MATHCOUNTS® is a national math enrichment, coaching and competition program that promotes middle school mathematics achievement through grassroots involvement in every U.S. state and territory. After several months of coaching, participating schools select students to compete individually or as part of a team in one of the more than 500 written and oral competitions held nationwide and in U.S. schools overseas. Winners at the local level proceed to state competitions, where the top 4 Mathletes® and top coach earn the right to represent their state or territory at the national level. At all levels, MATHCOUNTS challenges students' math skills, develops their self-confidence and rewards them for their achievements. Students enrolled in the 6th, 7th, or 8th grades are eligible to participate in MATHCOUNTS competitions.
Homeschoolers are a resourceful, fast-growing segment of the population. Their service, programming, material, and technology needs are similar to those of other patrons of the public library, but uniquely different in terms of intensity and focus. These differences present unique challenges for public libraries. This research presents the results of two surveys that examined the relationship between homeschoolers and the public library. The first survey asked public librarians about the impact of homeschoolers on public libraries in the Capital District of New York State. The second survey asked homeschoolers from the same region about their library use patterns as well as service needs. Homeschoolers were not placing undue service demands on public libraries, and, in fact, appear to be a service area awaiting development. This article is in the Journal of the Library Administration and Management Section of the New York Library Association. Scroll down to page five to find the start of the article.
Homeschoolers are often asked about why they homeschool. This veteran homeschoolers has come up with her top ten reasons for homeschooling: education, freedom, family and love, morals and values, independence, socialization, health, passion, creativity and imagination, and play.
There seems to be a collective thought about money - that homeschoolers don't have any. Not only that, but because there is a belief that homeschoolers don't have any money, there seems to be an underlying assumption that resources, information, and services should be provided dirt cheap, if not for free. Why? What is it with homeschoolers and money?