Shorthand in the Homeschool Curriculum

This thread is meant to be a place to discuss the integration of shorthand into a homeschool curriculum.  A place to raise the relevant questions and considerations, and to explore all sides of the issues raised.

Here are a few questions that come to mind.

--When is shorthand best introduced to the student?  What developmental milestones tell the teacher the student is ready?

--Is Gregg the best shorthand to use?  What are the advantages and disadvantages of a phonetic shorthand vs. an orthographic (traditional spellings) one? If not Gregg, then what?

--Notehand was fairly highly developed but is still under copyright.  Greghand copyright status is less clear.  The very early Gregg materials from the 1880s and 1890s are very similar to Notehand and Greghand and are out of copyright.  How important are these issues to most homeschoolers, and what are the legal issues with promoting these various types of materials?


A little on my motivations for starting this thread.  Earlier this year I put a series of videos up on YouTube on shorthand for note taking.  There has been some interest, as they have over 16,000 views so far. There are subscribers from across the globe.  I intend to post a video on the integration of shorthand into the homeschool curriculum, referencing both my existing videos and also other  approaches the homeschooler might take.

My background related to this endeavor includes a Master's degree in Science Curriculum and Instruction, 4 years as a high school teacher of math and physics (almost 30 years ago), and overseeing and participating in the homeschooling of my three children.  My kids have all completed their bachelor's degrees now at various institutions, and my son is working under a NSF grant on his PhD in areas related to neurobiology.  Although I am past the stage of homeschooling my children, I still have interest in the endeavour and would like to help others who are going down that path.  The experience of this group, both in scholarship related to historical forms of shorthand, and in education, will, I am confident, illuminate the various issues related to teaching shorthand to young students.