I have a confession to make.  Even though I have been home-schooling for approximately two decades, I only recently got around to reading this book.  The main reason for this is that I have been convinced that home-schooling is “the right choice” for a very long time.  I didn’t need further convincing.    

However, I don’t believe I should be recommending something I’ve never read or experienced so I took the time to read Chris’ book – because I have always heard it was a tremendous resource, and I have to agree – it is.

For some perspective, the author of Home Schooling: The Right Choice, Chris Klicka, was the first full-time employee of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) – joining HSLDA after graduating from law school in 1985.  He was also its first executive director and first full-time attorney.  Unfortunately, Chris was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1994 and on October 12, 2009 he lost his battle with the disease.  Chris leaves a legacy to home-schooling that is hard to describe.  If you would like to learn more about this pillar of the modern home-schooling movement you can find his story here.

The thing that struck me the most about Home Schooling: The Right Choice is how incredibly researched this book is.  Nowhere does Chris merely present an opinion about, for instance, the terrible state of the public school system today.  Every point that he puts forth is documented thoroughly.  I was also surprised to find that the low standards which are the norm in the public school system are not an aberration.  They are actually the result of a well-choreographed plan that has worked only too well.

I would particularly recommend Home Schooling: The Right Choice to anyone who is on the fence about whether to home-school their child, particularly if that child is in the public school system.  I also recommend it to home-schoolers who need something to share with family members who are expressing doubts about the veracity of home-education.  Not only does Chris Klicka reveal the deficiencies of the public school system but he also documents thoroughly the superior education which home-schooled students are receiving as well as the academic and social achievements of home-schooled students today.

Everyone – or I should say – everyone who makes reading a habit, has at least one book that they have read that they can say “changed their life.”  The Seven Laws of the Learner (tagline: “How to Teach Almost Anything to Anyone”) is one of those books for me. 

While this book may seem that it is designed for educators alone it is, in fact, a must-read for parents, employers, and anyone who is in a position of leadership.  I was introduced to this book in a church study group.  And again, I am not exagerating when I say it changed my life.

You have to understand, of course, where I was in my life at the time to understand why it had such an impact on me.  The year was 1993 and I was in my third year of home-schooling.  My oldest child and only daughter was in third grade.  A year before, the community we lived in (Homestead, FL) had been devastated by Hurricane Andrew and the effects of living with the destruction which still surrounded us was, to say the least, producing a lot of stress in my life.  I found myself becoming impatient with my daughter and the speed (or lack of) with which she was learning her lessons.  Thank God that The Seven Laws of the Learner came along.

The major thing I learned from this book – the life-changing part for me – is this: if my child is not learning it is my fault.  Wow.  You mean the responsibility for my child’s learning (or not) is solely mine?  Yes. 

Fortunately, the book does not stop with telling you that it is your responsibility to teach in a way that your child/student/employee learns what you are teaching them.  It also teaches you how to become a “Master Teacher.” 

Below I am going to provide you with some of the chapter titles of the book, and just a couple of the points that can be found in each:

Law One: The Law of the Learner 

•  Maxim 1: Teachers are responsible to cause students to learn.
•  Maxim 3: Teachers are responsible because they control subject, style, and speaker.

Law Two: The Law of Expectation

•   Maxim 1: Expectations exist in everyone about everything all the time.
•   Maxim 4: Expectations are exposed through our attitudes and actions.

Law Three: The Law of Application

•   Maxim 2: Application is the responsibility of the teacher.
•   Maxim 3: Application and information should be balanced.

Law Four: The Law of Retention

• Maxim 1: Retention of facts by the student is the teacher’s responsibility
• Maxim 3: Retention increases as the student recognizes the content’s relevance.  

As is apparent from the title there are 7 laws in this book and each chapter has multiple “maxims” which detail and recommend teaching techniques related to each law.

It may be surprising that for those currently home-schooling, or seriously considering home-schooling, I recommend reading this book as one of the first orders of business, since it is not a book specifically geared to home-schooling at all.  But that simply demonstrates how much of an impact I believe this book could have on your home-schooling experience.  Believe me, the time you spend reading this one book will be an investment that reaps innumerable rewards. 

The Seven Laws of the Learner: How to Teach Almost Anything to Practically Anyone