW REVIEW 

ANUSHANEMALI 

RATING: 5 STAR 

I have volunteered with NHEG as a Lead HR Coordinator 

for almost an year. 

I appreciate the opportunities I have been given during my time, as well as the professional guidance and support from 

Pamela and other team members. 

I have enjoyed my tenure with NHEG. 

I wish Pamela and the company all the best. 

PRIDERAISECP - VOLUNTEER 08/01/2020 

RATING: 5 STAR 

I am Charlotte Picardo. I have worked with this organisation since May 2020, and it has been such an amazing and exciting 

experience working with NHEG. Being an international student, everyone was so welcoming. I am still working with them as an 

Educational writer and will continue to work in the future years to come. 

I’d like to thank Miss Pamela Clark, for being a lovely and generous person, who always helped me, supported my decisions, 

and stood by me all the time. She is extremely hardworking, and dedicated to her work in all means. 

I’d like to thank Miss Allene and Mr Aayush for being such great presidents to have, they have been always pro-active and 

courteous. 

The rest of the members are indeed helpful to have as well. I’d like to also thanks Miss Katie, for being such a wonderful Profreader. 

She always supported me and encouraged me to do great things in life. 

And lastly I’d like to thank Mr Michael Anderson, for publishing my 1st article on NHEG website, 

he is a very generous person as well. 

My journey has been so exciting, and that I feel like everyone at NHEG are a part of my family. 

Not only being a volunteer, Miss Pamela is very supportive that she even offered me to complete courses in Economics, 

a subject that I love. 

Looking forward to the years to come, and giving my best to this amazing supportive organisation. 

TAMMY MARIE B. 

5 STAR CLIENT SERVED 

I have known about New Heights for about a year and a half now. And have been volunteering for about as long. In addition to 

being a volunteer I have used NHEG for one of my children. The compassion that I have been shown has been the most heartwarming 

experience of my life. I fully support all that New Heights educational group does and I hope to donate to this non 

profit organization in the near future so they may continue to help out families in our community. Thank you new Heights for 

treating us like family. 

FHBANDOLAJR - VOLUNTEER - 05/28/2019 

RATING:5 

I initially found NHEG desperately looking for an opportunity to look for an internship in IT right after University. At this point, 

I didn’t care whether it was paid or not, as I was trying to find ways to make my student OPT Visa valid. Now before I got the 

call for an interview, I did some research on NHEG, and I thought I’d fit right in instantly because I was a young struggling 

student, as well. From a struggling middle/high school student to a successful undergrad, and then eventually, someone who 

is now an IT, I had to join. 

I have nothing to say but outstanding things about NHEG. Whenever I had to do certain tasks, I was notified beforehand. As 

soon as I scored a job, Pamela was understanding of my situation and made sure I had help while I was working. This organization 

was very professional in what they did, and I was proud to be a member of the family. 

This organization opened a lot of doors for me. From being a Blackboard assistant to a radio show host, it caught the attention 

of my former boss, and he eventually referred me to another future employer that I now work for. My career would not have 

started if it weren’t for NHEG. 

For that, Pamela and NHEG, thank you, and I will continue to support your mission and cause endlessly. 

SAPANA S. - VOLUNTEER 06/06/2019 

RATING: 5 


I have been with NHEG for 2years. 

This a great non profit organization to work for. Wonderful colleagues. Pamela is an awesome person and very cooperative 

too. 

It gives you opportunities to learn and grow in the field you are working on. 

JEFF E.1- VOLUNTEER 07/16/2019 

RATING: 5 

I have worked for New Heights for about 2 1/2 years and it has been a great experience. The volunteers I supervise have 

proven themselves to be diligent, responsive, professional and passionate about what we do. It makes us all proud to know 

our efforts have impact. 

JEFF ERMOIAN - AVDD GRAPHICS- GENERAL MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC 

07/29/2019 

RATING: 5 

They helped me understand homeschool regulations and paperwork. They are very responsive and helpful. I would recommend 

them to anyone. 

GEORGIA W.1 - PROFESSIONAL WITH EXPERTISE IN THIS FIELD07/25/2019 

RATING: 5 

It has been a great pleasure partnering with founder, Pamela Clark of New Heights Educational Group, Inc.(NHEG). NHEG is an 

excellent source 

for information and provides access to resources to help educate the community. I highly recommend you support by giving a 

donation and/or looking into the wide array of educational support services they provide. - Georgia Woodbine, Change Agent, 

Author, Speaker, Lifestyle Transformation Coach 

I enjoyed every project that I have made for NHEG. Working with Pamela is always a knowledge challenge. 

Thank you, Pamela, 

Thank you NHEG 

MAGAZINE REVIEW 

Marina I didn’t really examine the newest issue of our magazine until tonight. When I finally did, I was filled with pride at the 

length and scope of this publication. Fran and the photography crew have provided you with stunning imagery that you have 

used well. 

Your team deserves not just praise but awards too. Thank you for the very professional image you provide to the passionate 

folks who care so deeply about what we represent. 

I hope everyone in this organization appreciates how hard you work and how much skill you bring to NHEG. Thank you for the 

fine way you represent us to Ohio, the United States and the topic of education. 

With admiration, Jeff 

CELTICMAGGIE - BOARD MEMBER 06/21/2018 

RATING: 5 

My name is Margaret Spangler, I am a Board Member and I have been with Pamela Clark since the beginning. I've understood 

her mission, her passion for education and children and her unwavering desire to help as many as possible; that's why 

I've supported her all these years. Also, as a parent, I've received help for two of my children in tutoring. NHEG tutors are 

extremely professional and knowledge. Because of this tutoring, over the last several years, my kids are able to graduate from 

high school. Thanks NHEG! 




NEW REVIEW 

CUYLER S. - CLIENT SERVED 06/22/2018 

RATING: 5 

Hello everyone, 

My name is Cuyler Spangler and I have been struggling with math for a few years and New Heights got me a tutor. Because of 

that not only am I grateful but I am also able to graduate this year. Thanks New Heights and keep up the awesome work! 

Regards 

Greg 

 

Pamela 

32th wedding anniversary 


SAPNA SHUKLA- VOLUNTEER 03/10/2018 

RATING: 5 

I am working with NHEG from 1 year in various projects Research,Data Entry,HR coordination. It is great place to work & all 

Team members are very cooperative especially Pamela Clark .I am working as Virtual Volunteer. It is great place to work. 

WRITER - VOLUNTEER 05/24/2018 

RATING: 5 

I have had a wonderful experience volunteering at New Heights Educational group as a proof-reader and social media expert. 

I love supporting educational causes and I commend what NHEG is doing for the community. NHEG’s working environment 

helps everyone thrive and it is a pleasure to work with Pamela! 





First Day of Spring: 

1. Spring Starts (Coloring Page) 

2. Spring Connect The Dots 

https://www.booksbythebushel.com/march-activities/ 





CLT is excited to announce a new Official CLT test date, sponsored by Hillsdale College. 

The CLT will be administered on September 26, 2020, designed for Hillsdale applicants, but open to any 

students who would like to take the exam. Rising seniors who submit an application to Hillsdale on or 

before September 21 will have the full cost of their exam covered. You can learn more in today’sBlog Post. 

Hillsdale College, founded by abolitionists in 1844, is unique in American Higher Education. Its commitment 

to academic freedom and America’s founding ideals make it a worthy choice for students interested 

in “pursuing truth and defending liberty.” Learn more about Hillsdale College here. 

The 9/26 CLT will be remotely proctored, which allows students to take the exam from the safety and 

comfort of their homes. Hillsdale College has fully incorporated CLT scores into their financial aid and 


scholarships. 



Ready to see the World? NHEG Travel Program 

NHEG travel programs offer students and teachers the opportunity to experience, travel and understand new cultures 

all around the world. Unfortunately, NHEG no longer offers the family-to-family program. However, if you are 

interested in traveling, please contact us for a list of host families willing to provide an overnight stay and a meal. 


NHEG Travel with EF Tours 

Request an EF Tours Brochure 

We are a proud partner with Education First Tours, a reputable student travel organization. Through this partnership 

with EF Tours, we offer international travel opportunities for college, homeschool, private school, public 

school, and charter school students and their families 

To learn even more about EF Tours, please request one of their brochures. 

Take a Tour 

Are you a student looking to travel during the summer 

or before going to college? Then follow EF Tours 3 step 

guide on how to go on your first trip to any part of the 

world to experience what that country has to offer. 

If you have used EF Tours before or are using them for 

the first time, take a look at what tours are available 

on their website. 

Lead a Tour 

As a teacher, one of the greatest experiences you can 

give your students is ability to experience another 

culture. With the help of EF Tours 4 step guide and the 

support of the EF Tours Team, your students will come 

back home with experiences and knowledge that they 

will remember for a lifetime. 





Touch-type Read 

and Spell (TTRS) 

readandspell.com 

9 Strategies for 

students with 

dysgraphia 

From stretching 

out the hands 

to trying different 

pens and 

papers and using 

pre-writing brainstorming 

activities, 

try these 

tips to help with 

writing. 

Read article 

9 Tips for 

helping students 

with slow 

processing 

While speed has nothing to do with how smart a child is, kids with slow processing may struggle to 

follow lessons. Learn how you can help them be and feel more successful in the classroom. 

Read article (https://www.readandspell.com/what-is-processing-speed?utm_source=facebook. 

com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=blog_newsletter) 

We’ve also just been nominated for an award. We’ll know if we’ve won by the end of March. We won the 

award for best special education resource two years ago as well. 

The Education Resources Awards announced their 2019 finalists and Touch-type Read and Spell is nominated 

in the Special Education Resource category for their accessible and literacy focused typing course 

for students with specific learning difficulties. 








National News Reports in Education 

Is Fourth Amendment Protection a New Concept? 

HSLDA 

Peter Kamakawiwoole, Esq. | July 20, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/is-fourth-amendment-protection-a-new-concept 

A Homeschool Day in the Life: You Can Do This! 

HSLDA 

Jessica Cole | July 14, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/a-homeschool-day-in-the-life-you-can-do-this 

The Most Important Homeschooler in this Historic, Pandemic Moment Is— 

You! 

HSLDA 

Peter Kamakawiwoole, Esq. | July 21, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/the-most-important-homeschooler-in-this-historic-pandemic-moment-is-you 

Here’s Why Good People Oppose “Reasonable” Homeschool Regulation- 

HSLDA 

Scott Woodruff, Esq. | August 04, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/here-is-why-good-people-oppose-reasonable-homeschool-regulation 


Did you know that when you shop 

for 

the holidays at 

smile.amazon.com/ch/56-2431955 

AmazonSmile donates to 

New Heights Education 

West Virginia: Wild and Wonderful, Unless You’re Homeschooling 

HSLDA 

Michael Donnelly, JD, LLM| August 05, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/west-virginia-wild-and-wonderful-unless-you-are-homeschooling 

Escape Charter School Bottleneck—Homeschooling Has No Waiting List! 

HSLDA 

Dave Dentel| August 05, 2020 

https://hslda.org/post/escape-charter-school-bottleneck-homeschooling-has-no-waiting-list 





The NHEG Online Learning Annex provides online courses, free and fee based classes for children 

and adults who wish to learn more and looking for something affordable.) 

Our online classes are either self-enrolled, meaning you can learn at your own pace or standard online weekly 

course taught by one of our volunteer teachers or tutors. 

NHEG is launching a Genealogy and Education 

Course and a DNA and Education Course. 

Taught by Heather Ruggiero, our Financial 

Literacy course is a self-taught class that helps 

you build a better understanding of your finances. 

HOLIDAYS AROUND THE WORLD 

The orphan trains operated between 1854 

and 1929, relocating about 200,000 orphaned, 

abandoned, or homeless children. 

This class will instruct students on how to apply for a 

job and what is expected of them during the hiring process. 

This Class is free to the public and will be available 

through Google Classroom. 

ENROLL HERE 

ENROLL HERE 

ENROLL HERE 

ENROLL HERE 

ENROLL HERE 


http://School.NewHeightsEducation.org/ 




FOREIGN LANGUAGES 

This course will also teach students basic writing. For 

those students who don’t have a Chinese name, this 

course will assist students in getting theirs! 

This 10-week course will take place for an hour twice a 

week and will be open for middle school to adult students 

will learn to speak and write Japanese 

ENROLL HERE 

ENROLL HERE 






MUSIC COURSES 

NHEG Music Program will offer many musical opportunities including: Music 

Theory, History of Music, Famous Composers, Famous Musicians, individual 

lessons, instrumental lessons, and much more. These lessons will range in price 

from free to low cost classes. 

Google Classroom Code: qaqcewm 

ENROLL HERE 

INTRODUCTION TO PIANO: ALLENE 

Google Classroom Code: etgactm 

ENROLL HERE 

FAMOUS COMPOSERS OF THE PAST: ALLENE 

Google Classroom Code: ebdjipk 

ENROLL HERE 





PARTNER COURSES 


Generation Self Employed Courses 

How To Teach Online 

Cost: $25 

Access Online Course 

Why Have A Business? 

Cost: Free 


Understanding Yourself As An Entrepreneur 

Cost: $25 


Servant Salesmanship 

Cost: $25 


Your Business By The Numbers 

Cost: $25.00 


Creating Your Business Strategy 

Cost: $25 


Personal & Professional Development Coaching Course Overview 

Are you ready to unlock your SUPERPOWERS and attract more of the things you want 

and less of the things you don’t want? 

Create The Life You Love 

Cost: $197 

Purchase Course 

Create The Life You Love 

Cost: $788 


How To Turn Your Passion Into Profits 

Cost: $1576 


How To Write A Book In 30 Days Or Less 

Cost: $1800 


The Animation Course 

The TAFI award winning Animation Course provides students the tools they need to enjoy the process 

of creating stories & animating them. 


The Natural Speller online course is a way to help students 

from public, charter and home schools to help become effective 

spellers while in school. 

ENROLL HERE 


The NHEG Learn to Read: Adult Literacy online course gives 

teachers/tutors/reading guides strategies for helping older 

students acquire literacy skills and provides methods for 

consistent, repeated practice 

ENROLL HERE 


The Drawing Course 

The drawing course consists of 2 levels with the goal of teaching classical drawing skills & then take the 

animation course to increase your drawing skills. 

















Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York 




7 Reasons to Say Goodbye 

to Teachers Unions 

I stand with teachers—not unions. 

By Daniel Buck 

Wednesday, January 2, 2019 

Every year, my school district hosts a beginning of the year meeting with every employee in the district. Amidst all the pomp 

are 15 minutes during which my school district provides a platform for the head of the local teachers union. He doesn’t say 

much, keeping it vague and general. He says the union works with the school board and other leaders to fight for both teachers 

and students. 

He also spends time in the teachers’ lounge occasionally, handing out pamphlets. A note in defense of unions was left at a table 

in the lounge recently. It details accomplishments of unions past and the evils of corporations. This note and this speech are a 

nice review of a high school civics course, but they have one glaring flaw: they focus entirely on the past. 

