The Choice Channel

“Nine-year-old Nathan Modlin is home-schooled, but some days he’s hardly ever at home. He’s learning science in an OMSI lab, Latin and French at Eastham Community Center, cello in West Linn, ballet in Sellwood, art and drama in Oregon City and aikido in Oak Grove. … Nathan and the other 3,193 registered home-schoolers in Clackamas County spend so much time shuttling to and from activities and classes that parents joke it’s not really home school. It’s car school. Nathan’s mom, Jilene Modlin, has a general rule: ‘If I’m driving longer than the actual activity, it’s too much.’ Two decades ago, when Oregon made home schooling legal, families sometimes struggled to find opportunities for social and academic interaction. Now activities and classes catering to home-schoolers are so plentiful that the challenge is how to choose among them.” (08/31/06)