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Unschooling Homeschooling Formal Education Stereotypes Politics

On April 20, 2010 The Young Turks – a YouTube show – uploaded a video about unschooling. The video shows an ABC news segment on unschooling. The hosts of The Young Turks follow the video screening with commentary. Ana Kasparian blogs about her thoughts on homeschooling and unschooling. I am truly amazed by how uninformed these individuals appear and how little investigation would seem to have gone into their reports. True journalists seek information rather than toss about unsubstantiated information.

Unschooling is a form of homeschooling. It is an educational philosophy. Homeschoolers are diverse as are their educational methods, not unlike schools. Unschooling is not about letting your children do “whatever” in a careless, neglectful manner. It is about non-coercion. Obviously, Ms. Kasparian at age 10 preferred television over reading a book — she wasn’t unschooled. And yes, Ms. Kasparian if an unschooled teen decides she truly wants to go to college, she will acquire the knowledge she needs to do it.

Watch the video and judge for yourself, “Unschooling vs. Homeschooling vs. Formal Education”.

Tags: alternative education, choice, coercion, deschooling, disadvantages, educational methods, educational philosophy, formal education, high school, homeschooler, homeschoolers, Homeschooling, kasparian, misconceptions, myths, politics of homeschooling, reasons, schools, society, state laws, stereotypes, students, United States, unschooling, video screening, young turks

Homeschooling, politics and taxes

It irks me. Each year as my husband and I fill out our federal tax form, I desperately want to fill in the $250 deduction allotted full-time educators for unreimbursed, out-of-pocket educational expenses (books, supplies, equipment, etc.) on my personal income tax. I never do.

According to the Internal Revenue Service “Eligible educators include those who work at least 900 hours during a school year as a teacher, instructor, counselor, principal or aide in a public or private elementary or secondary school.”

I teach two children* – one in high school and the other in elementary school – full-time  and pay for all their educational needs including textbooks, computers, software, ink, paper, scissors, pencils, pens, and so on only by squeezing it out of our family income, without compensation from anyone.  Yet I am not eligible because the IRS adds an exception to the rule.

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Tags: 1040 federal tax return, costs, discrimination, educator, educator deduction, equal opportunity, federal government, federal tax, financial, home education, homeschooler, homeschoolers, Homeschooling, Internal Revenue Service, IRS, primary education, secondary education, tax, tax law, teacher, United States
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