About five years ago, I went to a Mensa
monthly meeting at the Washington University (where the final Obama-McCain
presidential debate was recently held) extension in suburban St. Louis. The
topic was different methods of schooling.
A panel was set up with one representative apiece
from public, private, Montessori, magnate and charter schools. There was no
home schooling member. But as one of some 50 Mensans in the crowd, I was happy
to tell of my opinions and experiences...especially in regard to that time-worn
generalization about a home-schooled child's lack of socialization.
What I did, in a nutshell, was stand up and
tell the entire crowd why home schooling my son David was not only the best
decision I have ever made in my life, but the most rewarding one.
How did I find out about home schooling? I had
interviewed a young, soon-to-be state diving champion who was home schooled for
about five years prior to middle school. Once there, she was in the top five in
her class academically for three years straight. So, I thought...why not my son
David?
I started back in September 1994, when David was four years and
four months old. In Missouri, the calendar year for home schooling was July
through June. I simply chose to start when regular schools were in session. But
after that initial Sept-June 30 year, I did adhere to the July-June schedule.
The regulations for Missouri were to have 1,000 units in a
calendar year, 600 of which had to be core units. Non-core units were art,
music, physical education, religion and the like. I learned that units were
different than hours. Many of the units I taught took far less than an hour.
Nearly every calendar year, we did some 1,750 units...about 1,300 of which were
core units.
Other home school requirements...in case one was ever
challenged...were being able to show proof of regular lesson plans, grading
assessments, and work samples.
Home schooling worked for me because I had a three-times-a-week
part-time job, plus I covered high school sports and did other freelance
writing...when print journalism was still in vogue. However, one can home
school no matter what hours he or she has available. Unlike "regular"
school, there is absolutely no need to conform to a 9-to-4 schedule.
Actually, the beauty of home schooling is LACK of conforming! I
took that to an extreme regarding curriculum. Unlike most teachers, I did not
use any pre-packaged one. From the outset, I went to Target, Kmart, Venture and
other stores, and bought a variety of pre-school through third grade workbooks,
miniature text books and other things to help teach...like a variety of flash
cards.
I also went to the annual St. Louis County Book Fair and always
got a shopping cart full of textbooks, workbooks, reading books, and other
items at greatly reduced prices. These were all donated by the general public,
with proceeds going to charity.
How did I do it? By pure logic, starting with the most basic in
every subject, then moving on when I knew my son had developed a great
understanding and proficiency. Also, I somewhat combined teaching him reading
with phonics, spelling, English and writing. In fact, I had him write at least
two very lengthy papers every week before he was six. He had to write each
misspelled word from those 100 times. When he got older, it was 500 times.
After awhile, he was careful NOT to misspell anything.
Through all this, David won two or three Home School Spelling
Bees, including a championship against all the private school kids. He was also
a high finisher in the Science Fair, had read more than 3,000 books...all well
beyond his age level...by the time he was 10. David was also telling time
before he was five, writing cursive before the age of six, and doing
complicated high school algebra when he was seven.
In social studies, David could take a blank map of the United
States, and name every state, name and location of its capital city, plus other
major cities, major rivers, and national parks. He also knew the capitals of
all 230-plus countries in the world...including their spellings. We also had
contests where we would name every president in order from start to
finish...and time each other to see who was fastest. These are just some of the
things I remember off the top of my head!
There was a lot of work...some in the morning, some in the
afternoon, some in the evening and some very late at night when children well
older than David were already in bed. But I also made things really fun.
Every year, we went on at least 50 field trips...obviously more
in the warm weather months. That included nearly every tourist type and
educational type attraction in the entire St. Louis area, including Illinois
and St. Charles County in Missouri.
David also adopted a tree, we did great autumn leaf collecting
and matting, lots of hiking, learning and playing a variety of sports. I also
made sure he had a good deal of socialization. Not only did David play with
neighborhood kids, but we also did picnics, roller and ice skating, bowling and
a variety of activities with both the North County and West County Christian
Home School Groups. I also got him involved in Cub Scouts and a bowling team.
The result of all this? In June 2008, David was one of 33 in his
high school class of 429 to graduate Summa Cum Laude. He just completed a
perfect 4.0 in his first semester of college...of which he will attend the
first two years totally free except for books. David has also worked at the
same place some 24-32 hours per week for well over two years, and also has
several dozen friends.
It is just David and me living here since late October 2001. We
have an incredible bond between us, have never had any real argument, he has
never been in any major trouble beyond a couple traffic tickets, and has a
great sense of self, including self-esteem, self-reliance and self-control.
Obviously, David is just one example of a home-schooled person,
but in the years I home schooled, I learned that the average home-schooled
child is in the 93rd percentile if and when they go to a regular school. That
is a major result of one-on-one instruction.
Is home schooling worth a try? That is an option you may want to
check out in your state. And please, do not automatically use the excuse that
you are not smart enough or don't have enough patience. Just like with me, it
just may turn out to be a labor of love.
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