A homemade education

The last time I sat down with a fellow Wolverine who was homeschooled, I could barely hear her over the screams of her floral pattern dress. She had made it herself back at “the Compound,” amidst preparations for the imminent Rapture. I mentioned science and tears quickly welled in her eyes before she stumbled up and ran sobbing from the room. I never saw her again.

Just kidding.

Despite how properly critical the country normally is of media portrayals of minorities (cough), a few stereotypes manage to slip by our defenses, such as that of the unsocialized, ultra-religious, closed-minded, undereducated (or hyper-educated) homeschooler. A common perception is that parents decide to homeschool their children in order to give them an education based on religion. Indeed, a 1999 study by the National Center for Education Statistics reported that 38.4% of those polled gave “religious reasons” as their motivation. Austin Waldo, a former homeschooler and U of M freshman studying screen arts and cultures, cited religion and morality as a large part of his parents’ decision to homeschool.

In that same study, however, 48.9% of those households simply felt they could provide a better education at home. Sara Hattie Swanson, another former homeschooler, currently a Masters student in counseling at Oakland University, cited her mom’s dissatisfaction with the public school system. In fact, Swanson’s mom worked in the educational system as an educational psychologist, giving her a firsthand and disheartening view of how standardized tests determine the fates of struggling students.

A fundamental difference between homeschooling and traditional public schooling is the flexibility. Homeschoolers can make their own schedules, for example, allowing their families to better-plan school around vacations and the careers of the parents. Waldo took advantage of this to enroll in community college starting his sophomore year in high school. Without the mandated curricula of public schooling, homeschoolers are also free to choose the pace with which they approach different subjects, something Waldo and Swanson both heavily endorse. Swanson’s little brother, for example, did not learn to read until he was 9 years old.

“But once he got it, he got it quickly, and was fine, and never really had any trouble with school other than that,” Swanson said. “Ultimately, he entered college on time and did everything fine, but if he had been in public school, there would have been a lot more stigma, and he would have been set back grades and looked upon differently.”

Self-discipline also plays a large role in homeschooling, especially in high school, where the subject matter is often beyond the knowledge base of the parents, or the parents become preoccupied with the younger children in the family. When homeschoolers rise up to the challenge, “[they] get really good at being self-motivated, which is what you need to do in college,” Swanson said.

On the other hand, both Waldo and Swanson have seen fellow homeschoolers falter in the homeschool environment, and acknowledge that perhaps those students would have done better in a traditional school environment.

This discipline and independence has helped many homeschooled students adapt to college quicker than students from a traditional background, who are used to structure and supervision. Last fall, inspired by his roommate’s work with the Black Student Union on campus, Waldo formed the U of M Home School Club. The still-evolving club provides a comfortable place for former homeschoolers to socialize with each other, as well as educate anyone interested in homeschooling.

Like with academics, homeschoolers can be as social as they choose. It helps that homeschoolers often come from large families: Waldo is the middle of eight brothers and sisters, and Swanson has six younger siblings. Other social opportunities include church youth groups and homeschool sporting leagues. Public schools can also provide opportunities, often allowing homeschoolers to participate in sports or music groups, and even to take classes such as woodworking.

Homeschool co-ops are also becoming increasingly popular, wherein homeschooling families get together to provide social opportunities for their kids, including choirs, plays, and sports. The parents in Swanson’s co-op, not feeling themselves equipped to teach foreign languages themselves, pooled their resources to hire tutors in French, Chinese and Spanish.

Nonetheless, Swanson believes her homeschool education left a few things out.

“There are certain things I just missed out on completely,” Swanson said. “My mom didn’t have [certain subjects] in her body of knowledge and just kind of glossed over subjects like physics. I never got up to trigonometry even though I was really good at math.”

Despite these opportunities, college still presents social and moral challenges to students who have had little exposure outside their families or communities. While Waldo feels most of the values he had been raised with have been strengthened since college, there are some issues – such as having friends who drink (legally) – on which he has reached a different conclusion than his parents, who do not approve. Similarly, Swanson’s parents were disappointed when she decided to leave their religion.

Looking back, both Waldo and Swanson are happy with their experiences.

“I never seriously said, ‘I want to go to public school’,” Waldo said, “but [my parents] would have let me.”