Contexts change. For instance, the necessity of stationed US troops in Germany has shifted since the Cold War. The same goes 

for unions at large as the US reaches historical levels of prosperity. We can appreciate the accomplishments of the past while 

still reconsidering the utility of unions in the present. There are of course defenses of unions within a modern context. That 

said, they are ultimately lacking. Here are seven reasons why we should support the dissolution of teachers unions in 2019. 

They are advocacy groups as much as union 

Two years ago, while I was a first-year teacher, I mistakenly stumbled into a members-only meeting in my school’s library. 

Before being shooed away and denied a scone with coffee, I saw pamphlets in stacks next to the treats. One column was 

topped by a glowering Donald Trump over a dark red background like a Sith lord; the other had a smiling Hillary Clinton. 

While teachers are stereotypically liberal, a survey done by Education Week found that 43 percent of educators define themselves 

as moderate, with a near equal number identifying as conservative or liberal. In 2016, 50 percent of teachers voted for 

Hillary Clinton and 29 percent for Donald Trump. Teachers are a moderate and politically diverse crowd. 

That being said, in the past 28 years, teachers unions have given 96 percent of their funding to Democratic candidates. In the 

agenda from the National Education Association (NEA)’s most recent annual meeting, the business items include a commitment 

to: 

• Responding to the “heartless, racist, and discriminatory zero-tolerance [immigration] policies of the Trump administration” 

• Supporting Black Lives Matter 

• Opposing arming teachers in schools 

• The removal of Confederate leaders from school monuments 

• Posting a public list of individuals who have refused service to LGBTQ people 

• The postponement of the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh 

• The prohibition of private jails 

• Opposing charter schools and voucher programs 

• Describing and deconstructing “the systemic proliferation of a White supremacy culture and its constituent elements of 

White privilege and institutional racism” 



Regardless of your views on all of these, there is a clear disparity between the agenda of the largest teachers union in the 

nation and the views of its teachers. Perhaps even more glaring, many of these issues have only a tangential relation to education, 

if that. While they speak of defending teachers, much of their energy is spent advocating for various, non-educational 

political initiatives. 

They have more money in politics than just about everyone 

Both Republicans and Democrats complain about money in politics. Both sides have their boogeyman: George Soros and the 

Koch Brothers. And yet, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the NEA was the second largest contributor to political 

campaigns of any individual, corporation, or union in 2014. In 2016, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and NEA 

collectively gave $64 million in political contributions compared to only $11 million and $28 million by the Koch brothers and 

George Soros, respectively. 

Their policy ideals won’t cut it 

Unions fight for increased funding with the intent of raising teacher pay and purchasing better academic materials. Some 

research shows that it is beneficial. Other papers don’t. An analysis by Johns Hopkins finds a synthesis between the two, 

arguing that how school achievement is defined and how money is spent determine whether funding correlates with improvement. 

Until structural reforms are put in place to apply market pressure to the schools, any funding increase will be little 

more than waste. 

At the first school I worked at, the book room had thousands of books, worth thousands of dollars, and I was one of the only 

teachers in our building who used them. My department had a supply closet filled with toys and gadgets no one used. There 

are curriculum teams and staff members collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to create a curriculum that is 

either followed without fidelity or ignored entirely. 

Per pupil spending, school achievement, and teacher pay give data to substantiate this claim. In current dollars, school spending 

has increased by roughly $3,000 per pupil since the early 1990s; yet teacher pay has declined or remained flat in most 

states, while student achievement on test scores has remained stagnant or even decreased in some states. Money is increasing, 

but it isn’t creating results. 

More generally, teachers unions promote a strict pay scale that rewards any teacher for years taught—be they exceptional or 

mediocre or lousy—incentivizing longevity, not performance. They also make it nearly impossible to fire teachers, taking up to 

two years and $200,000 according to Stanford Professor Terry Moe. Social stances, funding, and strict pay scales just won’t do 

in the face of crumbling urban education. 

They block meaningful reform 

Unions block the reforms that will structurally change a broken system and in return, promise increased funding, which will, 

in turn, be drained away by the broken system. Namely, they oppose school choice, merit-based pay, standardized tests, and 

the Praxis, an entrance exam for teachers. 

School choice, while not a panacea, is one reform that has tremendous potential for improving schools. Research shows that 

the pressure this funding structure places on schools increases student performance, saves money, and improves students’ 

mental health. 

Educational reform has been stymied. Across the board, Republicans have advanced comprehensive reforms from charter 

schools to more stringent teacher evaluations and merit-based pay. After a blue wave, many fear that the growth it has 

enacted may be at an end. 

They breed a culture of entitlement 

I allow my students to set some classroom rules to provide a sense of ownership. One student expressed that he didn’t want a 

star or candy simply for following directions. It’s condescending, he said, to praise a student for the minimum. That assumes 

you only expect the minimum. 

In my role, I watch many teachers teach, and not everyone necessarily deserves a star. I have heard teachers tell their kids to 

ask fewer questions. I have seen teachers celebrate over pregnant students. I have heard teachers speak of students using 

language one would expect from the villain in a Scorsese movie. All the while, teachers denigrate any test that shows stagnant 

scores or an administrator who questions their efficacy. 

The unions tell us that we, the teachers, deserve our jobs and better pay regardless of the success of our students, but in 

reality, we deserve more money and respect only if we do our job well. To suggest anything else is a disservice to the 

profession. 

They bargain for mediocre benefits 

I was new to teaching and sat across from the school’s manager of our 403(b) plans. I asked if the school district would match 

my contribution. They don’t, because the district pays toward our pension. I rolled my eyes, and so did she. 




Chad Aldeman, a former analyst at the Department of Education, explains the problem well. He says that “states are paying 

an average of 12 percent of each teacher’s salary just for debt costs. If states didn’t face these large debts, they could afford 

to give that money back to teachers in the form of higher salaries—an average of $6,801 for every public school teacher in 

America.” 

Under a 401(k) plan, any employee could choose to be frugal and invest more, as well as receive more from their employer and 

thereby more from their retirement plan. In education, teachers receive retirement benefits based on a formula, unable to 

invest any more than the predetermined amount. 

That $6,800 dollars could go to much better use. For those of us who choose to save, we would end up with a retirement portfolio 

that would outdo most teacher pensions. Others may counter that some do not have the disposable income to save for 

themselves, but even in this case, those teachers should be allowed to keep their money and spend it on whatever medical bill 

or child care they need. 

We can bargain for ourselves 

Factory workers during the Industrial Revolution were expendable. They had no specialized skills or education with which they 

could bargain in a labor-flooded market. Conversely, teachers are a highly-skilled and educated workforce in a market where 

they are in short supply. 

A friend of mine, one of the best teachers at our school, was falsely accused of hitting a student. Under convoluted district 

rules, the principal wanted to fire him. This teacher walked into the office with test scores, student testimonials, projects 

demonstrating mastery by some of our school’s most difficult students, and hallway video records that proved him innocent. 

We can bargain for ourselves. 

As a rule, I try not to stand in opposition to things. It breeds resentment instead of changing minds and casts no vision for a 

way forward. I’m not against unions. I’m for teachers. For us to flourish financially and professionally, we need the freedom to 

bargain for ourselves, the respect that comes with accountability, and meaningful reform. Therefore, I stand with teachers— 

not unions. 

Yale Study: Vast Majority 

of High Schoolers 

Unhappy at School 

The Yale findings echo previous conclusions about 

young people’s attitudes toward school. 

By Kerry McDonald 

Monday, February 10, 2020 

Most high school students are not happy at school. A new study by Yale researchers finds that nearly three-quarters of high 

schoolers report negative feelings toward school. The study surveyed more than 20,000 high school students in all 50 US states 

and found widespread dissatisfaction at school across all demographic groups, with girls reporting slightly more negative emotions 

than boys. According to Yale co-author Zorana Ivcevic, 

Source: The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) 

https://fee.org/ 

It was higher than we expected. We know from talking to students that they are feeling tired, stressed, and bored, but were 

surprised by how overwhelming it was. 

The Yale findings, which were published in the most recent edition of the academic journal Learning and Instruction, echo previous 

conclusions about young people’s attitudes toward school. According to a 2016 Gallup student poll of nearly one million 

children from approximately three thousand different schools, enthusiasm for school dropped dramatically between fifth 

grade and twelfth grade. 

In another large-scale 2003 study, psychologists tracked several hundred elementary and secondary school students over the 

course of a week. The students wore watches that signaled them several times a day to record, at that moment, what the students 

were doing and how they were feeling. The results revealed that children were unhappiest while they were at school, and 

happiest when out of school. 


Is There a Better Way? 

Perhaps these results are not surprising. School isn’t supposed to be fun, right? Kids have to deal with the drudgery of school, 

buckle down, and do the work because that’s life. Or so the thinking goes. What a horrible message to send to children, and to 

internalize ourselves: Life is drudgery, work is drudgery, and the sooner people learn this in school, the better off they will be. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. For young people who are educated outside of forced schooling environments, learning can be 

engaging, rewarding, and yes, fun. Free to pursue passions, explore talents, and set individual goals, young people who learn 

without schooling or who are educated in other non-coercive learning environments, retain and expand their curiosity and 

autonomy. 

It’s the lack of freedom and personal agency that leads to negative emotions toward school or life. When individuals are 

empowered to take charge of their living and learning, negativity diminishes. 

Parents should take seriously these negative emotions in their adolescents, particularly as youth anxiety, depression, and 

suicide continue to soar. Researchers at Vanderbilt University found a correlation between adolescent suicidal thoughts and 

actions and school attendance, reporting that these tendencies decline during the summer months and spike at back-to-school 

time. This is an opposite pattern to that of adults, who experience the highest rates of suicide during the summertime. 

In sharing the results of their latest survey on high schoolers’ negative feelings toward school, the Yale researchers suggest 

that later school start times might help by allowing young people more time for sleep; but this merely puts a Band-Aid on 

a much deeper wound. Teenagers don’t like school because their freedom is tightly controlled, they are micro-managed by 

adults, and they have no or little input in what, how, where, or with whom they learn. On the brink of adulthood, teenagers are 

increasingly treated like toddlers. 

Not only is it dangerous to dismiss adolescents’ antipathy toward school as normal and expected, it avoids an honest look at 

the impact of coercion on human flourishing. When people are free, they thrive; with force, they flounder. 



Schooling Was for 

the Industrial Era, 

Unschooling Is 

for the Future 


People educated in coercive models will be damaged for life (most of us are). The lack of respect shown to their autonomous 

selves as children translates into a lifelong tendency to “get what they need” by any means necessary…We are part of a growing 

counterculture which finds traditional schooling damaging in ways that are intertwined with the general brokenness of our 

culture. 

Instead of complaining about the education status quo, entrepreneurial individuals are building alternatives to school that 

challenge it. Centered around passion and an overarching belief in individual self-determination, these entrepreneurs — who 

are often parents, former school teachers, and others who have become disillusioned by coercive schooling — are freeing 

young people from an outdated and harmful mass schooling system. Enlightened parents and innovative entrepreneurs may 

be the key players in constructing a new education model focused on freedom and designed for the Imagination Age. 



We’ve entered a new era, the Imagination Age, so 

why are we still schooling kids like we did in 

the 19th Century? 


Sunday, October 8, 2017 

Our current compulsory schooling model was created at the dawn of the Industrial Age. As factories replaced farm work and 

production moved swiftly outside of homes and into the larger marketplace, 19th century American schooling mirrored the 

factories that most students would ultimately join. 

The bells and buzzers signaling when students could come and go, the tedium of the work, the straight lines and emphasis 

on conformity and compliance, the rows of young people sitting passively at desks while obeying their teachers, the teachers 

obeying the principal, and so on—all of this was designed for factory-style efficiency and order. 

The Imagination Age 

The trouble is that we have left the Industrial Era for the Imagination Age, but our mass education system remains fully 

entrenched in factory-style schooling. By many accounts, mass schooling has become even more restrictive than it was 

a century ago, consuming more of childhood and adolescence than at any time in our history. The first compulsory schooling 

statute, passed in Massachusetts in 1852, required eight to 14-year-olds to attend school a mere 12 weeks a year, six of 

which were to be consecutive. This seems almost laughable compared to the childhood behemoth that mass schooling has now 

become. 

Enclosing children in increasingly restrictive schooling environments for most of their formative years, and drilling them with 

a standardized, test-driven curriculum is woefully inadequate for the Imagination Age. In her book, Now You See It, Cathy 

Davidson says that 65 percent of children now entering elementary school will work at jobs in the future that have not yet 

been invented. She writes: “In this time of massive change, we’re giving our kids the tests and lesson plans designed for their 

great-great-grandparents.” 

While the past belonged to assembly line workers, the future belongs to creative thinkers, experimental doers, and inventive 

makers. The past relied on passivity; the future will be built on passion. In a recent article on the future of work, author and 

strategist John Hagel III writes about the need to nurture passion to be successful and fulfilled in the jobs to come. He says: 

One of my key messages to individuals in this changing world is to find your passion and integrate your passion with your work. 

One of the challenges today is that most people are products of the schools and society we’ve had, which encourage you to go to 

work to get a paycheck, and if it pays well, that’s a good job, versus encouraging you to find your passion and find a way to make 

a living from it. 

One of my key messages to individuals in this changing world is to find your passion and integrate your passion with your work. 

One of the challenges today is that most people are products of the schools and society we’ve had, which encourage you to go 

to work to get a paycheck, and if it pays well, that’s a good job, versus encouraging you to find your passion and find a way to 

make a living from it. 

Self-Directed Education and unschooling often take place in homes and throughout communities, but increasingly individuals 

and organizations are launching self-directed learning centers geared toward homeschoolers with both full- and part-time 

options. These centers make Self-Directed Education more accessible to more families in more places, and each has a unique 

philosophy or focus. Some are geared toward teens and value real-world apprenticeships and immersion; others are makerspaces 

that emphasize tinkering and technology, and so on. In Boston, for instance, the JP Green School in the city’s Jamaica 

Plain neighborhood serves as a part-time self-directed learning space for homeschoolers and unschoolers with a focus on sustainability 

and nature connection. Co-founder Andrée Zaleska says: 





Hard-Won Homeschooling 

Freedoms Are Under 

Threat and Must Be 

DefendedThem? 

Our modern homeschooling freedoms come with 

the responsibility to protect those freedoms. 

Homeschooling Is 

Changing My Child—In a 

Good Way 

We have never been better-equipped to cope with 

a nationwide quarantine of schoolchildren. 


Monday, April 16, 2018 

Homeschoolers today have it easy. Many of us were in diapers when, in 1977, educator John Holt created Growing Without 

Schooling, the first newsletter to connect and encourage homeschooling families. Holt and other social reformers provided 

the support and facilitated the networks that would ultimately lead to homeschooling becoming legally recognized in all U.S. 

states by 1993. 

I sometimes wonder about the courage it took those earlier homeschooling parents to remove their children from school 

before it was fully legal, to chart an alternative education path for their children when they were often the only ones on that 

road. I sometimes wonder if I would have had the same courage. 

Homeschooling Is Going Mainstream 

Now, homeschooling is a legitimate education option with the number of homeschoolers hovering around two million nationwide. 

