I am briefly quoted in article in today’s Daily News about the growing popularity of home-schooling. Between 2003 and 2007, there was a 32% increase in the number of New Yorkers who home-school, and a 36% increase nationally.
Parents say online courses and Internet communities have made home-schooling easier.
Jim Lesczynski began home-schooling his 7-year-old daughter, Alana, two years ago.
“It’s not like we don’t want our kids to know about evolution or something like that,” said the marketing executive, who lives on the lower East Side.
“We weren’t really happy with the public school options, and private schools are exorbitantly expensive.”
When the article says I started home-schooling my daughter two years ago, it should really say that my wife Dawn and I started. Or more accurately, Dawn does almost all the home instruction, and I make a meager contribution at night and on the weekends. Dawn is doing an amazing job, not only with Alana, but also with our 4-year-old Sara, who doesn’t “count” as home-schooled because she hasn’t reached the compulsory education age. And then there’s our one-year-old Benjamin, who is also at home and demands at least as much attention as the older kids. Dawn not only takes care of all 3 of them all day, every day, but she’s giving them an incredible, loving,  custom-tailored education that couldn’t be obtained at any price from any institution.