Some of you old-timers may remember Bethany as CUSprings on the old yahoo club.
She graduated from Colorado Springs , went on to the University of Chicago Law School and is now in LA at as an entertainment lawyer.
he Homeschool Experience
By Bethany Hollister
What is homeschooling like? I get asked that question a lot; probably many of the people reading this now are also wondering. It?s always easy to give a laundry list of the basic benefits ? direct parental control, versatility, ease of scheduling ? and potential drawbacks ? lack of social interaction, fewer extracurricular activities, little to no accreditation. But do these things really tell you anything about homeschooling? For the cynic, perhaps all that matters are the cold, hard statistics of homeschooling. What?s there, what?s tangible, what I can plainly see ? these are important things, to be sure, but they don?t get to the real heart of the issue. The important question is not one of grades or social maturity. The important question is what is right for your child. Will homeschooling work for you? I can?t answer that question. I can, however, tell you what homeschooling was like for me. I?ve been asked many times if I wish I had attended public school. I?ve often wondered that myself. How well did homeschooling work for me? As I share some of my thoughts and reflections on my homeschool experience, I hope that they may prove relevant ? or at least interesting ? to those curious about homeschooling.
I remember my first ?classroom.? It was in the living room of our house in Selmer, Tennessee. I had a little desk and chair that sat in front of the window, right next to the piano. My mom sat across from me on the couch and taught me reading and writing, mathematics and science, social studies and history. My first days of school were short and to the point; we went through my lesson for the day and then I was free to play with my brother and sister or my best friend, who spent afternoons with her grandparents (our next-door neighbors). Soon my brother, Justin, and my sister, Noelle, joined the ranks of homeschooled children. Imagine if you will being solely responsible for the concurrent education of three children under the age of ten, each in a different grade, and you may have a picture of what my mom must have gone through. Still, she persevered and, fortunately for her, Justin and I (and soon afterwards, Noelle) were able to work through most of our school without her help.
Justin and Noelle and I fought plenty, as all siblings do. But we also developed a close relationship (they would deny this if ever asked). Since there were a number of days when we would finish school before the rest of the neighborhood was let out, the only friends we had around were each other. We used to make up all kinds of spy games and dress up in ridiculous clothes and build spaceships out of pillows in our living room. We always hung out together; we were a team. We still get along well today (though there were some trying days in our earlier teen years) and, while we don?t do everything together, we always find time to share a meal out or see a movie together.
There was still a lot of room for other friends, though. When we moved to Colorado Springs, the neighborhood kids were friendly and eager to meet the new people. There were also friends from church, of course. In middle school, I suffered some brutal teasing and rejection at the hands of some of the ?nice? church kids. I guess that made up for missing out on all the ?fun? things kids say about each other in public school. Later on, another local church began offering part-time classes to homeschooling families (such supplemental schools have been rapidly gaining popularity across the country in recent years). Through Grace Academy, I was able to take speech, drama, chemistry, Spanish, biology, PE and other classes I may have otherwise missed out on in junior high and high school. These part-time classes also provided a great place to make new friends ? they even had roughly the same schedule as I did, since we were all homeschooled. This gave my siblings and me a chance to participate in many of the traditional public school activities home schoolers usually miss out on. We had school plays, choir performances, art competitions and, of course, ruthless scholastic competition between classmates.
Of course, Grace Academy wasn?t the only place we found to do other things. When we were younger we took horseback riding, swimming and piano lessons. We were involved with some local homeschooling groups, like the drama group we performed a play with. And there were always cultural activities to participate in ? local museums, library book clubs, or whatever else we could find. Fortunately for me, my parents were incisive enough to recognize that being homeschooled doesn?t mean limiting one?s education to what can be learned from any particular curriculum.
Eventually the day came when my homeschooling ended. Actually, it came a bit early. I finished high school a couple of months before my seventeenth birthday ? about a year early by the traditional school calendar. I made the decision toward the end of my sophomore year to skip my last year of high school and go straight to college. I only needed about three more credits, so I combined my junior and senior years into one. I performed well on both the SAT and ACT and was accepted into the local University of Colorado campus. There were times when I wanted to apply to a better school, but my parents were adamant that I stay at home ? after all, I was only seventeen, and just barely that. So, in the fall of 1998, I began my studies at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
My freshman year was, admittedly, intimidating. I didn?t really know anyone at the school and had heard how much more difficult college is than high school. I had nightmares about missing the first day of class or of forgetting to turn in an important homework assignment. I soon found out, though, that college really wasn?t that tough. That?s not to say that keeping my grades up was easy, but it was doable. I worried at first that maybe I hadn?t been sufficiently prepared; I?d heard some express doubt as to the adequacy of homeschooling in college preparation. As I look back, though, I can?t detect any deficiencies in my primary and secondary education. If anything, I think homeschooling may be part of the reason I?ve done well in college ? throughout middle school and high school I was solely responsible for the vast majority of my schoolwork. College didn?t seem to be so terribly different from high school, except that I attended a lecture every week and my papers were longer.
I?m now beginning my senior year of college. My class standing is somewhere in the top three percent at my school and I?m student body co-executive. I?ve participated in various clubs, completed a political internship and volunteered with church and community organizations. Sometimes I wonder how things would have been different if I?d gone to public school. Maybe I could have served on student council or participated in sports. Perhaps I could have earned awards and honors. Quite possibly, I would have had more opportunities for advancement and scholastic achievement. But as I think about it, I realize that none of that really matters. I?m happy with my life and, for better or worse, homeschooling made me who I am. Maybe I would have more to be proud of if I?d had the opportunities and experiences public school provides. Maybe not. The simple fact is that homeschooling worked for me, as it has worked for countless other young men and women across the country. Would I change anything about my past? No. I?m too excited about my future.
http://www.post41.com/members/homeschool.htm
