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Sunnymom -> Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/15/2008 7:21:09 AM)

There have been stories going around for years about Mimi Roth and all her psuedonyms and business names. This article includes a list of her various names, school programs, and websites, as well as comments on her less-than-ethical conduct.

It is really important before you sign up with any program that you investigate thoroughly. There are many who are glad to take your homeschooling dollars and give you little in return. They are in it for the finance and not to romance, as my dh would say.

Folks have asked questions about Mimi and Morningstar before, but as many of us get ready for next year, a reminder to be careful about who you are dealing with online is important. Just because someone has a homeschooling site or store doesn't mean they are trying to help you- they might be trying to line their pockets.



roligirl -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/15/2008 9:23:19 AM)

Thanks Sunnymom for the heads up. I had not heard of her or all her businesses. I am leary of any business that does try to make me feel that I need their help, that I am really in over my head and should join to get their expertise.

Homeschooling is really an independent-minded driven movement, all individual families doing what they need to do to make it work for them. My hope is as more people choose to homeschool that they will see that it is a family driving their own car and not hitching a ride on someone else's bus that makes it work.



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/15/2008 12:49:38 PM)

Thanks for the heads up, Sunnymom. Do you know of anyone that has been taken in by her?



Sunnymom -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/15/2008 2:51:24 PM)

I don't know anyone personally who has been snookered by Mimi, but I have read a few blogs where someone posted info about their experiences. You can Google it- and come up with a boatload of links.

I understand owning multiple domain names, but having several aliases and dbas is going too far and IMO is dishonest.



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/15/2008 3:10:59 PM)

I agree. Why would someone want to go by a bunch of names if not to deceive?

I have heard of her before, on several occassions and it has never been good.



pepsimom7 -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/16/2008 9:54:56 PM)

I have two kids enrolled int mimi roths online school the jubilee academy we have had great success with the online school. all of thier books arrived on time and the kids enjoy the great christian education they are receiving. not sure what you have read is true.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/16/2008 10:35:29 PM)

Looking at your past posts, you say you have one child in public school who is struggling, and another homeschooled student who can barely read and can't manage the ACT test.

I am not sure what is true, either.



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:48:29 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pepsimom7

I have two kids enrolled int mimi roths online school the jubilee academy we have had great success with the online school. all of thier books arrived on time and the kids enjoy the great christian education they are receiving. not sure what you have read is true.


I also read through your posts and found that you are having some struggles, so I am wondering if you believe this program has been helping you to overcome some of the issues you are facing. Do you have more than two children? I am interested in knowing because you are defending a program and a person that has a shaky reputation. It would be of value to the conversation if you were to expand on what you have said. You mentioned, "the kids enjoy the great Christian education they are receiving," but according to the posts you have made you only have one home educated child and the other is in 2nd grade public school, so the use of the plural immediately brings up questions.

I would imagine that if this woman is going to make any money at all, without being thrown in jail, she is going to have to produce something and be able to maintain customers. However, that may not be true, as her husband probably makes a ton of money. I have heard numerous reports of this woman over the years and none of them have been good. It doesn't surprise me to see another bad report, especially since she seems to be sued all over the place.

The point that Sunnymom had in starting this thread is to warn others of potential problems. I am glad that you seem to be happy at the moment, but I would caution you to be aware that many people are very dissatisfied and still more are wondering why she has so many alias'.



cindybode -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 1:25:24 AM)

We used Jubilee Academy for one year. Despite all of the negative stuff I've heard, we had no problems with it. The materials were delivered as promised, and I had no issues with the content of the program. I was still in control, and the reports I received said things like, "Erin has completed ___ lessons so far. The average child in this program has completed ____ lessons. If this is acceptable to you, you have our full support. However, if you would like some suggestions to help Erin improve her performance, we are available to assist you." (We often followed rabbit trails and didn't do all of the lessons.)

We did not continue with Jubilee because my kids were used to a more flexible, interest led approach. They did not appreciate having to study astronomy when they wanted to learn about volcanoes. [8D] They also did not like doing that much school work on the computer, and it began to get hard to schedule computer time so that everyone could get their lessons completed. By the end of the year we were following more rabbit trails than Jubilee lessons, and it simply wasn't worth the money to continue with it. However, I've had no reservations about recommending it to someone whose kids would do well with this style of learning.

