Mary Griffith (2)

As someone who has read a few dozen books on homeschooling (everything from unschooling to classical, Montessori to Charlotte Mason), I find it takes a bit of effort to read a general beginners' book with fresh eyes.

The Homeschooling Handbook was most recently revised in 1999. My only quibble is that a 3rd edition hasn't been released in the 8 years since, rendering the resource list somewhat out-of-date (as a point of reference, consider the first edition of The Well-Trained Mind hadn't show more even been released). Other than that, I found The Homeschooling Handbook to be informative enough on the most basic topics (without overwhelming the beginner with too much information), calm and reassuring, and even a pleasure to read in and of itself.

Griffith covers legal issues, how to fit homeschooling into family life (even housework), ways that different families go about learning at children's various ages, etc. Where the book really shines is in its conversational (but never condescending) tone and quoting at length from a wide variety of interviewed families. If this were the first book on homeschooling I'd ever read, I'd walk away from it confident and eager to learn more (there are quite a few very good books recommended in the resource section, even though there's nothing since 1999).

Although I feel this book has something for everyone (each section features voices from school-at-home, eclectic, and unschooling families), school-at-home types might wish to know the author's unschooling bias comes through a tad, although I would encourage would-be homeschoolers of all stripes to read this as it's the best primer I've yet read. show less

This book has many strengths. It goes into a good amount of depth as to how one actually unschools, something I have yet to find in a home-schooling book. The anecdotes also give more insight into unschooling families and how all that works. But one of the greatest strengths is the explanation of the philosophies behind unschooling--why people choose to unschool, why it works, what its strengths are, what its meant to accomplish. Those philosophies are the biggest message that I'll take from show more this book.

The other significant strength is the resources. Griffith lists her resources at the end of each chapter, from websites to magazines to books. I am very pleased by this and will be making use of many of the resources she's listed.

The weakness in this book, and it's a significant one for someone like me, is that there is no scientific/statistical backing for any of the claims she makes. I have yet to find someone who actually knows a family who successfully unschooled. I do not doubt that they exist, but I haven't met one yet, nor has anyone I know. This makes it harder to believe claims that unschooling is the right way to educate your children, particularly when combined with the lack of data surrounding unschooling. How many unschooled children attend college? How many do so successfully? How many unschooled children are not successful, either at college or in life? How do those numbers compare to other conventionally and unconventionally schooled children?

Griffith's bias towards unschooling is apparent in this book. While I don't mind that, particularly since she's upfront about it, it means that the full picture is not presented since there are gaps of information, particularly information that might be at all damaging to unschooling.

However, that is the only weak point in the book. If you're looking for educational philosophies and ideas and are willing to be a critical reader, then I definitely recommend this book. If you're looking for resources, I also recommend this book. If you're someone who will be taken in by anything, then I caution you to read it with a critical eye. There is a lot of good information in this book that home-schoolers of any variety can use, but if you're easily swayed by what you read, this may not be the best book for you since it doesn't present the entire picture. show less

An interesting book that seeks to explain the concept of unschooling and how it is actually practiced, by using the anecdotes of families who are, or have, homeschooled. As well as interviews with parents, there are also excerpts from children who are being unschooled.
While I liked the positive 'vibe' of this book, and the fact it discussed how families actually go about unschooling, I found that there was very little information to support the fact that unschooling works (a short chapter, show more which included references to the 'multiple intelligences' theory which actually has little basis in data and study, was about it for data and research support) so like a previous reviewer, I find it is all very nice but am not sure it really works in most situations. I understand that unschooling is a relatively new concept, at least for the modern Western era, but I thought the author could have at least looked at some serious child development studies or learning research rather than just relying on a philosophy that says kids will learn what they need when they feel like it.
I have also taken off half a star for the Kindle version - the formatting is terrible. If 'full price' is going to be charged for an e-book, the least the people who produce it can do it check it for errors and make sure that it is in a format that is tailored to e-readers, rather than just shoving an old (1998 from what I can tell) file into an e-book show less

A great overview. Not only helps you think "I can do this," but also "this is a good idea." Wish it was longer, with suggestions of more resources for particular situations. Also that it had been updated. References to AOL and families just about to get their dial-up Internet service definitely gives the book a dated feel.