With expanding numbers come increased diversity as families of all races, classes, religions, ethnicities, ideologies, 

and academic philosophies tailor homeschooling to their distinct needs and lifestyles. For example, the number of African 

Americans choosing to homeschool continues to accelerate, often propelled by concerns of institutional racism in schools, and 

Muslim Americans are reported to be one of the fastest-growing homeschooling demographics. 

As homeschooling has become widely accepted and more reflective of our pluralistic society, it is easy to become complacent. 

Most of us no longer worry about truancy officers knocking on our doors or wonder where we will need to move next to find a 

community more accepting of family-centered education. We happily play outside on a spring weekday morning without fear 

that passersby will worry why our children aren’t in school. We choose from a vast assortment of pedagogical approaches, 

selecting styles that best suit the needs of our children—not school personnel. 

We may forget what a recent privilege all of this is. Our freedom to homeschool as we choose is owed in large part to those 

courageous parents who came before us. Their choice, and their activism, made our homeschooling choice possible and 

pleasant. 

But the Freedom Is Precarious 

Our modern homeschooling freedoms also come with the responsibility to protect those freedoms. While we may not have 

had to fight to secure our homeschooling rights, we should certainly fight to keep them. As homeschooling moves from the 

marginal to the mainstream, it can trigger state efforts to curb freedoms, heighten regulations, and increase oversight. 

We are seeing this effort mount in California, as the egregious case of alleged abuse by the Turpin family has led to recent 

legislative efforts to crack-down on homeschooling in the state. Current proposed legislation aims to rein in homeschooling 

families and require government monitoring, including forming an advisory committee to investigate, and potentially 

“reform,” homeschooling. As NPR reports: “That could be anything from home inspections to credentialing teachers to setting 

specific curriculums.” 

Now is the time for those of us homeschooling today to show our gratitude to those who came before us by continuing their 

fight. It is up to us to preserve our homeschooling freedoms from government encroachment so that we may continue to a live 

a life free of school and school-like thinking. 

Whether or not we would have had the courage to create these homeschooling freedoms we now enjoy, we must have the 

courage to keep them. 




By Shawnna Morris 

Friday, April 3, 2020 

The email from my son’s teacher hit us like a ton of bricks. 

The students will not be returning from spring break, it read. School will be closed until April 17. In the meantime, the children 

will receive their lessons online. Like many parents in the first days of social isolation, we were alarmed. 

Technology Has Come a Long Way 

We were encouraged, though, to find out that the technology for remote learning has never been better or more accessible. 

Google Classroom, Khan Academy, Duo Lingo, Zoom video conferencing, and other online learning tools have been used by 

homeschoolers and unschoolers for years. My son has used all of these tools in the physical classroom and is comfortable 

navigating them at home. 

We are also fortunate that internet technology has progressed to a place where we have the broadband to support this 

massive homeschooling effort. Twenty years ago, this would not have been possible for so many. 

We have never been better-equipped to cope with a nationwide quarantine of schoolchildren. 

Unlike many parents, we are not working from home during the quarantine. We are delivery drivers in an essential industry, 

so we continue to leave the house every day. Our 12-year-old son will have to learn on his own, without the direct supervision 

of parents or teachers during the day. We worried about his self-discipline. Could our son stay focused and complete his work 

without an adult standing over him? 

Structure and Self-Discipline 

Our concerns were not completely unfounded. He had stayed home alone for one day during spring break, and it went as you 

might expect. I came home from work at five o’clock to find him in his pajamas, eating chips, and playing video games. He 

would not reveal how long he had been in this state. Obviously he needs a little structure. 

We worked together to create a schedule, with our son making most of the decisions. We made clear that while some elements 

were required, the order of their completion was largely up to him. He decided when to wake up, complete his assignments, 

eat lunch, exercise, read, practice guitar, and play outside. We assigned him some chores (ok, we just told him to run 

the Roomba once a day). We even scheduled some time for his favorite video games. 

We assured our son that if the schedule didn’t work for him, it could easily be changed. He could finally be his own boss. 

We stocked the freezer with pizza rolls and frozen waffles, and filled the pantry with Spaghettios and Mac and Cheese. In a 

moment of unreasonable optimism, we included some fresh fruit and vegetables. 

The night before school started, he set his alarm clock for the first time in his young life. We crossed our fingers and hoped for 

the best. 

I’ll admit I had some trouble letting go. I called him at 8:30 in the morning to make sure he was awake, because his teacher 

wanted him to check in by nine. To my surprise, he was fully dressed and eating breakfast. He told me that he had already 

logged in, and would start his schoolwork shortly. 

I called again to check on him in the afternoon, as did my husband. Our son reported that everything was fine. He had met 

with his class in a video conference, worked on some math, eaten lunch, and taken a recess in the front yard. 



His teachers, for their part, were dealing with their own separation anxiety. We received about five emails a day during the 

first week, and my son received even more. We expect these to taper off a bit as the students each get into their own rhythm. 

Rising to the Challenge 

The biggest surprise to emerge from our first week of remote learning? Our son has adapted to it beautifully. He takes his 

school work seriously, but completes it on his own schedule. It’s as if, by giving him more control over his own life and learning, 

he is rising to that challenge. 

He is also growing up in ways that we didn’t expect. I came home from work on Wednesday to find the house unusually tidy. A 

bottle of Windex and a rag lay on our table. 

“I did some dusting,” he explained, “and I picked up the living room. It was getting kind of messy in here.” 

It is amazing to watch our son exhibit a maturity that, frankly, we didn’t know existed. 

The only drawback? We might not be ready for him to grow up this quickly. 

I called him on FaceTime from my iPhone on Friday. He smiled brightly as he popped a Cheeto into his mouth. 

“Sweetheart,” I gushed, “I just want to tell you how proud you’ve made me this week. You’ve handled this weird situation so 

well. You’re doing all of your assignments, you’ve helped out around the house, and you seem truly happy. You’re growing up 

before my eyes. Sometimes I feel as if I’m talking with a small adult.” 

“Thanks, Mom,” he chirped, smiling. “Listen, can I call you back? I have a conference call in a few minutes.” 

Like other families, we are struggling with the radical lifestyle changes imposed on us. My husband and I worry every day 

about the possibility of contracting Covid-19. We realize that our son will miss his friends and our extended family. We also 

know that other families have it much worse. The situation is far from ideal. 

In the midst of this crisis, the possibilities of remote learning reveal a bright spot. We have been forced to rethink our preconceptions 

about education. Our child has been freed from strict regimentation in his learning, and he is thriving. Maybe kids 

don’t need constant supervision after all. We are learning in real time an age old truth: children learn best when they are free 

to find their own way. 


Schooling Monopoly 

The problem is the monopoly that schooling has gained over education. According to the National Center for Education 

Statistics, approximately 97 percent of kids go through traditional schooling (as opposed to homeschooling or unschooling), 

and just over 90 percent of those attend government schools. That is to say, there is basically one accepted way to educate 

kids today: school them. 

Given the relatively poor performance of American students on international achievement tests, you would think schooling 

might receive a second look. Quite the opposite, actually. It is instead made mandatory, and taxpayers are forced to subsidize 

it. This begs the question: Why would the government continue to propagate a system that produces such questionable 

results? The answer lies in their motives, and their motives are best understood by reviewing a brief history of compulsory 

schooling. 

Roots in Germany 

The earliest ancestor to our system of government-mandated schooling comes from 16th-century Germany. Martin Luther 

was a fierce advocate for state-mandated public schooling, not because he wanted kids to become educated, but because he 

wanted them to become educated in the ways of Lutheranism. Luther was resourceful and understood the power of the state 

in his quest to reform Jews, Catholics, and other non-believers. No less significant was fellow reformist John Calvin, who also 

advocated heavily for forced schooling. Calvin was particularly influential among the later Puritans of New England (Rothbard, 

1979). 

Considering compulsory schooling has such deep roots in Germany, it should be no surprise that the precursor to our 

American government school system came directly from the German state of Prussia. In 1807, fresh off a humiliating defeat 

by the French during the War of the Fourth Coalition, the Germans instituted a series of vast, sweeping societal reforms. Key 

within this movement was education reform, and one of the most influential educational reformers in Germany at the time 

was a man named Johann Gottlieb Fichte. Like Luther before him, Fichte saw compulsory schooling as a tool to indoctrinate 

kids, not educate them. Fichte describes his aim for Germany’s “new education” this way: 

Then, in order to define more clearly the new education which I propose, I should reply that that very recognition of, and reliance 

upon, free will in the pupil is the first mistake of the old system and the clear confession of its impotence and futility. 


The History and Results 

of America’s Disastrous 

Public School System, 

Part I 

The earliest ancestor to our system of government-mandated 

schooling comes from 16th-century 

Germany. 


But actual education is an organic process and requires free will; this was not an attempt at education. Schools were to be factories 

that would churn out the type of obedient, compliant workers the state preferred. Here’s Fichte again explaining the 

desired interaction between teachers and students: 

[Y]ou must do more than merely talk to him; you must fashion him, and fashion him in such a way that he simply cannot will 

otherwise than you wish him to will. 

Fichte understood full well that a statist vision could most easily be realized if governments were given kids’ minds early on: 

Education should aim at destroying free will so that after pupils are thus schooled they will be incapable throughout the rest 

of their lives of thinking or acting otherwise than as their schoolmasters would have wished ... When the technique has been 

perfected, every government that has been in charge of education for more than one generation will be able to control its 

subjects securely without the need of armies or policemen. 

If such a totalitarian vision were quietly isolated in Germany, or even Europe, it might be of very little consequence. But it 

would be this Prussian model of control-by-schooling that 19th-century American politicians would bring to our nation—and 

the one that is still with us today. 

Horace Mann’s Evaluation 

Referred to as the first great American advocate of public education, Horace Mann embarked on a journey to Europe in 1843 to 

evaluate national school systems. He toured several western European states, but Prussia left the most impressionable impact 

on him (see his 7th Annual Report of the Board of Education, 1843). Once back in the United States, Mann began to lobby 

heavily for a taxpayer-funded government school system that largely mirrored that of Prussia’s. 

By Mike Margeson 

Monday, May 13, 2019 

While it’s almost universally understood that the American school system is underperforming, “reform,” too, is almost universally 

prescribed as the solution. Yet in other walks of life, bad ideas are not reformed—they are eliminated and replaced with 

better ones. Our school system is rarely identified as a bad idea. 

The system is reflexively left alone while the methods are the bad ideas that get cycled in and out: open concept schools, 

multiple intelligences, project-based learning, universal design for learning, merit-based pay, vouchers, charters, and most 

recently, educational neuroscience. Every decade or so we are told by the pedagogic experts that they have found an answer 

to our school’s problems. The trouble is, they’re looking right past the problem. 


Mann was no ordinary, grassroots American activist; he was an extremely influential public figure. He had been a part of the 

Massachusetts State Legislature, he was the first secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, and he later became a 

United States congressman. He had enormous reach. In short, Mann’s influence worked. His “common school movement,” as 

it would be known, began to spread across the Northeast, with government schooling taking root in Massachusetts, New York, 

Rhode Island, and Connecticut. 

By the end of the decade, all states had public schools. Unsatisfied with forcing taxpayers to fund a government school 

system, Massachusetts also wanted to force everyone to go. What good would an organized system of indoctrination be if 

people could simply ignore it? They instituted the first compulsory attendance laws in the 1850s, and neighboring states began 

to follow suit; by the end of the 19th century, 34 states had compulsory school laws. 

By 1918, they all did. Over the decades, the number of years kids were forced to go to school slowly increased, as did the 

number of required school days per year. Fines and penalties would be imposed nationwide for school truancy. Within 

decades, the federal government passed the ESEA, which thrust the national government into education and shortly thereafter 

established a federal Department of Education. Mann’s vision for a truly national school system would be realized just a 

little over a century after his initial visits to Prussia. 



Pure Intentions? 

It is impossible to discuss, or even understand, the failures of our school system without understanding its origins. The motivations 

were not pure; they were never to educate. That need not be speculation—it is directly from the mouths of the reformers 

themselves. The objective was to nationalize the youth in a particular mold. 

From Luther to Fichte, the idea to use the coercive power of the state to force kids into schools and indoctrinate them was 

clear. Horace Mann became instrumental in importing this system and helping it spread throughout the United States. 

Attempts to reform this system amount to an incredible waste of time and resources; discussions of reform are a waste of 

breath. The system is rotten at its foundation and must be abolished completely. 



Harvard Magazine Calls 

for a “Presumptive Ban” 

on Homeschooling: Here 

Are 5 Things It Got Wrong 


A leading homeschooling expert and Harvard 

alum responds in a letter to the editor. 


Monday, April 20, 2020 

Αuthor’s Note: This is a copy of my submitted Letter to the Editor of Harvard Magazine regarding its recent article,“The Risks of 

Homeschooling.” 

Dear Editor: 

As a Harvard alum, longtime donor, education researcher, and homeschooling mother of four children in Cambridge, 

Massachusetts, I was shocked to read the article, “The Risks of Homeschooling,” by Erin O’Donnell in Harvard Magazine’s 

new May-June 2020 issue. Aside from its biting, one-sided portrayal of homeschooling families that mischaracterizes the vast 

majority of today’s homeschoolers, it is filled with misinformation and incorrect data. Here are five key points that challenge 

the article’s primary claim that the alleged “risks for children—and society—in homeschooling” necessitate a “presumptive 

ban on the practice”: 

1. Protecting Children from Abuse 

I agree with the author of the article and Harvard Law School professor, Elizabeth Bartholet, who is widely quoted throughout, 

that it is critically important that children be protected from abuse. They argue that sending children to school prompts 

“mandated reporters,” such as teachers and school administrators, to identify possible child abuse. But many parents choose 

to homeschool their children to remove them from abuse at school, whether it’s widespread bullying by peers or, tragically, 

rampant abuse by teachers and school administrators themselves. 

Child abuse is horrific wherever it occurs, but singling out homeschooling parents as potential abusers simply because they 

do not send their children to school is both unfair and troubling. Child abuse laws exist in all states and should be rigorously 

enforced. Banning homeschooling, or adding burdensome regulations on homeschooling families, who in many instances are 

fleeing a system of education that they find harmful to their children, are unnecessary attacks on law-abiding families. 

2. Recognizing Homeschooling’s Diversity 

One of the more incorrect assertions in the article is the statement that up to 90 percent of today’s homeschooling families 

are “driven by conservative Christian beliefs.” 

It is true that religious conservatives were key to the growth of homeschooling in the late-20th century, as the number of 

US homeschoolers swelled to 850,000 in 1999. About two-thirds of today’s nearly two million US homeschoolers identify as 

Christian (equal to the US population as a whole), but the homeschooling population is becoming increasingly diverse, both 

ideologically and demographically. 

According to the most recent data on homeschooling by the US Department of Education, the most significant motivator for 

parents choosing this education option was “concern about the school environment, such as safety, drugs, and negative peer 

pressure,” exceeding other factors such as a desire to provide religious or moral instruction. 

Much of the current growth in homeschooling is being driven by urban, secular parents who are disillusioned with a testdriven, 

one-size-fits-all mass schooling model and want a more individualized educational environment for their children. 

