Homeschool Santa Fe, New Mexico

Homeschooling: An “Insider’s” Perspective on a Highly Misunderstood Choice
By Debbie “Takara” Hicks

It is always amusing to watch someone’s expression change when I mention that I homeschool my 10-year old son.

The reaction is always a strong one regardless of who I am speaking to.

Some break into a broad smile – awestruck at the realization that I am one of the few willing to take on such a huge and important responsibility. Others literally shrink back in horror – wondering how I could be such an irresponsible parent.

Obviously those in the first group know someone who homeschools or knows something about it. And, just as obviously, the people in the second group know very little or have only heard about a bad example.

When I shared the information about being a homeschool parent with the Headmaster of a highly regarded private school, his response was, “Never stop. It is the best possible education a child can have.” A public school teacher shared with me her philosophy: “The early grades are O.K. in our public schools, but by 4th grade you need to pull them out.” These are professional educators and they believe that homeschooling is not only a wise choice, but often the best one.

Individuals who judge it as a bad choice without knowing the facts sometimes make it difficult for those of us who have made this monumental life decision.

Why Families Choose to Homeschool

There are as many reasons why families choose to homeschool as there are homeschool families. Numerous studies have tried to figure it out. “Why did you start homeschooling?” is a common question we ask one other.

Some discussed it, studied it in depth, and made the decision long before the child was born. A fair percentage make the choice for religious reasons. Sometimes the homeschooling decision is made because the child is having a difficult time socially or academically in public school. Many choose to homeschool because they can’t afford a good private school and, in their opinion, public school is simply out of the question.

It is not an easy decision to make and definitely not one that is taken lightly. It requires constant time, energy, money, commitment, adaptability, change, and rarely any time off on the part of the parent. For many, it means that one parent dedicates themselves to being a full time educator while the other brings in all the income for the family. In today’s economy, that can be quite a challenge.

I personally made the decision to become a homeschool parent because I wanted to ensure that my child received a good education without compromising his happiness, self esteem, sense of individuality, natural creative talent, or curiosity. Those are the primary concerns of most of the homeschool parents I know.

Homeschool families don’t fit into some easy to define demographic. We come in all shapes, sizes, religions or lack of religions, income ranges, and ethic backgrounds. The methods we choose to educate our children are as diverse as we are.

Those who don’t have the facts often believe that we are uneducated people irresponsibly raising more uneducated people. And that is simply not the case.

Although parents are not required to have specific teaching credentials in New Mexico where I live, many of the homeschool families I know have at least one parent that attended college. Most have a Bachelor’s degree and some have even more advanced degrees.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Virginia Tech. I run a home-based internet business and my personal growth newsletter has subscribers in over 90 countries. Although my husband also attended college, I am the primary academic teacher at our “school.”

What Education Looks Like in a Home School

The classroom doesn’t have 4 walls and a door. There is no teacher standing at a chalk board discussing some topic with 30 or more students in tiny chairs and desks facing him or her. There are no bells that ring signaling time to change topics, classrooms, or to enjoy a meal or a brief recess.

Our classroom is a ride in the car, a computer, the library, a class with other students, a book, a museum, a desk, the living room couch, the kitchen table, a movie, Google, or the garden.

For my family, education is sometimes an airplane ride to Washington D.C., or somewhere else, to experience first hand the locations where major events happened that we study in history. During one particular Geography lesson, I showed my son the map and explained how the Rio Grande River heads south and becomes the border between Texas and Mexico. We then got in the car and went to see the Rio Grande.

Even when our official “class time” is over, whenever a question is asked, we often break into a new lesson about life, communication, psychology, how things work, science, math, biology, how to treat others well, or any other topic we can.

From very disciplined and time consuming accredited courses that cost a great deal of money to the opposite extreme known as Unschooling, families use numerous methods to ensure that their children are being properly educated and well prepared for adult life.

In some homeschool households there are no televisions or computers. At other homes, like mine, there are multiples of each.

My child doesn’t get the opportunity to goof off by sitting in the back of the room with his friends, making spit balls, passing notes, and ignoring what the teacher is saying.

He and I are both fully present and focused every moment of our school time.

I am well aware of what he comprehends and what we need to discuss further. When he isn’t “getting” something, I try a different approach, go on-line, take him to the library or a museum, or outside to see something. I show him real world examples of the topics we are covering. He is taught “why” he needs to know something and how knowing it will be of benefit to him when he grows up.

Families aren’t necessarily on their own when it comes to homeschooling. There are numerous excellent curriculum choices. The internet offers many forms of support from chat rooms to interactive online education. In many communities, homeschool families come together for classes, social activities, and parental support.

Some of the reasons why homeschool parents are so “against” public education

There are three primary learning styles and seven types of competency or intelligence. The learning styles are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. The intelligences are:

• linguistic,
• musical,
• logical-mathematical,
• spatial,
• bodily-kinesthetic,
• interpersonal, and
• intrapersonal.