I certainly do understand the reservations concerning someone who has so many psuedonyms and businesses, and I definitely agree with doing your homework before parting with your hard earned cash. I'm simply saying that we had no problems.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 11:41:58 AM)

Cindy, how long ago was that?

My understanding is that the situation has worsened over the years. Seriously, other than the two posts in this thread, when I searched the 'net several months back to find out more about Mimi Roth, the only people I saw that posted in favor of them were clearly fake posters. I saw dozens of very uhappy people, and I think the sheer number of lawsuits filed against these people is enough to warn me away.



2jsmom -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:02:36 PM)

Thanks for the heads up. TOS just sent out an email plugging several of these academies.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:05:48 PM)

Was that one of the TOS 'partner' emails?



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:10:34 PM)

Sue, I found it in my 'recently deleted' box, and wrote the publisher. Thank you for pointing that one out!



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:57:02 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: 2jsmom

Thanks for the heads up. TOS just sent out an email plugging several of these academies.

Interesting. According to the blog entry that Susan linked, in the op,
quote:

Barb explained her concern about Mimi’s plan: “She says she’s just spent $28,000 with The Link, $20,000 with Homeschool Today and lots more with websites and other publications in her broad commitment to completely and effectively take over the homeschool market. She detailed this not in an egotistic way, but in a simple business strategy way.”

Apparently she has an advertising blitz going.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 12:59:33 PM)

I object to anyone taking over homeschooling...homeschooling is about choices.



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 1:03:57 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jenny-Fair

I object to anyone taking over homeschooling...homeschooling is about choices.

I think it's funny that she thinks she can take over homeschooling.



Jenny-Fair -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 1:05:44 PM)

Um, yeah, we haven't proven ourselves to be the following type, have we?[8D]



cynthia -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 1:07:00 PM)

No. Trying to get homeschoolers all on the same page and doing the same things is similar to herding cats. You might get scratched, but that's about it.



Sunnymom -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 2:31:24 PM)

What concerns me is that we as Christians can be suckers for anyone who comes along and claims to be Christian, or associates themselves with a trustworthy Christian source.

We often don't realize that what we are doing is transferring trust- for example- a business advertises on Crosswalk and with The Old Schoolhouse. We trust Crosswalk and TOS, so we transfer that trust to the company who has advertised with them. What we don't know is how far Crosswalk or TOS go when it comes to investigating their advertisers. They have employees like everyone else who can make mistakes or take things for granted.

If someone is completely aboveboard in their business practices, information about their company, their dbas, and their websites should be readily available. ESPECIALLY if they are going to claim to be a Christian business. TOS or CW shouldn't have to go looking under every rock to discover whether or not one's business practices are on the up and up, and that is what sends my Discern-O-Meter into the red zone with Mimi.

But what would it look like if Mimi operated with total honesty? "Hi- I am Mimi and I have 14 aliases and 25 websites under 6 dbas, let's play musical business cards"? And her post about the California situation was shrill and hysterical, not at all reflective of the reality of the situation.

Having been cruising around the blogosphere for a few months now, I have realized that human nature rears its sinful head in every aspect of life, even in the homeschool movement. There are rivalries between publications, inappropriate behavior and questionable business practices all over the place.

In one instance that comes to mind, a secular homeschooling magazine article was quoted in its entirety several times on blogs hosted by a Christian website, but without a link to the original source. The excuse I heard was that it was a secular website, so they as Christians couldn't in good conscience post a link to a secular site that might have some bad words or heathen ideas.

Excuse me while I toss my cookies. That is the biggest pile of hypocritical tripe I have ever heard in my life. If we as Christians can't have the sense that God gave a brass monkey when it comes to our dealings with the public and as businesses/publications/authors, we shouldn't be claiming His name and then dragging it through the mud.

I am not trying to slander Mimi Roth here- but her track record is on the internet for all to see, and I think it prudent to get the word out for folks to check her out before doing business with her, or reading her stuff online and taking it seriously. The homeschool world certainly doesn't need anyone making a name or a buck on the backs of honest families, or besmirching a beneficial and legitimate form of education by using questionable business tactics, or giving Christ a bad name.



cindybode -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/17/2008 6:44:53 PM)

Our year with Jubilee happened almost 5 years ago, so yeah, things certainly could have changed.

