The well-documented abysmal failure of government schools has prompted a homeschooling boom, as many parents have chosen to retain or regain control of their children’s education instead of leaving it in the hands of the state.
One inspiring example comes by way of the Harding family. The parents, Kip and Mona Lisa, have ten children, and they have applied an education program that dramatically accelerates their children’s learning. Education in the Harding household begins with mastery of the “three Rs” (reading, writing, and arithmetic) and then moves on to independent study. And all of it proceeds in the context of a supportive family culture. The results? The six oldest Harding children reached college by age twelve, and the four youngest are on track to follow suit.
By the time a Harding child is four years old, Kip and Mona Lisa have taught him to identify and trace letters, to sound out English phonemes (distinct units of sound in the language), and to read what they call “easy books.” By age six, the child has learned to subtract, to multiply, to write simple sentences, and to read more-advanced books. . . .