Federal data also reveal that the percentage of black homeschoolers doubled between 2007 and 2012 to 8 percent, while the 

percentage of Hispanic homeschoolers is about 25 percent. 

3. Embracing Civic Values 

Bartholet also argues against homeschooling on civic grounds, saying that it’s “important that children grow up exposed 

to community values, social values, democratic values, ideas about nondiscrimination and tolerance of other people’s 




Ιndeed, research on homeschoolers finds that they are tightly connected with their larger community and may have more 

community involvement and participation in extracurricular and volunteer activities than schooled children due to their more 

flexible schedules and interaction with a wide assortment of community members. This reinforces similar research on private 

education more broadly, suggesting positive civic engagement and outcomes. 

Moreover, public schools are struggling to inculcate a strong understanding of democratic values and civic knowledge. 

According to a 2017 survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, 37 percent of Americans 

could not identify one right protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, and more than half of them erroneously 

believe that undocumented immigrants have no constitutional rights. Worrying about homeschoolers’ civic education when 

public schools are seemingly floundering in this regard is misguided. 

4. Ensuring the Proper Role of Government 

The central tension between those who advocate for homeschooling bans and heightened regulation and those who don’t 

relates to how each side views the proper role of government. The former sees a proactive role of government in “intervening 

to try to safeguard the child’s right to education and protection,” while the latter relies on the historical underpinnings of our 

democracy, going back to the writings of John Locke and Thomas Jefferson. We are endowed with “unalienable rights” and that 

to “secure these rights, governments are instituted.” 

If a child is being abused, whether in a homeschooling situation or a public school classroom, the government should intervene 

to protect that child. But to single out a particular group for increased suspicion, monitoring, and invasion of privacy 

under the guise of “protection” is as un-American as similar attempts of the past. I agree with Bartholet when she says in the 

article: “I think it’s always dangerous to put powerful people in charge of the powerless, and to give the powerful ones total 

authority.” She is concerned with families having this power, while I worry about giving that power to government. 

5. Identifying Homeschooling Outcomes 

In 2018, The Harvard Gazette spotlighted three Harvard students who were homeschooled using an informal, self-directed 

approach to learning. “There wasn’t much of a plan or a long-term plan going in; I just took classes I was interested in,” said 

one of the students, while another asked, “Why would you go to the same building every day and do the same thing every 

day?” The article said that the students all demonstrated a “spirit of curiosity and independence that continues to shape 

their education.” While there may always be outliers and more research is needed, most peer-reviewed studies on homeschooling 

outcomes find that homeschoolers generally outperform their schooled peers academically, and have positive life 

experiences. 

There is room for robust discussion and debate about education and homeschooling, including what is considered effective 

and beneficial—and who decides. Given Harvard Magazine’s reputation for editorial excellence, I was disappointed to see 

this article’s emphasis on the potential risks of homeschooling without highlighting its benefits. Bartholet indicates that “tolerance 

of other people’s viewpoints” is a key civic value. I agree, and I hope future articles in this magazine demonstrate this 

tolerance. 

Sincerely, 

Kerry McDonald, Ed.M. ’01 

Cambridge, Massachusetts 



The Myth that Americans 

Were Poorly Educated 

before Mass Government 

Schooling 

Early America had widespread literacy and a 

vibrant culture of learning. 


By Lawrence W. Reed 

Wednesday, April 29, 2020 

Parents the world over are dealing with massive adjustments in their children’s education that they could not have anticipated 

just three months ago. To one degree or another, pandemic-induced school closures are creating the “mass homeschooling” 

that FEE’s senior education fellow Kerry McDonald predicted two months ago. Who knows, with millions of youngsters absent 

from government school classrooms, maybe education will become as good as it was before the government ever got involved. 

“What?” you exclaim! “Wasn’t education lousy or non-existent before government mandated it, provided it, and subsidized it? 

That’s what my government schoolteachers assured me so it must be true,” you say! 

The fact is, at least in early America, education was better and more widespread than most people today realize or were ever 

told. Sometimes it wasn’t “book learning” but it was functional and built for the world most young people confronted at the 

time. Even without laptops and swimming pools, and on a fraction of what government schools spend today, Americans were a 

surprisingly learned people in our first hundred years. 

I was reminded a few days ago of the amazing achievements of early American education while reading the enthralling book 

by bestselling author Stephen Mansfield, Lincoln’s Battle With God: A President’s Struggle With Faith and What It Meant for 

America. It traces the spiritual journey of America’s 16th president—from fiery atheist to one whose last words to his wife on 

that tragic evening at Ford’s Theater were a promise to “visit the Holy Land and see those places hallowed by the footsteps of 

the Savior.” 

In a moment, I’ll cite a revealing, extended passage from Mansfield’s book but first, I’d like to offer some excellent, related 

works that come mostly from FEE’s own archives. 

In 1983, Robert A. Peterson’s “Education in Colonial America” revealed some stunning facts and figures. “The Federalist Papers, 

which are seldom read or understood today even in our universities,” explains Peterson, “were written for and read by the 

common man. Literacy rates were as high or higher than they are today.” Incredibly, “A study conducted in 1800 by DuPont de 

Nemours revealed that only four in a thousand Americans were unable to read and write legibly” [emphasis mine]. 

Well into the 19th Century, writes Susan Alder in “Education in America,” “parents did not even consider that the civil government 

in any way had the responsibility or should assume the responsibility of providing for the education of children.” Only 

one state (Massachusetts) even had compulsory schooling laws before the Civil War, yet literacy rates were among the highest 

in our history. 

Great Britain experienced similar trends. In 1996, Edwin West wrote in “The Spread of Education Before Compulsion in Britain 

and America in the Nineteenth Century” that “when national compulsion was enacted ([in 1880], over 95 percent of fifteenyear-olds 

were literate.” More than a century later, “40 percent of 21-year-olds in the United Kingdom admit[ted] to difficulties 

with writing and spelling.” 

Laws against the education of black slaves date back to as early as 1740, but the desire to read proved too strong to prevent 

its steady growth even under bondage. For purposes of religious instruction, it was not uncommon for slaves to be taught 

reading but not writing. Many taught themselves to write, or learned to do so with the help of others willing to flout the law. 

Government efforts to outlaw the education of blacks in the Old South may not have been much more effective than today’s 

drug laws. If you wanted it, you could find it. 




Estimates of the literacy rate among slaves on the eve of the Civil War range from 10 to 20 percent. By 1880, nearly 40 percent 

of southern blacks were literate. In 1910, half a century before the federal government involved itself in K-12 funding, black literacy 

exceeded 70 percent and was comparable to that of whites. 

Daniel Lattier explained in a 2016 article titled “Did Public Schools Really Improve American Literacy?” that a government 

school system is no guarantee that young people will actually learn to read and write well. He cites the shocking findings of 

a study conducted by the US Department of Education: “32 million of American adults are illiterate, 21 percent read below a 

5th grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates are functionally illiterate, which means they can’t read well enough to 

manage daily living and perform tasks required by many jobs.” 

Compulsory government schools were not established in America because of some widely-perceived failure of private education, 

which makes it both erroneous and self-serving for the government school establishment to propagate the myth that 

Americans would be illiterate without them. 

As Kerry McDonald wrote in “Public Schools Were Designed to Indoctrinate Immigrants,” the prime motivation for government 

schooling was something much less benign than a fear of illiteracy. Her remarkable 2019 book, Unschooled: Raising Curious, 

Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom, explains the viable, self-directed alternatives that far outclass 

the standardized, test-driven, massively expensive and politicized government schooling of today. 

5 Things I Learned 

Debating the Harvard 

Prof Who Called for a 

“Presumptive Ban” on 

Homeschooling 


If you’re looking for a good history of how America traveled the path of literacy to a national education crisis, you can find it 

in a recent, well-documented book by Justin Spears and associates, titled Failure: The History and Results of America’s School 

System. The way in which government short-changes parents, teachers, and students is heart-breaking. 

I promised to share a passage from Stephen Mansfield’s book, so now I am pleased to deliver it. Read it carefully, and let it 

soak in: 

We should remember that the early English settlers in the New World left England accompanied by fears that they would 

pursue their “errand into the wilderness” and become barbarians in the process. Loved ones at home wondered how a people 

could cross an ocean and live in the wild without losing the literacy, the learning, and the faith that defined them. The early 

colonists came determined to defy these fears. They brought books, printing presses, and teachers with them and made the 

founding of schools a priority. Puritans founded Boston in 1630 and established Harvard College within six years. After ten 

years they had already printed the first book in the colonies, the Bay Psalm Book. Many more would follow. The American colonists 

were so devoted to education—inspired as they were by their Protestant insistence upon biblical literacy and by their 

hope of converting and educating the natives—that they created a near-miraculous culture of learning. 

This was achieved through an educational free market. Colonial society offered “Dame schools,” Latin grammar schools, tutors 

for hire, what would today be called “home schools,” church schools, schools for the poor, and colleges for the gifted and wellto-do. 

Enveloping these institutions of learning was a wider culture that prized knowledge as an aid to godliness. Books were 

cherished and well-read. A respected minister might have thousands of them. Sermons were long and learned. Newspapers 

were devoured, and elevated discussion of ideas filled taverns and parlors. Citizens formed gatherings for the “improvement 

of the mind”—debate societies and reading clubs and even sewing circles at which the latest books from England were read. 

The intellectual achievements of colonial America were astonishing. Lawrence Cremin, dean of American education historians, 

estimated the literacy rate of the period at between 80 and 90 percent. Benjamin Franklin taught himself five languages 

and was not thought exceptional. Jefferson taught himself half a dozen, including Arabic. George Washington was unceasingly 

embarrassed by his lack of formal education, and yet readers of his journals today marvel at his intellect and wonder why 

he ever felt insecure. It was nothing for a man—or in some cases a woman—to learn algebra, geometry, navigation, science, 

logic, grammar, and history entirely through self-education. A seminarian was usually required to know Greek, Hebrew, Latin, 

French and German just to begin his studies, instruction which might take place in a log classroom and on a dirt floor. 

This culture of learning spilled over onto the American frontier. Though pioneers routinely moved beyond the reach of even 

basic education, as soon as the first buildings of a town were erected, so too, were voluntary societies to foster intellectual 

life. Aside from schools for the young, there were debate societies, discussion groups, lyceums, lecture associations, political 

clubs, and always, Bible societies. The level of learning these groups encouraged was astounding. The language of Shakespeare 

and classical literature—at the least Virgil, Plutarch, Cicero, and Homer—so permeated the letters and journals of frontier 

Americans that modern readers have difficulty understanding that generation’s literary metaphors. This meant that even a 

rustic Western settlement could serve as a kind of informal frontier university for the aspiring. It is precisely this legacy and 

passion for learning that shaped young Abraham Lincoln during his six years in New Salem. 

Not bad for a society that hardly even knew what a government school was for generations, wouldn’t you say? Why should we 

blindly assume today that we couldn’t possibly get along without government schools? Instead, we should be studying how 

remarkable it was that we did so well without them. 

When I think of the many ways that government deceives us into its embrace, one in particular really stands out: It seeks to 

convince us how helpless we would be without it. It tells us we can’t do this, we can’t do that, that government possesses 

magical powers beyond those of mere mortals and that yes, we’d be dumb as dirt and as destitute as drifters if we didn’t put it 

in charge of one thing or another. 

When it comes to education, Americans really should know better. Maybe one positive outcome of the virus pandemic is that 

they will rediscover that they don’t need government schools as much as the government told them they do. In fact, we never 

did. 


It’s not just about homeschooling. 

Friday, June 19, 2020 

On Monday, I debated the Harvard professor who proposes a “presumptive ban” on homeschooling. Thousands of viewers 

tuned in to watch the live, online discussion hosted by the Cato Institute. With 1,000 submitted audience questions, the 

90-minute webinar only scratched the surface of the issue about who is presumed to know what is best for children: parents 

or the state. Here is the replay link in case you missed it. 

Last week, I outlined much of my argument against Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Bartholet that I incorporated into 

our debate, but here are five takeaways from Monday’s discussion: 

1. There Are People Who Believe the State Should Be Your Co-Parent 

While this event was framed as a discussion about homeschooling, including whether and how to regulate the practice, it is 

clear that homeschooling is just a strawman. The real issue focuses on the role of government in people’s lives, and in particular 

in the lives of families and children. In her 80-page Arizona Law Review article that sparked this controversy, Professor 

Bartholet makes it clear that she is seeking a reinterpretation of the US Constitution, which she calls “outdated and inadequate,” 

to move from its existing focus on negative rights, or individuals being free from state intervention, to positive rights 

where the state takes a much more active role in citizens’ lives. 

During Monday’s discussion, Professor Bartholet explained that “some parents can’t be trusted to not abuse and neglect their 

children,” and that is why “kids are going to be way better off if both parent and state are involved.” She said her argument 

focuses on “the state having the right to assert the rights of the child to both education and protection.” Finally, Professor 

Bartholet said that it’s important to “have the state have some say in protecting children and in trying to raise them so that 

the children have a decent chance at a future and also are likely to participate in some positive, meaningful ways in the larger 

society.” 

It’s true that the state has a role in protecting children from harm, but does it really have a role in “trying to raise them”? And 

if the state does have a role in raising children to be competent adults, then the fact that two-thirds of US schoolchildren are 

not reading proficiently, and more than three-quarters are not proficient in civics, should cause us to be skeptical about the 

state’s ability to ensure competence. 

I made the point on Monday that we already have an established government system to protect children from abuse and 

neglect. The mission of Child Protective Services (CPS) is to investigate suspected child abuse and punish perpetrators. CPS is 

plagued with problems and must be dramatically reformed, but the key is to improve the current government system meant 

to protect children rather than singling out homeschoolers for additional regulation and government oversight. This is particularly 

true when there is no compelling evidence that homeschooling parents are more likely to abuse their children than 

non-homeschooling parents, and some research to suggest that homeschooling parents are actually less likely to abuse their 

children. 

Additionally, and perhaps most disturbingly, this argument for more state involvement in the lives of homeschoolers ignores 

the fact that children are routinely abused in government schools by government educators, as well as by school peers. If the 

government can’t even protect children enrolled in its own heavily regulated and surveilled schools, then how can it possibly 

argue for the right to regulate and monitor those families who opt out? 






2. Random Home Visits Will Be a Weapon of the State 

Of all the recommendations included in the Harvard professor’s proposed presumptive ban on homeschooling, the one that 

caused the most uproar among both homeschoolers and libertarians was the call for regular home visits of homeschooling 

families, with no evidence of wrongdoing. 

In my remarks during Monday’s debate, I included a quote from a Hispanic homeschooling mother in Connecticut who was 

particularly angry and concerned about imposing home visits on homeschooling families. (According to federal data, Hispanics 

make up about one-quarter of the overall US homeschooling population, mirroring their representation in the general US 

K-12 school-age population.) She made the important point that minority families are increasingly choosing homeschooling 

to escape discrimination and an inadequate academic environment in local schools. She also pointed out that, tragically, it is 

often minorities who are most seriously impacted by these seemingly well-meaning government regulations. Writing to me 

about Professor Bartholet’s recommendation, she said: 

“To state that they want to have surveillance into our homes by having government officials visit, and have parents show proof 

of their qualified experience to be a parent to their own child is yet another way for local and federal government to do what 

they have done to native Americans, blacks, the Japanese, Hispanics, etc in the past. Her proposal would once again interfere 

and hinder a certain population from progressing forward.” 