When people ask me about Jubilee, I usually add that there are many concerns about the owner and that I recommend checking everything out thoroughly, but that I personally had no problems with the program.



pepsimom7 -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/21/2008 7:41:38 PM)

Hello again. I have read the many articles myself about the jubilee academy. as far as my daughter is concerned the reason I chose the online school for her is because I had her tested and she is a visual learner and this program I felt would best meet her needs. and to clarify its not true about my daughter not being able to read, she has a hard time with comprehension but she also has test anxiety we believe that the Jubilee academy was a very good choice for her. my second child is very bright he gets great grades and he loves to work on the computer so again despite of the negitive stuff I read about Jubilee I agreed to try it out because it would free up my time to work with my daughter who we adopted and she has behavior issues so therefore we chose to put her in public school but we found a christian school for her so we will be transfering her thier next year. I am not lying about anything and I am not sure why I am geting negative feedback from a christian community of woman.Here i thought would be a great place to gain encouragement and now I feel like people are judging me unfairly and again Jubilee has not taken my money at all the kids are doing well and getting a good education it has been a blessing so far. and the fact they have different names is because they have different schools for different peoples needs we chose jubilee option because we still are registered as homeschoolers. if you pay more you get different options. I hope this clarifys my postion on this school and I believe other christian people should really consider this as a great option for the children. chele



pepsimom7 -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/21/2008 8:00:05 PM)

I want to clarify one more time some things. I actually homeschool 3 kids my oldest daughter who is a senior this year using jubilee academy. my son who is 16 using jubillee academy sophomore in highschool. my daughter who is 14 using sonlight curriculm. we have only been using Jubilee academy for two years i homeschooled them using other books, our youngest daughter we adopted and she is the only one in public school and she is very very very smart top of her class, she struggles with behavior issues do to neglect and abuse caused by her birth mother, therefore that is the reason I dont homeschool her, but we are in the process of finding a counselor to help meet her needs. despite the rumors I heard of Jubilee academy i felt this would be a good option for us. We received all the books on time, the kids enjoy the christian content of the program and they have been getting good grades that is why i share what i shared about the program.yes I am concerned about my daughters ACT test scores but that is not a result of using Jubilee academy.this is the only year my daughter has used the program, i regret not starting her earlier maybe she would of been a better reader. chele



Sunnymom -> RE: Blog about Mimi Roth at Home Education Magazine (4/24/2008 9:24:38 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: pepsimom7

Hello again. I have read the many articles myself about the jubilee academy. as far as my daughter is concerned the reason I chose the online school for her is because I had her tested and she is a visual learner and this program I felt would best meet her needs. and to clarify its not true about my daughter not being able to read, she has a hard time with comprehension but she also has test anxiety we believe that the Jubilee academy was a very good choice for her. my second child is very bright he gets great grades and he loves to work on the computer so again despite of the negitive stuff I read about Jubilee I agreed to try it out because it would free up my time to work with my daughter who we adopted and she has behavior issues so therefore we chose to put her in public school but we found a christian school for her so we will be transfering her thier next year. I am not lying about anything and I am not sure why I am geting negative feedback from a christian community of woman.Here i thought would be a great place to gain encouragement and now I feel like people are judging me unfairly and again Jubilee has not taken my money at all the kids are doing well and getting a good education it has been a blessing so far. and the fact they have different names is because they have different schools for different peoples needs we chose jubilee option because we still are registered as homeschoolers. if you pay more you get different options. I hope this clarifys my postion on this school and I believe other christian people should really consider this as a great option for the children. chele


This thread isn't about you personally- it is about concerns that Mimi Roth is taking advantage of parents who home educate, possibly committing fraud, and I want to make the information available so that people can decide whether or not to do business with her.

I am glad you have had good success with Jubilee. But that doesn't change the fact that Mimi and company use very questionable business practices. As Christians, we are called to a higher standard, and I am very displeased when someone who names Christ is involved with multiple lawsuits and has several aliases and dbas.

Just to make it clear- this thread isn't to put down or discourage folks who currently use or in the past have used materials from Mimi Roth's websites/companies. This is simply to give people access to information they might not otherwise have.



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