Homeschool Audio

From time to time, I will be posting various audio homeschooling programs on this page. Most of these programs were recorded either at homeschooling conferences or at Separation of School & State Alliance conferences (SepCon). These are low bandwidth recordings, so a dial-up connection will work fine.

How to Listen

Microsoft Media Player is required to listen. Click to download the latest version for your computer.

I'm sorry, but it is no longer possible to listen to these programs using a Macintosh. That is because Microsoft decided to remove the codec used for these recordings (ACELP.NET) from the Macintosh version of Media Player. However, dedicated Mac user Sherene says, "there is an application that will allow Macs to use .wmv files. The application can be downloaded at Flip4Mac (there is a free version that allows you to listen to .wmv files but not edit them)." So you might give that a try.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer to view this page, you can click on the picture of the speaker to listen and it should start playing in a few seconds.

Netscape Communicator/Netscape Navigator

After clicking on the speaker you may get a dialog that says "You have started to download a file of type audio/x-ms." Follow these steps to configure Netscape to play Media Player files (these instructions are for version 4.7):

1. Click the "Pick App" button in the dialog box.
2. In the "Configure External Viewer" window, click the "Browse..." button.
3. In the "Select an appropriate viewer" window, navigate to the directory where Media Player is installed. On a Windows machine, this will usually be the "Program Files/Windows Media Player" directory.
4. Click on the Media Player program to select it (WMPLAYER.EXE on a windows machine) and click the "Open" button.
5. Click the "OK" button to close the "Configure External Viewer" dialog.
6. A security dialog may pop up that asks "What do you want to do with this file?" Click the "Open it" radio button, uncheck the "Always ask before opening this type of file" check box, and click the "OK" button.

Unfortunately, the audio program will not begin to play until Navigator has downloaded the entire file, which will take 20 minutes or longer on a dial-up connection.

How to Download a Recording

If you want to download a recording to save it or pass it on, right click the speaker. Then click "Save Target As..." (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link Target As... " (Netscape Navigator) in the pop-up menu. The download size of each file is given.

The Three Types of Homeschooling

Homeschooling families have three basic styles of homeschooling:

• School at Home
• Unit Studies
• Unschooling.

In this workshop, veteran homeschool speaker Steve Moitozo will explain, in his usual humorous style, how the three homeschooling styles are practised.

"I'll show you how easy and practical teaching children at home can be!"

How Technology is Propelling the Separation of School and State

In this recording, made at the Separation of School & State Alliance SepCon '95 conference, Lewis Perelman, author of "School's Out", discusses the technological obsolesence of school:

"... even those who work within the system are beginning to see the light: that it has no future. School, university, academia, is a technology. It is an invention largely of the 19th century. It is obsolete; it's time has passed. It is falling apart."

The Science article by Eli Noam that Perelman mentions is available on the web: Electronics and the Dim Future of the University. Another shorter Perelman speech, in RealPlayer format, is entitled Hyperlearning.

Homeschooling the High Schooler

Steve Moitozo offers invaluable tips for homeschooling during the high school years, including getting a diploma and preparing for college.

• The Goal of an Education
• The 4 Ingredients to Improve High School Learning.
• Shopping the Many Isles of the Supermarket
• Short-cuts Through Materials with Mastery
• Testing and the College Boards
• Credentializing the High Schooler
• What Does My Child Need to Know?
• Risk-taking and the Parents of High Schoolers
• The Moore Formula
• Motivation Using the C.L.E.P.'s (College Level Examination Program)
• Motivation Using the "Colorado Plan"
• Bringing It All Together

Concerning the C.L.E.P., Steve has this to say:

"... the parents have been angry to find this out. Because nobody ever told you! Did your high school guidance councilor tell you that you could do this? Is the high school telling students in school that they can do this, even today? Yet for the same work I'm doing in high school, I could be getting college credit in addition to my high school credit, and nobody's telling me this, and it only costs 43 bucks? What's wrong with this picture? If you're not angry, you ought to be a little bit angry ... This is the best-kept secret of high school."

Introduction to Homeschooling

In this live program, recorded in 1999, experienced broadcaster Steve Moitozo takes calls on the air from people who have a wide variety questions about homeschooling, making this program a good introduction to homeschooling.

Note: Homeschool Associates no longer offers used text books for sale.

The Emotional Nuts & Bolts of Homeschooling

Steve Moitozo discusses some important family issues that come up with homeschooling.

"I do not care what else you do, if you blow your relationship with your child, you've blown the whole thing. Your job is not to make great students! Your job is to build an adult!"

• Not everything fits together; it takes time
• "I can do subtraction"
• Your checking account balance
• The 4 haunting questions
• How many of you were institutionalized?
• "Don't raise me a son; build me a man!"
• Mom vs. Supermom, The Colorado Plan, Find a Confidant
• The Pie Chart of "YOU" - only 100%

Why Educators Support Separation of School and State

This is one of the very first Separation of School & State Alliance efforts, recorded at the Cato Institute in November of 1995. Basically, several current and former public school teachers and other school officials will tell you why public schools are harming children and why the government should not operate schools. Dynamite!

Featured are Candace Allen, Peter McCandless, Carolyn Carruth, Steve Dasbach, Pat Montgomery, Ed Nagel, and John Taylor Gatto (NY State "Teacher of the Year"), along with Sheldon Richman and Marshall Fritz.

17 Secrets for Homeschoolers

Steve Moitozo reveals 17 secrets for homeschoolers:

• Is homeschooling more like mining or farming?
• What is a real classroom?
• What's more important: teaching or learning?
• Is homeschooling mastering the curriculum or motivating the child?
• When is education competitive; when is it cooperative?
• This could be the homeschooler's mascot
• There are classmates and there are age-mates
• What is an "Idea Traffic Cop?"
• Time is a reward
• Mumble to yourself, it just might help
• The $84.83 that was well-spent
• Is there a central location for learning?
• Two models in education; the factory and information models
• Education costs money
• Never let school interfere with education
• Today's resources
• There are generalists and there are specialists

The 10 Myths of Socialization

When we heard Steve Moitozo speak at the Boxboro, Massachusetts homeschool conference in 1994 about the "The 10 Myths of Socialization", we knew we were going to homeschool! This updated version of Steve's talk is even better. Here are the 10 Myths of Socialization that you'll learn about in this program:

• Myth 1: Classroom Socialization is good
• Myth 2: Classroom Socialization is natural
• Myth 3: Classroom Socialization is normal
• Myth 4: Classroom Socialization prepares children for the real world
• Myth 5: Classroom Socialization will help my child get along with others
• Myth 6: Classroom Socialization doesn't really affect my child because I'm still in charge.
• Myth 7: Classroom Socialization will help develop my child's self-image.
• Myth 8: Classroom Socialization is the same as when I went to school
• Myth 9: Classroom Socialization is carefully designed
• Myth 10: Classroom Socialization is controlled by professionals so I can hand my child over to them

How the DARE Program Weakens Moral Restraints

I had thought that even though we were homeschooling, we would take the kids to the local public school for the DARE program when they were old enough. Nothing wrong with "saying no to drugs", right? WRONG! This talk, given at SepCon 97, saved us from making a horrible mistake. Listen to find out what exactly is wrong with the DARE program, from one of the people who helped to create it.