Home School Burnout: What It Is. What Causes It. and How to Overcome It

by Raymond S. Moore, Dorothy Moore

Although the home school movement in America is, by no means, a contemporary craze--Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt were all home schooled--there has been, in the past 10 years, a marked surge of the number of practicing home schooling families across North America. Tragically, however, what was intended to be the flexible, child-centered approach to early education at home has, in many cases, become a miniaturized replication of the formal, high-pressured learning in large, public classrooms most home schoolers decry. And the victims, in this case, are parents. Frazzled, guilt-ridden, and tired, these people--usually mothers--waken early to accomplish yesterdays's unfinished household chores, hurry husbands and children through pre-work or pre-school regimens, then settle down to the tasks of structured, home teaching. By day's end these parents find themselves frustrated and bone-tired, wondering if this self-sacrificing discipline is worth the effort. Soon those parents abandon their commitment to home education, opting for what they know to be second-rate learning for their children, but preserving their own sanity and self-esteem. This book has been written as a reassurance to all parents of the undeniable value of home-based education. By means of real-life examples and new, continually reaffirming research, the Moore's will take readers "back" to the indisputable "why's" of home schooling. Then they systematically guide parents through the reasons why many disassemble their home schools. Why they--and their kids--burn out. And in explaining this, the Moore's carefully escort parents back to their own sound reasons for deciding to home school, reassuring them to stay with it. For the good of both them and their children. The book is thoroughly documented, and at the same time, with compassion, it encourages parents back from desperation and frustration to sanity and realism.

Genres: Education, Parenting, Nonfiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1988

About the author

Dr. Raymond S. Moore, author of Better Late than Early, the book that launched the modern homeschooling movement in the United States, passed away on July 13, 2007, at the age of 91.
Moore’s book grew out of an article first published in Harper’s in 1972, at the time when California was considering a law to make school compulsory for children as young as 2 years, 9 months. The article was republished by Reader’s Digest where it was so popular, the editors requested a book. With his wife Dorothy (deceased) he wrote many books on education and other subjects.
His educational career began as a teacher, principal and superintendent of California public schools. During World War II he served on General MacArthur’s staff. After completing his PhD in Education at the University of Southern California, he held the positions of academic dean and president of numerous Seventh-day Colleges in the United States, Japan, and the Philippines. The United States Office of Education then invited him to be a higher education program officer.
But it was the research that he compiled about the effects of schooling on young children that steered his career away from higher education and into homeschooling. He and his wife Dorothy spent years working with legislatures and courts to establish legal precedents for parents desiring to homeschool their children. Dr. Moore was the world’s foremost expert witness in homeschooling appearing in courts as far away as South Africa, West Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Canada and the United States. The Moores were strong believers in the educational principles of head, heart, and hand laid out by Seventh-day Adventist Pioneer Ellen G. White. This philosophy of balancing service, work, and study became known as the Moore Formula in homeschooling circles.

from: http://www.moorefoundation.com/

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommended this book to me... as I was complaining that I was starting to feel the homeschool burnout MUCH too early this academic year. (Way earlier than the normal eagerness for warm weather and summer break.) Adding a third school aged child to the mix really took a harder toll than I was expecting. AND I still have two more littles that will eventually be school age. Help!! This book was perfect for my dilemma. It put things into perspective. Offers advice on "priority" and methods for balance. Reminds you that it's ok to slow down. Don't "do" school AT home... make home your school. Everyone's homeschool journey is different. (And I know this... as a graduate of homeschool myself! Yet, how easily we forget or how easily we succumb to outside "standardized" pressures.) Lots of bonus info too on the roots of the homeschool movement and lots of parent testimonies. I was afraid that because this book was published in the 80's it would be irrelevant to today's hurdles... how wrong I was! Although some excerpts may have been dated, it was easily taken with a grain of salt and still was helpful. Surprisingly, most of the book seemed MORE relevant for today (especially the constant push in public schools for earlier and earlier enrollment ages). I have even more appreciation now for the homeschool pioneers that have made my journey possible! If you are homeschooling and need a pick-me-up.... read this book!

[Regina]

When I read this book in 2006, I found it outdated for my purposes. However, it is valuable for chronicling the beginnings of the homeschool movement, and thus for instilling gratitude to those pioneers who paved the way for us in the 70's.

The book also advocated the delay of formal education. If I had read that advice before my children were well underway in their educations, I may have heeded it. It would have been particularly advantageous for my son, but, I was informed too late in that regard.

[Jeannie]

I am not burned out. I was just curious after hearing about Better Late Than Early.