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Accessible RV Checklist
Access Travel Rights
Handicapped Travel Club
Rolling Down The Trail
Family RVing
Schooling Options for RVers
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park
10 RVing Tips for Newbies
The Accessible RV Site
Riding The Rails
The Enabled RVer Resources
Access Travel Guides
Selecting a Cane for Travel
Fulltime RVing Challenges
Campground Access
HTC Accessible Park List
Arizona Day Drive
Touring Arizona
Columbia River Region
RVing with Kids
Volunteering and RVing
RVing and Children
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| An Overview |
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| Schooling Options on the Road By Shelley Zoellick Schooling is a major issue facing families who want to RV fulltime, or take extended RV trips. It is invariably the first thing I am asked about, when discussing our lifestyle with others. Based on my own experiences, and discussions with many other traveling families, it seems that there are several options for educating your children on the road. Some families put their children in public school wherever they travel, and move them as necessary. I have met a number of families traveling with work who do this. Usually, this arrangement works best for families who move infrequently, or are able to stay in one place for the entire school year. Sometimes, one parent (usually the mother) will remain in one location with the RV so the children can attend school, while the father travels locally to different job sites, usually coming home on weekends or more often. In other situations, one parent might go on to the next job, leaving the rest of the family behind till the end of the school year, when they can be reunited at the next job site. And some families simply move their children from school to school as the job dictates, even as frequently as every few weeks. Recently a friend was telling me about a couple of families she knew who did this. Apparently the children in both families are well-educated and happy. I have seen other situations where switching schools frequently seemed to have negative effects, however. Another option is to homeschool. This option is popular among traveling families, especially those who move frequently. In recent years, homeschooling has become widely accepted, as the number of families choosing this method of educating their children skyrockets. Homeschoolers, once considered an oddity, are now welcomed at even the most prestigious universities, and nearly everyone knows someone who is homeschooling. In a recent study of homeschoolers nationwide, Dr. Brian Ray, National Home Education Research Institute, discovered that homeschooled students’ average placement on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was the 77’th percentile (the average score for public school students nationwide is the 50’th percentile). Homeschooling and RV travel can be a great combination. The flexibility and greater parental involvement homeschooling affords, combined with the educational opportunities of travel, can result in a well-rounded education, not to mention being an enjoyable and enriching experience for the whole family. But homeschooling does require a major investment of time and effort from at least one parent, and can be expensive as well, depending on the method and materials required. Within these two basic approaches to educating children on the road, there are a number of choices. You may find a school willing to work with your family and incorporate your travel plans into the curriculum, similar to what the Blondin family did (see article in Issue #1 of Families on the Road). Perhaps your children can correspond with their teachers and fellow students via email and other means. The children could do their school work while they travel, taking advantage of learning opportunities such as visits to museums, historical sites and wildlife refuges along the way. Assignments could be mailed to the school, submitted via email, or presented in the form of a web site. Cyber schools are another option, whereby your child participates in ‘real school’ with teachers and fellow students, yet is not physically present. In these virtual classrooms, students and teachers may interact via videoconferencing, chat and ‘whiteboard’ technology. Of course, travel limits options for connecting to the Internet, but Willoway (see article in Issue #1) is one school that has modified its program to accommodate families on the road. Other online schools enable students to download assignments from anywhere, anytime, via the Internet, and email completed assignments to the teacher. Communication between students and teachers is often done via email, ICQ or message boards rather than videoconferencing. Many traveling families homeschool using a correspondence course. The parent is the teacher at home, with the help of a teacher’s manual or curriculum outline. The correspondence curriculum may consist of lesson packets, traditional textbooks and workbooks, videos or software. The children may complete assignments and tests and mail them in to a teacher, who will grade the work. Such schools (some of which are even accredited) will record grades and keep transcripts for students, and provide support and tutoring for the homeschooling family. There are many correspondence schools, reflecting different