(Name-mce) ListServ Homeschooling appeals to more African Americans

Tue Sep 26 17:30:58 EDT 2006

Blacks take education into their own hands 
New ground: Once dominated by whites, homeschooling appeals to more
African Americans

Leslie Fulbright, Chronicle Staff Writer
<mailto:lfulbright at sfchronicle.com> 

Monday, September 25, 2006  San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/25/MNGLCLC58S1.
DTL&hw=schools&sn=004&sc=650

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Suisun City parents Benjamin and Tanya Marshall are part of a new
homeschooling movement led by African American families fed up with the
public school system. 

Nine years ago, the couple put their oldest son, Trevaughn, in
kindergarten after discussing teaching him at home. When he had a
substitute teacher several times in his first six weeks, they pulled him
out. 

"We felt like it wasn't the right environment, especially for an African
American boy," said Tanya Marshall, 36. "The teachers were young and
nervous. Black males were not being challenged and ending up in special
ed." 

Trevaughn, now 14, has been taught at home ever since. The couple also
homeschools their two younger sons, 11 and 9, and their daughter, 12. 

"We wanted to be the main and driving influence in our children's
lives," said Benjamin Marshall, 37. "We didn't want them socialized with
marijuana smokers and pregnant teens." 

The Marshalls, who had both worked as teachers' aides, feared public
school would contradict their Christian beliefs, and they wanted to
avoid having their sons labeled as violent or hyperactive or seeing them
pressured by peers to drink, do drugs and have sex. 

A desire for more rigorous academics and greater emphasis on black
history also has led black families into homeschooling, educators say. 

Although homeschoolers often are stereotyped as white and evangelical
Christians, in 2003 about 9 percent of homeschooled students were black,
and 77 percent were white, compared with a total student population
nationwide that was 16 percent black and 62 percent white. Homeschoolers
numbered 1.1 million in 2003, compared with about 49.5 million students
in public and private schools, according to the most recent federal
statistics from the U.S. Department of Education. 

The numbers of black and white homeschoolers rose about a third from
1999 to 2003 to encompass about 1.3 percent of U.S. black students and
2.7 percent of whites. Researchers say the number of black parents who
are homeschooling their children may now be growing even faster. 

More than half the students who are homeschooled come from families with
three or more children, and more than one-quarter from families making
less than $25,000 in 2003, when the nation's median family income was
$56,500. More than half of homeschooled students came from families
making between $25,000 and $75,000. Among black, white and Latino
students, Latinos are least likely to be homeschooled, at less than 1
percent in 2003; no other ethnic groups are measured. 

The growth among African Americans can be seen in the increasing number
of networking groups, blogs and Internet sites directed at black
homeschoolers -- and in who is showing up at conventions. 

"There was a time when the conferences were all white," said Brian Ray,
president of the National Home Education Research Institute in Salem,
Ore. "In the '90s, you saw a little more color, and by 2000, a
substantial number of black families started showing up. 

"In some cities, the majority of those attending conferences are African
American." 

Many say they left public schools because their children weren't
expected to learn at an equal pace or being coached on getting into
college, the schools were unsafe, or the curriculum lacked black
history. 

"Over the last couple of years, especially in places like D.C. and
Cincinnati, there have been a growing number of black homeschooled
students," said Michael Apple, a professor at the University of
Wisconsin who studies the issue. "You will find more in areas where the
black middle class can afford to do it." 

Monica Utsey of Washington, D.C., said she decided to homeschool so she
had as much say as possible in 6-year-old son Zion's life. 

"I didn't want him put on the road to obesity, with junk food, or to be
obsessed with commercialized clothing," Utsey said. "I also don't want
my son to think that slavery was our only contribution. I want to give
him a world view, a cultural perspective, and assure he understands his
place and his heritage." 

Many black homeschoolers worry that their children will be labeled in a
public school. Black public school students are three times as likely as
white students to be categorized as needing special education services,
a 2002 study by the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University found. 

"My son is high-energy, and I didn't want him to end up on Ritalin or
feel bad about himself," Utsey said. "There is an assumption that black
boys are violent if they are too energetic." 

Public schools have been a focus of the civil rights struggle, but many
homeschooling parents said they are disillusioned with the system's
failure to improve. 

"Some educators and families think that because blacks fought so hard to
get equal access, we shouldn't abandon it," said Jennifer James, a North
Carolina mother who in 2003 started the National African-American
Homeschoolers Alliance, a 3,000-member, nonreligious group that provides
information for homeschoolers. "But times have changed. It was a great
step, but we have to think about our kids." 

Parents say the most common concern about homeschooling -- that their
kids will be socially isolated -- isn't a problem. 

"My children know how to socialize, especially with adults," Benjamin
Marshall said. "In the real world, my children are not always going to
be surrounded by people their own age." 

The Marshalls not only teach their children math, religion and
vocabulary, but also take them on field trips to places like the
Lawrence Hall of Science, the state Capitol, the San Francisco Symphony
and the Museum of the African Diaspora. 

"It is kind of rough in the beginning, but as time goes on, you learn,"
said Benjamin Marshall, who works as a dispatcher on the graveyard shift
at the Valero refinery in Benicia and teaches his kids during the day. 

The Marshalls also have started Seeds of Truth Academy in Suisun City,
where parents interested in Christian-based homeschooling can bring
their children on Tuesdays and Thursdays for counseling, sports and
field trips. 

Brianna Marshall, 12, said she likes homeschooling but thinks about
other options. 

"I think homeschooling is better than public school because there are no
bullies and you don't have to listen to all the stuff your friends say,"
she said. "But I am curious about what school is like. I have never been
inside a school, and sometimes I get tired of being at home." 

________________________________

CHART:

Homeschooling attracts diverse families 

Breakdown of the 1,096,000 homeschooled children in the U.S. 

-- By ethnicity 

White (non-Hispanic): 843,000 

Black (non-Hispanic): 103,000 

Hispanic (any race): 59,000 

Other: 91,000 

-- By income 

$25,000 or less: 283,000 

$25,001-$50,000: 311,000 

$50,001-$75,000: 264,000 

$75,001 or more: 238,000 

E-mail Leslie Fulbright at lfulbright at sfchronicle.com. 

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