Anyone who cares about liberty and a restrained government should be deeply troubled by the idea of periodic home visits by 

government agents on law-abiding citizens. 

“Pandemic Pods” Make 

Homeschooling Easier For 

Parents and Profitable 

for Teachers 

Instead of waiting for instructions from authorities, 

enterprising parents and entrepreneurial 

teachers are joining forces and taking initiative. 


3. Private Education Is in Danger 

Despite the landmark 1925 US Supreme Court decision that ruled it unconstitutional to ban private schools, there remains 

lingering support for limiting or abolishing private education and forcing all children to attend government schools. 

Homeschooling is just one form of private education. 

In her law review article, Professor Bartholet recommends “private school reform,” suggesting that private schools may have 

similar issues to homeschooling but saying that this topic is “beyond the scope” of her article. Still, she concludes her article 

by stating that “to the degree public schools are seriously deficient, our society should work on improving them, rather than 

simply allowing some parents to escape.” 

The government should work to improve its own schools, where academic deficiencies and abuse are pervasive. But it should 

have no role in deciding whether or not parents are allowed to escape. 

4. State Standardized Testing Begs the Question: Whose Standard? 

Some advocates of homeschooling regulation suggest that requiring regular standardized testing of homeschoolers would be 

a reasonable compromise. In her law review article, Professor Bartholet recommends: “Testing of homeschoolers on a regular 

basis, at least annually, to assess educational progress, with tests selected and administered by public school authorities; permission 

to continue homeschooling conditioned on adequate performance, with low scores triggering an order to enroll in 

school.” 

During Monday’s debate, I asked the question: By whose standard are we judging homeschoolers’ academic performance? Is it 

by the standard of the government schools, where so many children are failing to meet the very academic standards the government 

has created? I pointed out that many parents choose homeschooling because they disapprove of the standards set by 

government schools. For example, in recent years schools have pushed literacy expectations to younger and younger children, 

with kindergarteners now being required to read. If they fail to meet this arbitrary standard, many children are labeled with a 

reading deficiency when it could just be that they are not yet developmentally ready to read. 

Indeed, as The New York Times reported in 2015: “Once mainly concentrated among religious families as well as parents who 

wanted to release their children from the strictures of traditional classrooms, home schooling is now attracting parents who 

want to escape the testing and curriculums that have come along with the Common Core, new academic standards that have 

been adopted by more than 40 states.” 

A key benefit of homeschooling is avoiding standardization in learning and allowing for a much more individualized education. 

And it seems to be working. Most of the research on homeschooling families conducted over the past several decades, including 

a recent literature review by Dr. Lindsey Burke of the Heritage Foundation, finds positive academic outcomes of homeschooling 

children. 

5. Homeschoolers Will Win 

There are very few movements today that bring together such a diverse group of people as homeschooling does. Families of all 

political persuasions, from all corners of the country, reflecting many different races, ethnicities, classes, cultures, values, and 

ideologies, and representing a multitude of different learning philosophies and approaches choose homeschooling for the educational 

freedom and flexibility it provides. Homeschoolers may not agree on much, but preserving the freedom to raise and 

educate their children as they choose is a unifying priority. In times of division, homeschoolers offer hope and optimism that 

liberty will prevail. 





Thursday, July 23, 2020 

his tumultuous back-to-school season has parents and teachers alike scrambling to make sense of the madness: from everchanging 

district directives to COVID-19 response protocols. Some school systems have announced that the academic year will 

start with remote-learning-only. Others are pursuing partial reopening options with both online and in-person instruction. 

Still others are planning to fully reopen for in-person learning. 

Amid this chaos, parents and teachers are increasingly opting out of the conventional classroom entirely to find or create 

schooling alternatives this fall. 

Parents have been vocal about their back-to-school concerns, with growing numbers of them choosing to homeschool this fall 

rather than contending with remote learning options or confronting viral exposure and dystopian social distancing measures 

in schools. 

But it’s not just parents who have back-to-school worries. Many teachers, too, don’t want to go back and are upset at reopening 

plans. 

Teachers’ unions are now battling districts over these plans. In Florida, where schools are scheduled to fully reopen for in-person 

learning next month, the state’s largest teachers’ union sued the governor and education commissioner this week. The 

Florida union is asking for smaller class sizes and more protective gear for teachers. 

More parents and teachers are choosing to avoid this bureaucratic mess altogether and are pursuing their own educational 

solutions. 

Entrepreneurial Educators Build A Better Way 

Some parents are hiring tutors to augment their homeschooling experience this fall, and entrepreneurial teachers are serving 

that need and cashing in on the opportunity. One high school English teacher in Illinois, who asked to remain anonymous, 

told me that she made $49,000 a year teaching 9th grade and AP English, but several families have approached her for private 

tutoring and she realizes she can make more money as a private tutor, with fewer hours and more flexibility. 

In addition to homeschooling, some parents are forming pandemic “pods,” or home-based microschools that allow a handful 

of families to take turns teaching their children or pool resources to hire a teacher or college student. The Wall Street Journal 

reports that these pods are sprouting throughout the country, fueled by parental unrest at school reopening plans and facilitated 

by informal Facebook groups connecting local families. 

Recognizing this mounting demand for schooling alternatives this fall, entrepreneurial educators are helping to create more 

options for families. In Maryland, longtime educators Steven Eno and Ned Courtemanche created Impact Connections, a 

microschool enabler connecting educators and parents and providing learning support. 

“COVID-19 exposed so many of the shortcomings we already knew about in education but also presented new opportunities 

to step up and help parents and their kids,” Eno told me in a recent interview. “Microschools offer a powerful, and largely 

untapped, opportunity to educate our kids in the COVID era and beyond. The best microschools offer highly-personalized 

instruction that is free of curricular red tape for a fraction of the price...,” he says. 




The legality of these pandemic pods and microschools is sometimes unclear. As a new model that blends features of homeschool 

co-ops with small, private schools, regulations in many places haven’t caught up. Additionally, the sheer numbers of 

parents choosing not to send their kids back to school this fall, and the pandemic’s overall disruption, may make enforcement 

of any existing regulations more difficult. 

This presents an ideal moment for what Adam Thierer calls “evasive entrepreneurship,” where entrepreneurs push boundaries 

and challenge existing systems. Thierer writes in his book, Evasive Entrepreneurs: 

Increasingly today, evasive entrepreneurs–innovators who don’t always conform to social or legal norms–are using new 

technological capabilities to circumvent traditional regulatory systems, or at least to put pressure on public policymakers to 

reform or selectively enforce laws and regulations that are outmoded, inefficient, or illogical. Evasive entrepreneurs rely on a 

strategy of permissionless innovation in both the business world and the political arena. They push back against ‘the Permission 

Society,’ or the convoluted labyrinth of permits and red tape that often encumber entrepreneurial activities. In essence, evasive 

entrepreneurs live out the adage that ‘it is easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission’ by creating exciting new 

products and services without necessarily receiving the blessing of public officials before doing so. 

Not Just For The Wealthy 

Criticism over these private education options has surged over the past few weeks, as commentators claim that homeschooling 

and pandemic pods will widen gaps between higher- and lower-income families. An op-ed in The New York Times this week 

decried these private pods, saying “they will exacerbate inequities, racial segregation and the opportunity gap within schools.” 

These criticisms ignore the fact that some parents create no-cost pods in which they take turns educating their children in a 

co-op format, and as an article in today’s New York Times points out, “the population of home-schoolers — before the pandemic 

— was less affluent than average.” Homeschooling, and its current “podding” variation, are not just for the wealthy. 

Moreover, if education funding supported students rather than school bureaucracies, more families would get access to an 

array of education options–including these new models and ones that have yet to be invented. Taxpayers spend about $700 

billion each year on US K-12 education. If that money was redistributed to families in the form of education savings accounts 

(ESAs), vouchers, tax-credit scholarship programs, and other education choice mechanisms, parents would have many more 

options beyond an assigned district school. 

Corey DeAngelis, Director of School Choice at the Reason Foundation, has written and spoken much about this, stating: “More 

families would have access to these alternatives if education funding followed children to wherever they receive their educations. 

Teachers could also benefit from such a system, which would likely offer them smaller class sizes, more autonomy, and 

higher salaries.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting many of the systems and structures that have prevented choice and innovation in the 

past. Frustrated parents, along with entrepreneurial educators, have the opportunity to experiment with new models of 

teaching and learning, and education choice policies will make these new models accessible to any family that wants them. 



Get Ready to Homeschool 

This Fall. Here’s a 

Checklist 

You can do it. Here’s a handy guide 

for getting started. 


Sunday, August 2, 2020 

As schools and districts across the country finalize back-to-school plans amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some parents 

are instead choosing independent homeschooling. My inbox has been filling lately with messages from parents who may never 

before have considered homeschooling but are worried about their children’s potential exposure to the virus at school. Others 

are turned off by social distancing requirements being implemented by many schools, such as wearing masks all day and limiting 

interactions with peers. 

Fortunately, research shows low infection rates for children, who seem to avoid the virus’s worst outcomes. New findings out 

of Germany, where schools have been reopened for several weeks, also suggest low infection rates for young people. Despite 

these encouraging signs, more parents are looking for schooling alternatives. As The New York Times reported recently, “a 

growing number of families are thinking about home schooling this fall.” 

Here are six tips for parents considering homeschooling for this academic year: 

1. Investigate Local Homeschooling Requirements 

Many school districts recognize what a challenging time this is for families and are offering flexible back-to-school options, 

such as continuing with distance learning or allowing for part-time, in-person attendance. Some parents might find that these 

options work for them, and they can continue with remote learning tied to the child’s school. Other parents, however, may 

choose to go off on their own, separating from their school or district. In this case, parents will need to comply with local 

homeschooling regulations, which in most states involves registering as an independent homeschooler with local or state 

officials. 

Connect with homeschoolers near you. Grassroots homeschooling groups and networks have reported surging interest during 

the pandemic, and these resources will provide the most relevant, up-to-date support and information. Search for Facebook 

groups in your area (by state, city or region), or Google homeschooling resources in your location. Nearby homeschoolers will 

be able to share the nitty-gritty on how to register and report as a homeschooling family, as well as offer guidance on curriculum, 

approach, learning tools and nearby classes and activities. 

2. Consider Your Educational Goals and Approach 

Some parents may see homeschooling this fall as a temporary measure and plan to re-enroll their children in school once the 

pandemic ends. These parents may feel most comfortable following a standard curriculum that reflects typical grade level 

expectations. Other parents may opt for an eclectic approach, blending some formal curriculum with a variety of informal 

resources and learning tools. Still others may want to use this time to “deschool,” or move away from a schooled mindset of 

education toward an unschooled approach where a child’s interests and curiosity drive much of the learning. 

Independent homeschooling allows for maximum freedom and flexibility, so you can decide how structured or unstructured 

you want your homeschooling experience to be. 

3. Discover Curriculum and Learning Tools 

There are so many curriculum offerings and educational tools to choose from that it can feel daunting. The pandemic itself has 

led to many more free online learning resources. Here is some curriculum guidance by grade cohort: 




For preschoolers and kindergarteners, play should be the foundation of your homeschooling environment. Allow your child’s 

incessant questioning to guide learning, and read lots of books together. Here is a good list of books as your children are 

just beginning to identify sight words, sound out words and read simple stories. And here are some great books for early 

independent readers. The But Why? Podcast from Vermont Public Radio is an excellent resource and an enjoyable listen for 

both parents and kids. Sparkle Stories also offers a wonderful collection of original audio stories for young children. 

For elementary ages (PreK-6), the Brain Quest workbooks by grade level offer abundant activities that are aligned with state 

curriculum standards so your child can stay on track with daily learning. Free, online tools, such as Prodigy Math for math 

learning, Duolingo for foreign language learning and MIT’s Scratch and Scratch Jr. for introductory computer programming, are 

playful and interactive educational platforms. Outschool offers thousands of low-cost, online classes for children of all ages. 

Classes are taught live by educators over Zoom and you can search by subject, age and day/time. 

Many of the above-mentioned resources will also work well for middle school age children (typically grades 5-8), but there are 

some other resources for this group. Khan Academy is the leader in free, online learning videos in a variety of subjects, and is 

especially known for its math programming that is used in many schools throughout the U.S. Parents and kids can track progress 

and identify strengths and weaknesses. Khan Academy has also added new features and functionality as a result of the 

pandemic, including daily learning schedules for children ages 2 to 18. NoRedInk, is a free, online writing curriculum with a 

paid premium option that provides writing and grammar lessons for middle schoolers and above. Additionally, here is a good 

list of middle-grade fiction books to encourage your kids to read. 

For high school age learners, Khan Academy continues to be a good resource for free, advanced math instruction and practice, 

and here are some suggested books for high schoolers to read. While some high school age students may want to take 

classes through a local community college, others may want to enroll in a full-time, diploma-issuing, accredited online high 

school, such as Arizona State University Prep Digital. 

Some high school homeschoolers may benefit from year-long, online courses in a variety of subjects. Thinkwell offers 

classes for homeschoolers taught by acclaimed professors in subjects ranging from high school and Advanced Placement 

mathematics and science to American Government, Economics and even public speaking. Blue Tent Online also offers yearlong, 

online high school and Advanced Placement math and science courses for homeschoolers, as well as high school and 

Advanced Placement English classes. 

Teenagers may want to use this time to build skills in an area of interest or develop knowledge related to a career goal. Classes 

and certifications offered by prestigious colleges and universities through EdX and Coursera (many of which are free), are 

worth exploring. Teenagers may also consider becoming entrepreneurs, developing a business around a personal passion or 

unmet need in their neighborhood. 

4. Explore Neighborhood Resources 

Most homeschoolers will tell you that the pandemic has caused just as much disruption in their lives and learning as it has 

for everyone else. Being disconnected from the people, places and things of our communities has been tough on all of us. 

Typically, homeschoolers spend much of their time outside of their homes gathering with friends, learning from teachers 

and mentors in the community, engaging in classes and extracurricular activities, visiting libraries and museums and 

so on. According to recent research by Daniel Hamlin at the University of Oklahoma: “Relative to public school students, 

homeschooled students are between two and three times more likely to visit an art gallery, museum, or historical site; 

visit a library; or attend an event sponsored by a community, religious, or ethnic group. Homeschooled students are also 

approximately 1.5 times more likely to visit a zoo, aquarium, or bookstore during the course of a month.” 

This fall will likely be a very different homeschooling experience, as classes are more limited or non-existent, and libraries, 

museums and similar organizations operate with social distancing restrictions. Still, it’s worth seeing what in-person daytime 

programming and resources will be available near you. Again, connecting with local homeschooling networks through 

Facebook and elsewhere can help. 