approaches to education. Some are better than others. One school, which has worked with many traveling families, is Calvert School (http://www.calvertschool.org, or (410) 243-6030). Another correspondence school that I know of (Clonlara http://www.clonlara.org, or 800 200-6163) will custom-design a curriculum to suit the learning style and interests of your child. Other homeschooling families design their own curriculums, picking and choosing from a variety of learning materials. This option gives you complete control over your child’s learning, and allows you to fully integrate your travels into the school experience. It is also the most flexible approach, allowing you to adapt to your child’s individual learning style. But it does require more research and planning, and diligence in maintaining records and other evidence of academic progress. To help in researching the available options, I recommend Mary Pride’s newly revised ‘Big Book of Home Learning’ (to order call 800 346-6322). These books review the various correspondence schools, books, software and other educational products available today, providing detailed descriptions. How does a parent decide which schooling option is best for their children? There are a number of factors to consider. How often will you move during the school year? Moving children from school to school on a frequent basis may be a problem, though some families have made this work. Will both parents be employed? This makes homeschooling harder, but certainly not impossible. Perhaps mom and dad can work different shifts, or one can work at home. Homeschooling can be expensive if you have several children, especially if you enroll them in a correspondence school or cyber school. But one RVing mom I talked to recently pointed out that putting a child in public school and buying all the necessary supplies can get pretty expensive too, especially if you have to go through this process several times a year. Socialization is usually the first question raised by those who are unfamiliar with homeschooling and traveling with children. But among families who have ‘been there’, it is not generally considered a problem. Phyllis Stelly, a fulltime RVing mother who homeschools her two daughters, addressed this issue succinctly: “My family and friends and neighbors - and even strangers – are all radically concerned about what is called among homeschoolers the "socialization myth", which is exactly what it is. My kids have made more friends than ever since we started homeschooling and even more since we hit the road. The major difference is that now they easily socialize with people of all age groups, races, culture, etc...We have only stayed in one park that did not have any other children, and my daughters immediately made best friends with a 70+ year old couple. They have friends all over who they email with and visit when we return to places. My best advice is go for it and don’t worry about your child's socialization unless you are going to live in Siberia.” This seems to be the general consensus among traveling homeschoolers, who have discovered that homeschooling combined with travel affords more social opportunities than ever. Older teens may miss having long term relationships, but I have talked to adults who grew up on the road and feel that the good far outweighed the bad. A lot seems to depend on the temperament of the child, how often the family moves, and whether they grew up traveling or were introduced to the lifestyle when they were older. The Internet offers new opportunities for teens to keep in touch with friends while traveling. The Blondin family (see Issue #1) discovered that email was vital in combating loneliness for their teens their nine month adventure. Although homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, the requirements may vary considerably from state to state. According to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, traveling homeschoolers should follow the homeschooling laws in the state in which they are legally domiciled, regardless of where they travel. But if they are going to be in another state longer than three months, they need to fulfill the homeschooling requirements for that state. Some states, such as Texas, have minimal requirements, while others may require supervised testing, record-keeping, etc. Parents can obtain information about these requirements at http://www.hslda.org, or by contacting the state Department of Education. Often, a homeschooling group in that state will have helpful information as well. Homeschooling requirements should be a factor that fulltiming families consider when choosing a homebase state. As you can see, deciding how to handle the schooling issue while traveling is an individual matter that is influenced by a number of factors. I hope that the information presented in this article will help you to make the best decision for you and your family. Reprinted with permission. Copyright © 1998-2002. Shelley Zoellick. Shelley Zoellick (email: RovinUSA@aol.com) is editor and publisher of Families on the Road Newsletter, a resource for families who RV fulltime or want to. Shelley has two websites: http://www.familiesontheroad.com and http://members.aol.com/rovinusa/. Her mailing address is: Families on the Road, 2601 S. Minnesota Avenue, Suite 105-191, Sioux Falls, SD 57105. |
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