Most schools, public and private, are only set up to address linguistic and logical-mathematical forms of intelligence. And it is a great deal easier for them to “teach” using auditory or visual methods. If a child’s primary intelligence (how they learn best) isn’t one of those being used by the school, then the child is likely to have a difficult time comprehending and retaining the necessary information to grow up to be healthy, happy, productive, and successful in today’s society.

Enrolling a child in the public education system in the United States is no guarantee that he or she will receive a good education. In fact, a recent study compared 15-year olds across 31 industrialized nations and found that U.S. students rank 15th in reading, 19th in math, and 14th in science.

Many homeschool parents are concerned with much more than pure academics.

Most parents don’t want their children experiencing continuous exposure to the poor social behavior running rampant in public schools and even some private schools today. Sadly teen pregnancy, alcohol and drug use, gangs, bullying, and violence are happening all too often. Drop out rates are staggering. “Did you know that 23% of 9th graders have carried a weapon to school recently? According to the US Justice Department, one out of three kids will be offered or sold drugs at school and one out of four kids is bullied either mentally or physically every day.” – Kathy Noll, author of Taking the Bully by the Horns - Children's Version of the Best Selling Book, "Nasty People".

Studies prove that publicly educated children have significantly lower self esteem by the time they graduate from high school than they did when they entered grade school. Rebuilding a damaged view of self can take a lifetime. Low self esteem greatly impacts how successful one is in college, career, and marriage. It also directly affects the health and happiness of the individual.

Another noteworthy observation is that although public school children share classes with people of other nationalities and religions, studies indicate that they rarely befriend and “hang out” with anyone unlike themselves. Children tend to have friends that are the same age, race, religion, and household income level. It becomes particularly obvious in high schools where friends dress alike, enjoy the same activities, and use the same slang and figures of speech.

The Social Stigma

Many people falsely believe that homeschool children are not well adapted socially. In many cases, the opposite is true.

Homeschool children are often taught good manners, how to listen when someone else is speaking, and ways to work out their differences with others. After spending time with my son, many adults share with me how impressed they are with his communication skills. He communicates with intelligence, maturity, and uses grammatically correct sentences.

Several of the kids from our homeschool group recently enjoyed a workshop with The Mountain Center in Santa Fe. This organization does ropes courses, climbing, team building, and other activities with groups of all ages. Several of the instructors commented that our kids were “the best group of kids they had ever worked with.” And they talked about how well they cooperated, listened, and participated.

My son enjoys great diversity in the people he chooses to call “friend.” Although many are homeschooled, his good friends include children from numerous ethnic backgrounds and religions, one child has only a single parent, another child has parents that are a gay couple, and his good friends range widely in age.

Many homeschooled children enjoy a great deal of social interaction. They are often enrolled in classes with others their age and participate in activities with children of all ages.

They attend classes in numerous topics including hands-on science, drama, math, music, art, and more. They enjoy sports, dance, martial arts, fencing, swimming, skating . . . the list seems endless. There is a local homeschool band that boasts over 80 members. In some school districts, if homeschooled athletes meet certain requirements, they are allowed to participate in varsity sports as a member of the local high school team. Some homeschool students begin taking college courses even before they have finished their high school academics.

Disneyland recently began offering a special week of courses for home school students. Families are now traveling from across the nation in order to attend.

How Good is the Education?

If the curriculum their parents used is not accredited, often homeschool students take the GED exam to prove what they have learned.

Many go on to graduate from college. This includes attendance at prominent schools such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and Carnegie Mellon Institute. Some Universities actively recruit homeschoolers because those students tend to be mature, responsible, and highly self motivated. That often translates into doing well in a college environment.

“Home-schoolers bring certain skills – motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be responsible for their education – that high schools don’t induce very well, says Jon Reider, Stanford’s Senior Associate Director of Admissions.

You may have heard of the very successful writer Christopher Paolini. What you may not know is that he was homeschooled and wrote the book, Eragon (Inheritance), at the age of 15.

One of my son’s homeschool friends already owns his own business and is learning all the skills necessary to do it successfully. He is 8 years old.

I became a home school parent because I am dedicated to doing whatever it takes to make sure my son has the greatest opportunity to be happy and successful in life.

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Debbie "Takara" Shelor is an author, speaker, Industrial Engineer and homeschool parent. She is the creator of a line of alternative health products beneficial for people of all ages. Visit her website http://www.HomeschoolSantaFe.com for more information about home schooling. She can be reached at (505) 455-0370 or takara@homeschoolsantafe.com.

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Also on this Site:

Homeschool Santa Fe Resources - A great source of homeschool resources, recommendations, organizations, links, and more - whether you are in Santa Fe, New Mexico or not.

Homeschool Books - A nice selection of books about homeschool and home learning.

Homeschool Audiobooks - A helpful list of homeschool audiobooks to add to your collection.

Homeschool Curriculum - Find out about the numerous types of curriculum available for homeschool and home learning.

Homeschool Santa Fe Calendar of Events - Our Homeschool Santa Fe Calendar of Events offers members and non-members the opportunity to get together for educational and social activities.

Homeschool Laws - A great source of homeschool laws whether you are in Santa Fe, New Mexico or not.

Homeschool Resources Educational Links - A great source of links to resources, recommendations, homeschool links, and more.

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