Give the Homeschoolers a Break

What's long-haired, denim jumper-wearing, over-achieving, society-improving, unsocialized person called? If you guessed "homeschooler" then you are correct. Homeschooling is becoming more and more popular these days and according to the U.S. Census Bureau the home-educating population has been steadily growing since the census taken in 1996.

 "There are about 2.04 million home-educated students in the United States. There were an estimated 1.73 to 2.35 million children (in grades K to 12) home educated during the spring of 2010 in the United States. It appears the homeschool population is continuing to grow (at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past few years),"  says Brian D. Ray, Ph.D. Although it is a controversial form of education it is by no means losing popularity. Obviously. The United States Census Bureau recorded over sixteen different reasons that parents decide to homeschool their children. The three most popular responses being:

1. "Poor learning environment at school (29.8%)"
2.  "Religious reasons (33.0%)" 
3. " Can give child better education at home (50.8%)"

All three of these reasons have aided in creating the super-race of awkward, denim-donning super geniuses known as homeschoolers. Homeschoolers not only do homeschooolers excell at    their schoolwork at home but according to the HSLDA website, "Standardized test results for 16,000 home educated children, grades K-12, were analyzed in 1994 by researcher Dr. Brian Ray. He found the nationwide grand mean in reading for homeschoolers was at the 79th percentile; for language and math, the 73rd percentile. This ranking means home-educated students performed better than approximately 77% of the sample population on whom the test was normed. Nearly 80% of homeschooled children achieved individual scores above the national average and 54.7% of the 16,000 homeschoolers achieved individual scores in the top quarter of the population, more than double the number of conventional school students who score in the top quarter."   Now THAT is some serious brain power.  

The unfortunate truth about being homeschooled is that when one is homeschooled one is forced to undergo a certain level of oppression. Very seldom something one can't just ignore, but there are times when the exclusion becomes persecution and unfair discrimination. In 2008 the homeschooling community was scandalized by a stipulation in the rules of a contest created by the international sandwich chain, Subway.

"Contest is open only to legal US residents, over the age of 18 with children in either elementary, private or parochial schools that serve grades PreK-6. No home schools will be accepted."-Every Sandwich Tells a Story contest rules

Apparently some are more equal than others to Subway and it's founders. As for me and my house, we shall eat Quiznos. 


-Yours Truly 

Early Notions About Blogging

Whenever I hear a word or phrase my mind's eye begins to concoct images. I suppose that, being a visual artist, it is only natural that I should think in images. For example, when I hear the word "trapdoor spider", I immediately envision David Attenborough poking a stick into a sinister-looking cavity of a tree in a sweltering jungle.  When I hear the word "blog" several visages scamper into mind. 

"I wish I were you." 

1. A bony, androgynous adolescent with multicolored hair sniffling softly and agonizing over some misfortune. The phrases, "People just don't understand me! Screw life! I WANT TO DIE!" are more often then not followed by accounts of being grounded on account of an unfinished homework assignment or uneaten vegetable matter.
2. A bespectacled, wavy-haired person sneering into their macbook and sipping a  soy latte. The nature-concerned, vintage thrift store junky occasionally looks up from their blogging to grimace at those bold enough to order actual milk in their drink. The simpletons. "There are so many hormones in milk! I just worry 'cause the cows are so mistreated and stuff. If I was to drink milk, then I'd make sure that I actually know the cow first." 
3. Julie of Julie and Julia; whining about her weight, her husband, and her job. 

The fourth image in my mind is one that has totally changed my opinion of the self-centered, whiny, dear-diary tone of the bloggosphere has been: 

1. The hilarious, and exciting travel blogs of Kathleen Sharpe. Kathleen is a blue-eyed, twenty-something fresh out of college with a dazzling personality  and a strange, charming waywardness. Her writing combined with a genuine and fresh naiveté makes one feel as through you are her companion in Kathleen's European escapades. I highly recommend her blogs not only for entertainment and laughs but also for their heart and practical insight.  
2. The blogs of practical, helpful information concerning health, beauty, travel, fashion and the crown jewel--art. 

My intention is to make this blog for my own pleasure and self-improvement. I also hope that someone else will also find my blog to be insightful, interesting and above all enjoyable.

With much hope for non-whiny future content,
-Yours Truly 

Introduction

Rumpelstiltskin illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

It was always a very special treat to cozy up next to my mom to listen to her read from an exquisitely illustrated edition of Rumpelstiltskin by Paul O. Zelinsky.  The elegant use of color and the painstaking detail captivated me and caused me to return to my finger painting with renewed zeal. These books have the same inspirational qualities for me to this day.

I began to compose my own stories spending innumerable hours setting the foundations of sparkly purple castles resting on white clouds. These fantasies erupted from my imagination through a number two pencil onto a crisp white page in little gray scratches. These scribbles occasionally, to my parents’ dismay, found their way onto my bedroom walls.  As nature loathes a vacuum an artist loathes a blank space.

Visual art has been my passion for as long as I can remember although my zeal for it has grown          

Jack and the Beanstalk illustrated by Barry Moser

exponentially since my finger painting days. During my years as an aspiring artist I have mimicked the artists that I grew up idolizing such as Barry Moser and Maurice Sendak.  I have come to realize that illustrating books is the only thing that I could see myself doing as a career. Art is not just a vocation it is what I want to do all day everyday for the rest of my life. I believe that college would be the perfect springboard to launch myself into a full time career in art.

The difference between many other students and myself is that I do not want to go to college for the same reasons. Most students go through school with their eyes fixed upon a salary as insurance for their future. I need to go to college to hone my skill so that I can do what I have always hoped to do. For me success is measured in empty paint cans and pencil nubs rather than the number of zeros on a paycheck or letters behind my name.

I want to go to college because I want to be an artist. Art has the power to evoke intense emotion, engender creativity, and communicate. These are the properties of art and this is why I want to go to college: to create art that impacts others the way that it has so powerfully impacted me.