5. Collaborate With Others 

Many parents are working from home during the pandemic, and may continue to do so indefinitely, which can make learning 

at home this fall more practical but also challenging. While many parents work and homeschool too, it can take some flexibility 

and planning. Viewing your role as a facilitator rather than a curriculum-enforcer, collaborating with other local parents 

and neighbors, relying on babysitters and being creative with your fall learning plan will make homeschooling in 2020 more 

feasible and fulfilling. 

Some parents are connecting with others in their neighborhood to form small homeschool microschools this fall. As Good 

Morning America recently reported, the microschool movement is growing during the pandemic. Microschools are usually 

home-based, multi-age learning communities with no more than a dozen children that are facilitated by one or more instructors 

and/or parent guides. Parents may take turns teaching and supervising a small group of children in their homes, or they 

may band together to hire a teacher or college student to help. A modern take on homeschool co-ops, microschools can make 

homeschooling this fall a reality for more families who are eager for this option. 

6. Enjoy This Moment! 

This is an unprecedented time and a historic moment for our children. They will tell stories to their children and grandchildren 

about what it was like to live and learn through the 2020 pandemic. Experimenting with homeschooling this fall can offer 

some certainty and continuity in what is otherwise a tumultuous time. This doesn’t have to be a long-term commitment. Enjoy 

this time at home with your children, watch their curiosity and creativity grow and don’t feel pressure to replicate school-athome. 

Learning and schooling are very different things. 




100 Reasons to 

Homeschool Your Kids 

From fostering creativity and freedom to providing 

impressive educational outcomes, homeschooling 

is an increasingly appealing option. 


Wednesday, June 5, 2019 

This is my 100th article at FEE.org, so here are 100 reasons to homeschool your kids! 


1. Homeschoolers perform well academically. 

2. Your kids may be happier. 

3. Issues like ADHD might disappear or become less problematic. 

4. It doesn’t matter if they fidget. 

5. YOU may be happier! All that time spent on your kids’ homework can now be used more productively for family learning and living. 

6. You can still work and homeschool. 

7. And even grow a successful business while homeschooling your kids. 

8. Your kids can also build successful businesses, as many grown unschoolers become entrepreneurs. 

9. You can be a single parent and homeschool your kids. 

10. Your kids can be little for longer. Early school enrollment has been linked by Harvard researchers with troubling rates of ADHD 

diagnosis. A year can make a big difference in early childhood development. 

11. Some of us are just late bloomers. We don’t all need to be on “America’s early-blooming conveyor belt.” 

12. Then again, homeschooling can help those kids who might be early bloomers and graduate from college at 16. 

13. Whether early, late, or somewhere in the middle, homeschooling allows all children to move at their own pace. 

14. You can choose from a panoply of curriculum options based on your children’s needs and your family’s educational philosophy. 

15. Or you can focus on unschooling, a self-directed education approach tied to a child’s interests. 

16. Homeschooling gives your kids plenty of time to play! In a culture where childhood free play is disappearing, preserving play is 

crucial to a child’s health and well-being. 

17. They can have more recess and less homework. 

18. You can take advantage of weekly homeschool park days, field trips, classes, and other gatherings offered through a homeschooling 

group near you. 

19. Homeschooling co-ops are growing, so you can find support and resources. 

20. Homeschooling learning centers are sprouting worldwide, prioritizing self-directed education and allowing more flexibility to 

more families who want to homeschool. 

21. Parks, beaches, libraries, and museums are often less crowded during school hours, and many offer programming specifically 

for homeschoolers. 

22. You’re not alone. Nearly two million US children are homeschooled, and the homeschooling population is increasingly reflective 

of America’s diversity. In fact, the number of black homeschoolers doubled between 2007 and 2011. 

23. One-quarter of today’s homeschoolers are Hispanic-Americans who want to preserve bilingualism and family culture. 

24. Some families of color are choosing homeschooling to escape what they see as poor academic outcomes in schools, a curriculum 

that ignores their cultural heritage, institutional racism, and disciplinary approaches that disproportionately target children of color. 

25. More military families are choosing homeschooling to provide stability and consistency through frequent relocations and 

deployments. 

26. While the majority of homeschoolers are Christians, many Muslim families are choosing to homeschool, as are atheists. 

27. Homeschooling has wide bipartisan appeal. 

28. More urban parents are choosing to homeschool, prioritizing family and individualized learning. 



29. Religious freedom may be important to many homeschooling families, but it is not the primary reason they choose to homeschool. 

“Concern about the school environment, such as safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure” is the top motivator according 

to federal data. 

30. Fear of school shootings and widespread bullying are other concerns that are prompting more families to consider the homeschooling 

option. 

31. Some parents choose homeschooling because they are frustrated by Common Core curriculum frameworks and frequent 

testing in public schools. 

32. Adolescent anxiety, depression, and suicide decline during the summer, but Vanderbilt University researchers found that 

suicidal tendencies spike at back-to-school time. (This is a pattern opposite to that of adults, who experience more suicidal 

thoughts and acts in the summertime.) Homeschooling your kids may reduce these school-induced mental health issues. 

33. It will also prevent schools from surreptitiously collecting and tracking data on your child’s mental health. 

34. Your kids’ summertime can be fully self-directed, as can the rest of their year. 

35. That’s because kids thrive under self-directed education. 

36. Some kids are asking to be homeschooled. 

37. And they may even thank you for it. 

38. Today’s teens aren’t working in part-time or summer jobs like they used to. Homeschooling can offer time for valuable teen 

work experience. 

39. It can also provide the opportunity to cultivate teen entrepreneurial skills. 

40. Your kids don’t have to wait for adulthood to pursue their passions. 

41. By forming authentic connections with community members, homeschoolers can take advantage of teen apprenticeship 

programs. 

42. Some apprenticeship programs have a great track record on helping homeschoolers build important career skills and get great 

jobs. 

43. Self-directed learning centers for teen homeschoolers can provide a launchpad for community college classes and jobs while 

offering peer connection and adult mentoring. 

44. With homeschooling, you can inspire your kids to love reading. 

45. Maybe that’s because they will actually read books, something one-quarter of Americans reported not doing in 2014. 

46. Your kids might even choose to voluntarily read financial statements or do worksheets. 

47. You can preserve their natural childhood creativity. 

48. Schools kill creativity, as Sir Ken Robinson proclaims in his TED Talk, the most-watched one ever. 

49. Homeschooling might even help your kids use their creativity in remarkable ways, as other well-known homeschoolers have 

done. 

50. With homeschooling, learning happens all the time, all year round. There are no arbitrary starts and stops. 

51. You can take vacations at any time of the year without needing permission from the principal. 

52. Or you can go world-schooling, spending extended periods of time traveling the world together as a family or letting your 

teens travel the world without you. 

53. Your kids can have healthier lunches than they would at school. 

54. And you can actually enjoy lunch with them rather than being banned from the school cafeteria. 

55. Your kids don’t have to walk through metal detectors, past armed police officers, and into locked classrooms in order to learn. 

56. You can avoid bathroom wars and let your kids go to the bathroom wherever and whenever they want—without raising their 

hand to ask for permission. 

57. Research shows that teen homeschoolers get more sleep than their schooled peers. 

58. Technological innovations make self-education through homeschooling not only possible but also preferable. 

59. Free, online learning programs like Khan Academy, Duolingo, Scratch, Prodigy Math, and MIT OpenCourseWare complement 

learning in an array of topics, while others, like Lynda.com and Mango, may be available for free through your local public 

library. 

60. Schooling was for the Industrial Age, but unschooling is for the future. 

61. With robots doing more of our work, we need to rely more on our distinctly human qualities, like curiosity and ingenuity, to 

thrive in the Innovation Era. 

62. Homeschooling could be the “smartest way to teach kids in the 21st century,” according to Business Insider. 

63. Teen homeschoolers can enroll in an online high school program to earn a high school diploma if they choose. 


64. But young people don’t need a high school diploma in order to go to college. 

65. Many teen homeschoolers take community college classes and transfer into four-year universities with significant credits and 

cost-savings. Research suggests that community college transfers also do better than their non-transfer peers. 

66. Homeschooling may be the new path to Harvard. 

67. Many colleges openly recruit and welcome homeschoolers because they tend to be “innovative thinkers.” 

68. But college doesn’t need to be the only pathway to a meaningful adult life and livelihood. Many lucrative jobs don’t require a 

college degree, and companies like Google and Apple have dropped their degree requirements. 

69. In fact, more homeschooling families from the tech community in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are choosing to homeschool 

their kids. 

70. Hybrid homeschooling models are popping up everywhere, allowing more families access to this educational option. 

71. Some of these hybrid homeschool programs are public charter schools that are free to attend and actually give families access 

to funds for homeschooling. 

72. Other education choice mechanisms, like Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and tax-credit scholarship programs, are expanding 

to include homeschoolers, offering financial assistance to those families who need and want it. 

73. Some states allow homeschoolers to fully participate in their local school sports teams and extracurricular activities. 

74. Homeschooling may be particularly helpful for children with disabilities, like dyslexia, as the personalized learning model 

allows for more flexibility and customization. 

75. Homeschooling is growing in popularity worldwide, especially in India, Australia, the United Kingdom, Israel, and even in China, 

where it’s illegal. 

76. Homeschooling grants children remarkable freedom and autonomy, particularly self-directed approaches like unschooling, but 

it’s definitely not the Lord of the Flies. 

78. Homeschooling allows for much more authentic, purposeful learning tied to interests and everyday interactions in the community 

rather than contrived assignments at school. 

79. Throughout the American colonial and revolutionary eras, homeschooling was the norm, educating leaders like George 

Washington and Abigail Adams. 

80. In fact, many famous people were homeschooled. 

And many famous people homeschool their own kids. 

81. Your homeschooled kids will probably be able to name at least one right protected by the First Amendment of the US 

Constitution, something 37 percent of adults who participated in a recent University of Pennsylvania survey couldn’t do. 

82. Homeschooling can be preferable to school because it’s a totally different learning environment. As homeschooling pioneer 

John Holt wrote in Teach Your Own: “What is most important and valuable about the home as a base for children’s growth in the 

world is not that it is a better school than the schools but that it isn’t a school at all.” 

83. Immersed in their larger community and engaged in genuine, multi-generational activities, homeschoolers tend to be better 

socialized than their schooled peers. Newer studies suggest the same. 

84. Homeschoolers interact daily with an assortment of people in their community in pursuit of common interests, not in an 

age-segregated classroom with a handful of teachers. 

85. Research suggests that homeschoolers are more politically tolerant than others. 

86. They can dig deeper into emerging passions, becoming highly proficient. 

87. They also have the freedom to quit. 

88. They can spend abundant time outside and in nature. 

89. Homeschooling can create strong sibling relationships and tight family bonds. 

90. Homeschooling is legal in all 50 US states and has been since 1993, but regulations vary widely by state. 

91. In spite of ongoing efforts to regulate homeschoolers, US homeschooling is becoming less regulated. 

92. That’s because homeschooling parents are powerful defenders of education freedom. 

93. Parents can focus family learning around their own values, not someone else’s. 

94. Homeschooling is one way to get around regressive compulsory schooling laws and put parents back in charge of their child’s 

education. 

95. It can free children from coercive, test-driven schooling. 

96. It is one education option among many to consider as more parents opt-out of mass schooling. 

97. Homeschooling is the ultimate school choice. 

98. It is inspiring education entrepreneurship to disrupt the schooling status quo. 

99. And it’s encouraging frustrated educators to leave the classroom and launch their own alternatives to school. 

100. Homeschooling is all about having the liberty to learn. 







Minorities disproportionately suffer, as explained by Juan Williams in the Wall Street Journal. 

The Failure of Public 

Schooling in One Chart 

Public school spending has become 

a costly failure. 

While 40% of white Americans age 25-29 held bachelor’s degrees in 2013, that distinction belonged to only 15% of Hispanics, 

and 20% of blacks. …The root of this problem: Millions of black and Hispanic students in U.S. schools simply aren’t taught to 

read well enough to flourish academically. …according to a March report by Child Trends, based on 2015 data from the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 21% of Hispanic fourth-grade students were deemed “proficient” in reading. 

This is bad news. A fourth-grader’s reading level is a key indicator of whether he or she will graduate from high school. The 

situation is worse for African-Americans: A mere 18% were considered “proficient” in reading by fourth grade. 

But Juan points out that the problems aren’t confined to minority communities. The United States has a national education 

problem. 

The problem isn’t limited to minority students. Only 46% of white fourth-graders—and 35% of fourth-graders of all races—were 

judged “proficient” in reading in 2015. In general, American students are outperformed by students abroad. According to the 

most recent Program for International Student Assessment, a series of math, science and reading tests given to 15-year-olds 

around the world, the U.S. placed 17th among the 34 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries in 

reading. 

This is very grim news, especially when you consider that the United States spends more on education – on a per-pupil basis – 

than any other country. 

By Daniel J. Mitchell 

Wednesday, December 21, 2016 

While I have great fondness for some of the visuals I’ve created over the years (especially “two wagons” and “apple harvesting“), 

I confess that none of my creations have ever been as clear and convincing as the iconic graph on education spending 

and education outcomes created by the late Andrew Coulson. 

I can’t imagine anyone looking at his chart and not immediately realizing that you don’t get better results by pouring more 

money into the government’s education monopoly. 

But the edu-crat lobby acts as if evidence doesn’t matter. At the national level, the state level, and the local level, the drumbeat 

is the same: Give us more money if you care about kids. 

So let’s build on Coulson’s chart to show why teachers’ unions and other special interests are wrong. 

Gerard Robinson of the American Enterprise Institute and Professor Benjamin Scafidi from Kennesaw State University take a 

close look at this issue. …education is important to the economic and social well-being of our nation, which is why it is 

the No. 1 line item in 41 state budgets. …Schools need 

extra money to help struggling students, or so goes the 

long-standing thinking of traditional education reformers 

who believe a lack of resources – teachers, counselors, 

social workers, technology, books, school supplies – is the 

problem. …a look back at the progress we’ve made under 

reformers’ traditional response to fixing low-performing 

schools – simply showering them with more money – 

makes it clear that this approach has been a costly failure. 

And when the authors say it’s been a “costly failure,” 

they’re not exaggerating. 

Since World War II, inflation-adjusted spending per 

student in American public schools has increased by 

663 percent. Where did all of that money go? One place 

it went was to hire more personnel. Between 1950 and 

2009, American public schools experienced a 96 percent 

increase in student population. During that time, public schools increased their staff by 386 percent – four times the increase 

in students. The number of teachers increased by 252 percent, over 2.5 times the increase in students. The number of administrators 

and other staff increased by over seven times the increase in students. …This staffing surge still exists today. From 

1992 to 2014 – the most recent year of available data – American public schools saw a 19 percent increase in their student 

population and a staffing increase of 36 percent. This decades-long staffing surge in American public schools has been tremendously 

expensive for taxpayers, yet it has not led to significant changes in student achievement. For example, public 

school national math scores have been flat (and national reading scores declined slightly) for 17-year-olds since 1992. 

