Confessions of a Homeschooling Survivor

While the concept of Homeschooling has been around forever, in recent years the number of families who choose to teach their children at home rather than send them to a public or private school is astounding. According to the Home School Legal Defense Association, "There were an estimated 1,700,000 to 2,100,000 children (grades K-12) home educated during 2002-2003 in the United States. Homeschooling appears to still be the fastest-growing form of education." - Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., Facts on Homeschoooling.

The reasons families choose to home school their children varies widely from religious reasons, to poor quality local schools, to social problems within the school such as bullying or other violence, as well as positive reasons such as wanting to provide their children with a more expansive educational experience than can be provided by a traditional school. The author was home schooled in the late 70's and early 80's in a time when it was a bit of a renegade practice. This article will talk about how things were in those days, how they have changed for home schooling families and the author's impressions of how being homeschooled has influenced her life.

When my mother decided to take my siblings and me out of school, our family thought that she was making a dangerous choice. "What about socialization?" they asked, or "How will they ever get into college?" others wondered. Local regulations stipulated that my parents would have to apply to the superintendent of schools for permission to teach their children at home. Parents would have to submit their students to twice yearly standardized tests, and if at any point the student was to fall below their grade level on a test, they would then have to re-enroll their student in school.

My mother met with the superintendent, and rather than asking his permission, simply informed him of her intention to teach us at home. Because we lived in a suburban neighborhood, we had to 'fly below the radar,' so to speak, to avoid truant officers during regular school hours. Years later we moved to another area where we were more free to live the way we wanted to.

My mother was a great teacher and provided lots of opportunities for us to explore and learn and grow as people. We did not follow any particular curriculum, rather, we pursued what interested us. In the area of math we had a tutor when we got into areas of math that were beyond her ability to help us. I had always wanted to go to college, so when I turned 18, I took the GED exam so that I could pursue a college education. The admissions office at the university advised me to go to a community college to earn some college credits that I could then use to transfer to the university, which I did. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English. Today I have a career in the non-profit field and I am a writer. The fact that I was homeschooled had no bearing on my ability to get a good job.

It is encouraging to see how much more mainstream homeschooling is considered to be these days. Homeschooled students are succeeding on a national level by placing highly in the National Spelling Bee, and winning the National Geography Bee. Using the Internet as a resource, families now have virtually unlimited access to educational resources. Parents who don't feel equipped to plan an entire curriculum for their students can purchase educational materials specifically designed for homeschooling families.

Now there are thousands of support web sites, forums and groups, and guidebooks designed to help homeschooling families succeed. Home education requires a lot of motivation, time, energy, and planning not to mention love and dedication to putting in the work to make sure that your children succeed academically, but there is tons of support available for families who want to give home education a try.

While I am the only one of my three siblings to get a college degree, my older sister is a fashion designer with her own successful business who also teaches her own three children at home, my other sister is a personal trainer, and my brother runs a successful computer consulting business--all sufficiently 'socialized' and without any professional degrees.

Homeschooling is not the right choice for every family, but it can be an excellent alternative to traditional public or private schooling. I feel that the experience of having been educated at home helped me to develop into an independent thinker and a self-directed, self-motivated person.

So, in the end, I feel that I more than survived my homeschooling experience. Being educated at home has allowed me to thrive as an individual. Because of the freedom I was given to pursue my passions, I now am a lifelong learner with an insatiably curious spirit. I have nothing but gratitude to my mother for all of the time and attention she gave to us when we were growing up. Homeschooling is a great choice and I greatly value having experienced it.