Here’s a table confirming Juan’s argument. It lacks the simple clarity of Andrew Coulson’s graph, but if you look at these 

numbers, it’s difficult to reach any conclusion other than we 

spend a lot in America and get very mediocre results. 

Juan concludes his column with a plea for diversity, innovation, 

and competition. 

For black and Hispanic students falling behind at an early age, 

their best hope is for every state, no matter its minority-student 

poverty rate, to take full responsibility for all students who 

aren’t making the grade—and get those students help now. That 

means adopting an attitude of urgency when it comes to saving 

a child’s education. Specifically, it requires cities and states to 

push past any union rules that protect underperforming schools 

and bad teachers. Urgency also means increasing options for 

parents, from magnet to charter schools. Embracing competition 

among schools is essential to heading off complacency based 

on a few positive signs. American K-12 education is in trouble, 

especially for minority children, and its continuing neglect is a 

scandal. 

He’s right, but he should focus his ire on his leftist friends and 

colleagues. They’re the ones (including the NAACP!) standing in 

the proverbial schoolhouse door and blocking the right kind of 

education reform. 

P.S. This is a depressing post, so let’s close with a bit of humor 

showing the evolution of math lessons in government schools. 

P.P.S. If you want some unintentional humor, the New York Times 

thinks that education spending has been reduced. 

P.P.P.S. Shifting to a different topic, another great visual (which 

also happens to be the most popular item I’ve ever shared on 

International Liberty) is the simple image properly defining the 

enemies of liberty and progress. 

By the way, the failure of government schools doesn’t affect everyone equally. 











Do you want an uplifting and inspirational story? 

Check out 

Unpredictable: The Walk in and Out of Darkness: 

https://unpredictablethewalk.weebly.com/ 









“Congratulations! Pamela Clark, a recognized 

NSHSS Educator at 

New Heights Educational Group Resource 

and Literacy Center, 

is honored to share this 

opportunity with students that earn placement in 

the National Society of High School Scholars." 

https://www.nshss.org/ 





Since I tell the truth, my friends trust me. 

I look for what is good in others and I say what I like about them. 

I buy only what I # need and I save my money. 

Teacher/Counselor Articles 

52 Character Building Thoughts for Children 

By Leah Davies, M.Ed. 

The following quotes may be used in a variety of ways by both teachers and counselors. One idea is for a thought to be posted, read, 

and discussed at the beginning of each week. It could then be read daily with the students. At the end of the week ask them what they 

learned or how the thought applied to their lives or activities during the week. Have the children give written or oral examples, or 

have them draw a picture to illustrate their ideas. 

How I look is not as important as how I act. 

I treat others the way I want them to treat me. 

I am a good sport; I follow the rules, take turns and play fair. 

It is okay to laugh at funny things, but not to laugh at others. 

I do not gossip; if I cannot say anything helpful, I do not say anything 

at all. 

When I am sad, I help myself feel better by thinking of things that 

are good in my life. 

In order to have friends, I must act in a kind way. 

I am being polite when I wait for my turn and say please and thank 

you. 

When I smile at people, they usually smile back. 

I encourage my friends to do their best. 

My values guide me to do what is right. 

I am honest; I do not cheat or steal. 

When I am angry, I use self-control and do not hurt others. 

I am being creative when I dance, draw, paint or write a poem or 

story. 

When I use my time wisely, there is usually enough time to do what I want to do. 

I think before I act; how I act affects how others treat me. 

Using manners helps me keep my friends. 

I have courage to stand up for children who are teased. 

Before I do something, I ask myself, “Is it safe?” 

I am me -- I do not try to be like someone else. 

Overcoming School Phobia 


School phobia, school avoidance and school refusal are terms that describe an anxiety disorder in children who have an irrational, persistent fear of 

going to school. Their behavior is different from children who are truant and express no apprehension about missing school. Children who have school 

avoidance want to be in close contact with their parent or caregiver, whereas truants do not. School phobic children are often insecure, sensitive, and do 

not know how to cope with their emotions. They appear anxious and may become physically ill at the thought of attending school. 

Normal separation anxiety typically occurs between 18 to 24 months. Children this age may cling, cry and/or have temper tantrums when they are 

separated from their parent. However, some older children continue to have difficulty being away from home. The parents of these children are often 

attentive and loving, but may be overprotective. As a result some students lack self-confidence and the ability to cope with school life. A child who 

shows a higher risk for school phobia is one who has no siblings, the youngest child or a chronically ill child. 

I believe that I am someone who can do important things. 

What I say and how I say it tells others the kind of person I am. 

I appreciate my family, my teachers, and my school. 

I treat everyone with respect. 

When I listen, I show others that I care about them. 

I am being a good citizen when I volunteer to help others. 

I think for myself and make smart choices that are good for me. 

Each day offers a new start to do my best. 

I try to understand what my friends are feeling. 

Everyone makes mistakes, so instead of getting angry with myself, I 

try to do better. 

I do not give up; I keep trying until I can do my work. 

Sharing with others makes me feel good and makes them feel 

good too. 

I work out my problems without hurting myself or others. 


I say, “No!” to things that could hurt my body like tobacco and 

alcohol. 

When I do what I say I will do, I am being responsible. 

I am grateful for what I have, so I share with others. 

I try to learn something new each day. 

When things do not go my way, I stop and think of what I can do to 

make them better. 

I do not make fun of other children because I don’t know what 

their life is like. 

I feel successful when I do my best. 

Everyone has good and bad feelings. 

I take care of myself by eating healthy food, exercising and getting 

enough rest 

I am being punctual when I am on time and do not keep people 

waiting. 

When I cooperate with others, I get more done. 

I follow the rules and try to make my school a better place. 

Most children object to going to school at one time or another. However, a school phobic child often misses many days for vague reasons. Parents 

should be concerned if their child appears irrationally anxious, depressed, scared, and/or regularly says that he or she feels too sick to attend class. 

Symptoms of school phobia are: 

• Frequent stomachaches and other physical complaints such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, exhaustion, or headaches that 

cannot be attributed to a physical ailment. 

• Clinginess, tantrums, and/or panic when required to separate from a parent or caregiver. 

• Fear of the dark or being in a room alone. 

• Trouble going to sleep and/or having nightmares. 

• Exaggerated fears of animals, monsters, school, etc. 

• Constant thoughts concerning the safety of self or others. 

Both home and school issues need to be considered when searching for the reasons that contribute to school avoidance. 

Home Issues: A child may… 

• Be experiencing a family change like a move, illness, separation, divorce, death, depression, or financial problems. 

• Have been absent from school due to a long illness. 

• Enjoy a parent’s undivided attention when not in school. 

• Be allowed to watch television, play video games or with toys rather than complete schoolwork. 

• Have an overprotective parent who reinforces the idea that being away from him or her could be harmful. 

• Be apprehensive of an impending tragedy at home. 

• Fear an adult at home might hurt a family member while the child is at school. 

• Be afraid of neighborhood violence, storms, floods, fires, etc. 



School Issues: A child may… 


• Fear criticism, ridicule, confrontation or punishment by a teacher or other school personnel. 

• Have learning difficulties -- for example, afraid to read aloud, take tests, receive poor grades, be called on to answer questions 

or perform on a stage. 

• Be afraid of not making perfect test scores. 

• Be sensitive to a school activity such as singing a certain song, playing a specific game, attending a school assembly, eating 

in a lunchroom, or changing clothes for physical education in front of peers. 

• Exhibit poor athletic ability, being chosen last for a team or being ridiculed for not performing well. 

• Fear teasing due to appearance, clothes, weight, height, etc. 

• Feel socially inadequate due to poor social interaction skills. 

• Be a victim of peer bullying during school, walking to or from school, or on the school bus. (see Educator’s Guide to Bullying). 

• Receive threats of physical harm. 

• Have difficulty adjusting to a new school (see Helping Children Cope with School Transitions). 

• Have toileting issues concerning the use of a school restroom. 

• Be environmentally sensitive to new carpet, fragrant cleaning supplies and/or poorly ventilated classrooms. 

Usually, school refusal lasts only a short time, especially if a parent insists on school attendance. However, if the problem persists, consultation with 

school personnel will be necessary to form a unified home and school approach. If ignored, chronic school phobias can result in the deterioration of 

academic performance, peer relationships, work quality, and possibly lead to adult anxiety, panic attacks, or psychiatric disorders. Therefore, the issues 

of a child with school phobia must be addressed early so that his or her fears can be abated. The essential steps are recognizing the problem, discovering 

the underlying cause or causes for the child’s discomfort, and working with school professionals to alleviate the difficulty. Parents need to view themselves 

as part of a team working together for the good of their child. 

What can parents do? 

1. Have a physician examine the child to determine if he or she has a legitimate illness. 

2. Listen to the child talk about school to detect any clues as to why he or she does not want to go. 

3. Talk to the child’s teacher, school psychologist, and/or school counselor to share concerns. 

4. Together determine a possible cause or causes for school avoidance. 

5. Develop an appropriate plan of action to modify the school and home environments to help the child adjust to school. 

Ideas for School Modifications 

• Have the teacher or other school professional, such as the school counselor, establish a caring relationship with the child. 

• Arrange for a school staff member greet the parent and child at the door and take the child to the class. 

• Discuss the situation with the school nurse who can attend to the child’s complaints and then return him or her to class. 

• Help the child build self-confidence by discovering his or her strengths and by providing opportunities for the child to excel. 

• Identify particular activities the child enjoys doing and those that produce anxiety. 

• Monitor bullying activities that may be taking place. 

• Include the student in a friendship group facilitated by the school counselor. 

• Adjust work assignments to match the student’s academic skills. 

• Have a child with poor academic skills tested for special education services. 

• Use a behavior contract to be reinforced with a reward such as a sticker (see Rewards in the Classroom). 

Ideas Concerning Home Modifications 

• Assist the child in overcoming his or her fear by gradually increasing exposure to it. 

• Eliminate any “fun” activities at home when school is in session. 

• Have the parent who is better at encouraging attendance take the child to school. 

• Use a car pool or include a peer to accompany the child. 

• Read books which encourage the expression of feelings and teach coping skills such as Kelly Bear Feelings. Role play situations 

and discuss various ways to relate to others. 

• Provide play dates with classmates to encourage friendships. 

• Attend school related activities. 

• Reassure the child that the family will be safe through hugs, kind words and positive notes. 

• Teach the child relaxation techniques (see Helping Children Cope with Worries). 

• Deal constructively with family concerns and parenting issues, perhaps with the assistance of a mental health professional. 

Emotional Intelligence: An Essential Component of Education 


Why do people with high Intelligence Quotients (IQs) sometimes fail and those of modest IQs often do surprisingly well? In his book Emotional Intelligence, 

Daniel Goleman concludes that our view of human intelligence is far too narrow.* He stresses that a high score on an IQ test does not guarantee 

future success or determine a child’s ability to be self-disciplined, motivated, or display enthusiasm for life. He postulated that in recent years we have 

experienced a degeneration of “emotional literacy” across racial and class boundaries, and that the results have been an increase in cynicism, social 

pathology, violence, and suicide. Goleman believes that society has overemphasized IQ to the neglect of emotional skills such as empathy, responsibility, 

persistence, impulse control, and caring. However, he stated these attributes can be taught. 

According to Goleman, childhood is “a special window of opportunity for shaping children’s emotional habits.” We must help children recognize and 

understand their emotions and the emotions of others. If children learn to persevere and accept mistakes as a natural part of learning, they will be 

better able to control themselves and handle their frustrations in positive ways. Since children need emotional training to grow into productive, satisfied 

adults, he urges educators and parents to integrate their emotional and rational minds which are two basically different ways of knowing. Goleman 

states that promoting EQ (emotional intelligence) in children is vital to the safety and civility in our society. 

How can we fulfill our responsibility to assist children in becoming emotionally literate? 

1. Increase SELF-AWARENESS by using materials that help children identify their feelings, build a feelings vocabulary, and recognize links between 

feelings, thoughts, and actions. Help them assess their strengths and weaknesses and thus develop a realistic view of themselves. 

2. Teach students to MANAGE THEIR EMOTIONS. It is normal to have mood swings, but children need to know that they have the power to cope with 

negative feelings in constructive ways. They can respond to put-downs and adverse situations by using “self-talk.” For example, “Something bad must 

have happened to Tommy today because he doesn’t usually say mean things,” instead of thinking, “I hate Tommy and I’m never going to play with him 

again.” Other methods of dealing with negative emotions are to write down your feelings, count slowly, breathe deeply, love a pet, tell someone what 

happened, sing, read, or draw. 

3. Call attention to NORMS FOR ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR in our society and help children see themselves as contributing members. Increase their 

social interaction skills by stressing the importance of empathy. Teach them to acknowledge and appreciate differences in others’ feelings and perspectives. 

4. Teach them to CONTROL THEIR NEGATIVE IMPULSES through self-regulation. Help students think about their feelings and behavior and evaluate 

their choices before acting. Provide opportunities for them to delay gratification and to practice using refusal skills when appropriate. Emphasize 

that the choices they make today will determine the kind of future they will have. 

5. Help children DEVELOP LISTENING AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS. Increase children’s awareness of nonverbal communication including 

tone of voice, gestures, facial expressions, and eye contact. Train them to be good listeners and to express their ideas and emotions clearly and effectively. 

Teach problem solving, stress management, and negotiation skills. Help children learn to be assertive rather than aggressive or passive. 

6. Challenge children to MOTIVATE THEMSELVES, set clear goals, and develop a hopeful, optimistic attitude. Encourage self-confidence, zeal, patience, 

and require students to take responsibility for their actions. 

7. INVOLVE PARENTS as much as possible, so that they will be encouraged to model emotionally healthy behavior in the home. 

8. Since the children are looking to you for guidance on how people in our society live, NURTURE YOUR OWN EQ. Strive to be empathic, self-disciplined, 

enthusiastic, tolerant, and compassionate. 

*Goleman, Daniel. (1995), Emotional Intelligence, New York: Bantam Books. 

The goal is to have the child return to school and attend class daily. In the best case scenario, the student’s confidence and enjoyment of school will 

increase when a plan is implemented and changes are made. However, if the school phobia is extreme, a therapist or psychiatrist’s assistance may be 












New Heights Education Group (NHEG) has 

arranged for YOU to get a pre-publication 

copy FREE, while available, of the new 

eBook: 

“How and Why… Home School Math can be 

vastly Superior to Public School Math” 

Claim Your Copy at: 

VastlySuperiorMath.com/NHEG 

How and Why… 

Home School Math 

can be vastly 

Superior to 

Public School Math 


“Every parent should read this book, no matter where you 

school your kids! You’ll not learn only why… but how you can 

do it in a vastly superior way!” 

-Pamela Clark, NHEG Director 

“I love that Dr. Hane brings home what I’ve known all along. 

This book will empower any homeschool parent!” 

-Erika Hanson, NHEG Radio Host 

“Finally an explanation of how and why homeschooling math 

is a better choice. This is a must read for all parents!” 

-Laura Coons, Parent 

Questions? 

Phone: +1.419.786.0247 

Email: NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com 

Website: http://www.NewHeightsEducation.org 

Learning Annex https://School.NewHeightsEducation.org/ 

GET YOUR FREE EBOOK!!! 

By Craig Hane, Ph.D. in Mathematics, aka Dr. Del 





This book is intended for any parent with postelementary 

children. 

In just 65 pages, you’ll discover how you can teach 

post-elementary math in a vastly superior way when 

compared to public schools. 

You’ll learn how to apply the proper pedagogy and 

content for student success, as well as the math that is 

needed for your student based on their life goals. 

The mission of the book is to educate parents on the 

problems as well as the solutions to today’s math 

education crisis. 

This book will empower any parent to provide a 

superior math education to their children. 

About the Author 

Dr. Craig Hane, aka Dr. Del, holds a Ph.D. in Algebraic 

Number Theory from Indiana University. Dr. Hane has 

taught students of all ages for over 50 years. 

Throughout his teaching and business adventures, Dr. 

Hane has gained a full understanding of how and why 

our current math curriculum is failing all of our 

students. He explores these issues with the reader in 

his latest book. 

Other eBooks by Dr. Hane: 

How to Give Your Child a Great Math Education in 

Algebra, Geometry and Trigonometry 

Math? Help! 

Teaching Math 

“How and Why… Home School Math can be vastly 

Superior to Public School Math” 

by Craig Hane, Ph.D. in Mathematics 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter 1: SPIKE Pedagogy for a Wonderful Math Education 

Chapter 2: Math? Help! 

Chapter 3: How to Give Your Child a Great Education in Algebra, 

Geometry, Trigonometry and Beyond 

Chapter 4: Non College-Bound Students 

Chapter 5: College Bound Non-STEM Students 

Chapter 6: STEM Math 

Chapter 7: Teacher & Coach 

Chapter 8: How to Be A Great Coach 

Chapter 9: Standard Math Curriculum 

Chapter 10: Why Public High School Math is Failing our Students 

Chapter 11: Financial Facts of Life 

Chapter 12: Future of our Economy 

Chapter 13: Future of our Society 

Chapter 14: Future Mathematicians 

Chapter 15: Conclusions 




Support NHEG with BoxTops for 

Education 


Eventually the Box Tops program will become digital-only. Participating brands are starting to change their 

packaging from a traditional Box Tops clip to the new Box Top label. 

If you see this label, use the new Box Tops app to scan your receipt. Box Tops are still worth 10¢ each for your 

school. The app will find participating products purchased at any store and instantly add cash to your school’s 

earnings online. 

Support NHEG with BoxTops for Education 

https://youtu.be/Hh94b2BvFK4 

Get the APP and scan your receipts - choose to allow instant access 

https://www.boxtops4education.com/?utm_source=Email_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BTFE_08_15_2019& 

vcode=AQAAAAEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBJhjBeBolhNg3r1dBvplztUDw2CNJI6h4z3i5IvJ80kkS4ZSCqdl_ejI2quOGeZ8njeGpS1BwPtRnlrof3 

Z0KZA== 

Choose New Heights (it will list us as Holgate, Ohio 43527 - this is where the BoxTops coordinator and 





NHEG has created an Adult Advisory Group that offers support and advice to the founder and board members 

during in-person/online meetings. 

If your interest is piqued, please keep reading. 

WHAT IS THE ADULT ADVISORY GROUP? 

The Adult Advisory Group brings unique knowledge and skills to complement those of the board 

members and help the organization grow and succeed. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

Members will not be compensated for their time 

One-year minimum commitment 

Members must sign a confidentiality agreement 

Group cannot issue directives 

Members may be replaced at the director’s discretion. 

BENEFITS 

Opportunities to give back to community and improve local education 

Positive public exposure 

Atmosphere full of different ideas/perspectives 

Networking 

Our Adult Advisory Crest was updated by Courteney Crawley- Dyson, 

with helpful advice provided by Jeff Ermoian and Mike Anderson. 

Original design from Kevin Adusei and Student Group members. 

MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES 

Assist with public relations and fundraising 

Meet every three (3) months 

Offer the director and board members honest, constructive and positive feedback for correcting 

identified problems 

OPTIONAL SUPPORT 

Offer financial and/or expert support 

Assist with daily functions and activities 

https://www.NewHeightsEducation.org/who-we-are/NHEG-groups/Adult-Advisory-Group/ 




What You Need: 

• Bird Seed 

• Flat Baking Tray 

• Large Pine Cone (or papertowel roll) 

• Smooth Peanut Butter 

• Table Knife 

• Something to cover the table (this activity 

gets 

messy!) 

• String 

Instructions: 

1. Cover the table with newspaper or plastic. 

2. Pour some bird seed into your baking tray 

3. Help your child spread the peanut butter on the pine cone or 

papertowel roll 

4. Roll the pinecone (papertowel roll) in the bird seed 

5. Tie a piece of string (at least a foot long) to the top of the pine cone (papertowel 

roll) 

Birds usually take a few days to locate new food. 

Keep a bird book handy. Can you and your child identify what kids of 

birds are visiting the bird feeder? 

When the pine cone is pecked clean, make another! 

www.booksbythebushel. 

172 172 NHEG | GENiUS Magazine MAGAZINE | September - September - October 2020 | NHEG Magazine 173 

| Octo- 

www.geniusmag.com January 2018 | 173 


FREE LITERACY ACTIVITIES 

Download as many as you like! 

Join our e-newsletter to receive more FREE 

classroom activity ideas! 

http://www.booksbythebushel.com/free-literacy-activities/ 

FUN CORNER 

MAKE YOUR OWN SNOWGLOBE 

This homemade snow globe craft is fun for kids who are excited about winter! 

What you need: 

• A clean jar with a water-tight lid (test it by 

filling it with water and turning it upside-down 

• Waterproof figurine that fits inside the jar 

(legos work!) 

• Waterproof glue (super glue, hot glue) 

• Glitter 

• Glycerin-makes the glitter float (optional and 

found at drug stores) 

• Water 

Instructions: 

1. Remove the lid from the jar and set the jar aside 

2. Place the lid upside down on a hard surface and help your child glue the figurine(s) 

to the bottom of the lid 

3. Let the glue dry completely 

4. Have your child add a few dashes of glitter to the jar, along with a few drops of 

glycerin 

5. Help your child fill the jar almost to the top with water 

6. Screw the lid on tight and turn the jar upright 

7. Have your child shake gently and watch the glitter float around! 

www.booksbythebushel.com 

FREE activities and worksheets! 

www.booksbythebushel.com/free-literacy-activities 

Monthly Theme Calendars 

Community Helpers 

Curious George Activities 

Farm Activities 

Reading Activities 

Social Emotional activities 

Kindergarten Readiness 

Misc. Activities 

Nature Activities 

Social Emotional Activities 

seasonal activities 

weather activites


FUNDRAISING FOR NHEG 


Fundraising for NHEG earns money through various fundraising programs, 

so the more you participate, the more we earn for our student programs and services. 

We provide step-by-step instructions for participating in each program, 

especially if you have accounts with these partner websites already. 

BOX TOPS FOR EDUCATION 

BOOKS BY THE BUSHEL 

PIZZA HUT DOUGH FOR 

DOLLARS PROGRAM 

LITTLE CAESAR’S PIZZA KIT 

FUNDRAISING PROGRAM 

AMAZONSMILE 

DONATE A CAR 

JANE GOODALL'S 

ROOTS & SHOOTS PROGRAM 

WELZOO 

For more details, visit our website 

https://www.NewHeightsEducation.org/support-NHEG/fundraising-for-NHEG/ 





176 NHEG Magazine | September - Octowww.NewHeightsEducation.org 

OUR RECIPES 

Shrimp Jambalaya with Grits Recipe 

Ingredients: 

• 2 Tbsp flour 

• salt and pepper 

• 8 ounces frozen okra, thawed and patted dry 

• 6 Tbsp butter 

• 3/4 c. quick-cooking grits 

• 1 onion, chopped 

• 1 green bell pepper, chopped 

• One 28-once can crushed tomatoes 

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 

• 1/2 lb medium shrimp, chopped 

Directions: 

1. In a medium bowl, season the flour with salt and pepper. Add the okra and toss to coat. 

2. In a large skillet, melt 1 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add the okra and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, 3 to 5 mins. 

Transfer the okra to a plate and reserve the skillet. 

3. In a small saucepan, bring 3 cups water to a boil. Stir in the grits, lower the heat, cover and simmer until thickened, about 7 minutes. 

Stir in 4 Tbsp butter; season with salt and pepper. 

4. Meanwhile, in the reserved skillet, melt the remaining 1 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper and 

cook, stirring, until browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and cayenne. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, until the mixture 

is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium, add the shrimp and simmer until the shrimp are just cooked, about 

3 minutes. Stir in the okra and season with salt and pepper. Serve over grits. 

September - October 2020 | NHEG Maga-



OUR RECIPES 

Simple Pan-fried Fish with Indian Recipe 

Ingredients: 

• F2 pounds fish fillets (Swai, Tilapia, Catfish, Orange Roughy, etc.) 

• 1 Tbsp paprika (approx) 

• 1 Tbsp cumin (approx) 

• 1 tsp turmeric (approx) 

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 

• 1-2 Tbsp vegetable oil 

OUR RECIPES 

Sex in a Pan Recipe 

Ingredients: 

BASE: 

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (250 ml) 

• 1/2 cup (125 ml) butter 

• 2 tbsp (30 ml) sugar 

• 1/4 cup (60 ml) chopped nuts 

CREAM CHEESE FILLING: 

• 8 ozs (250 ml) cream cheese 

• 2/3 cup (150 ml) icing sugar 

• 1 cup (250 ml) Cool Whip 

PUDDING MIX TOPPING: 

• 2 1/2 cups (625 ml) milk 

Directions: 

1. Heat the oil in a large frying or saute pan. 

2. Meanwhile liberally sprinkle the paprika and cumin on both sides of the fish fillets, while less liberally sprinkling the turmeric. 

Then sprinkle both sides with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

3. When the oil is hot, add the fish to the pan and cover. Cook for 2 minutes on a side, then flip and cover again and cook an additional 

2 minutes on the other side. If the fillets are thick, cut in the thick part with a night to check if the fish is white and flaky on 

the inside. If the fish is still pink or translucent in the thickest part, continue cooking for approximately 2 more minutes, flipping 

back to the other side for the last minute. 

4. Serve over or next to rice with a vegetable. 

• 2 - 3 1/2 ozs instant pudding mix (vanilla or chocolate or flavour of your choice) 

• 1 cup (250 ml) Cool Whip 

• Garnish (coconut, nuts, marashino cherries, chocolate curls, etc...) 

Directions: 

1. To prepare the base, combine flour, butter, sugar and nuts. 

2. Mix until crumbly. Press into greased 10” spring form pan or square pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Let cool. 

3. In the meantime, prepare the cream cheese filling by beating the cream cheese with the icing sugar. Fold in 1 cup of cool whip 

until well blended. Spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate while making the topping. 

4. To prepare the pudding mix topping, add the milk to the instant pudding mix following the directions on the package. Let cool. 

Top with remaining cool whip. Garnish with coconut, chopped nuts, shaved chocolate or marashino cherries, strawberries. 

Refrigerate before serving. Yields about 12 to 16 servings. 




OUR RECIPES 

Easy Gluten Free Baked Chicken Breasts Recipe (Gluten free) 

Ingredients: 

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, that have been pounded 

even thickness and brined in saltwater (*see easy instructions below) 

• 1 Tablespoon melted butter or olive oil 

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 

• ½ teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper 

• ½ teaspoon garlic powder 

• ½ teaspoon paprika (I prefer smoked paprika) 

to 

OUR RECIPES 

Custard Creme Recipe (Gluten free) 

Ingredients: 

• 1-1/2 C whole milk 

• 5 egg yolks 

• 1/2 C granulated sugar 

• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

• 1/4 C your favorite sweet licquer: Gran Marnier, Frangelico, Amaretto, use your imaginationgranulated 

sugar 

1. 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

1. 8 large eggs 

Directions: 

1. To brine your chicken breasts, simply fill a large bowl with 4 quarts of warm water and ¼ cup kosher salt. Stir to combine until 

most of the salt is absorbed. Add the chicken breasts and let them sit in the mixture to brine for 15 minutes. Or you can also also 

cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 6 hours. Remove the chicken breasts and pat dry with a paper towel when ready to use. 

2. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. 

3. Place the chicken breasts in a single layer in a large baking dish. Brush on both sides (turning once) evenly with the melted butter 

or olive oil. 

4. In a separate small bowl, whisk the salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika until combined. Then sprinkle the mixture evenly over 

the chicken on both sides. 

5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. If you use a cooking thermometer to measure 

the temperature thickest part of the breast, it should be between 160-170 degrees F. (The FDA recommends 170 degrees F.) 

Once the chicken is cooked, remove the pan from the oven and loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil. Let the chicken rest for 

at least 5-10 minutes. Then serve immediately. 

Directions: 

1. Put a metal bowl into the fridge to chill 

2. Reduce the liqueur in a very small pan until the alcohol is 

burned off and you have a light syrup 

3. Combine the sugar, egg yolks and vanilla extract in a bowl, and 

whisk it to a pale yellow. Whisk vigorously as it becomes thick 

& pale 

4. Gently bring the milk to a boil, taking care not to scald it, 

5. Add the liqueur syrup reduction to the hot milk and whisk it in 

6. Turn the heat to low under the milk 

7. Whisking vigorusly, temper the eggs by gently adding the milk 

in small spashes to the egg yolk mixture - you don’t want to 

scramble your eggs! When you have about 1/2 the hot milk 

in the eggs, pour the tempered eggs back into the sauce pan 

and continue to whisk. You are moving toward a very smooth 

custard 

8. Let the product cook over low until the custard thickens and will 

coat the back of a spoon to finish cooking the egg yolks, as you 

continue to whisk. DO NOT LET THIS BOIL or you’ll be throwing 

away curds! The mixture will be a light yellow custard. Taste it 

with a spoon. It is good. 

9. Strain through a chinois, fine strainer, or small-holed colander 

into the cold bowl you first put in the fridge to chill 

10. Refrigerate until ready to serve 

11. Garnish with a couple of berries, a sprig of mint, 3 espresso 

coffee beans, some chocolate shavings - whatever you like that 

will play on the liqueur you reduced. 

ALL RECIPES ARE FROM THE 

COOKEATSHARE 






NHEG AFFILIATES & PARTNERS 

NHEG couldn’t provide the support and educational needs of the children and adults without the support of our many affiliates and partners across the country. 

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank everyone for their support. 

NHEG is reliant on corporate support in many ways. Strategic partners provide cash, goods in kind and pro-bono contributions both for service provision and in support of fundraising efforts. 

Below you can see all the businesses and organizations that have supported NHEG and our mission to provide educational support to adults and children in Ohio. 

www.NewHeightsEducation.org

New Heights Educational Group, Inc. 

14735 Power Dam Road, Defiance, Ohio 43512 

+1.419.786.0247 

NewHeightsEducation@yahoo.com 

http://www.NewHeightsEducation.org

NHEG EDGuide Magazine September-October 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?