Reading, writing and rebellion? Homeschooling takes on tradition, but some wonder if students are seeing benefitsBy

By Inness Asher

Rather than the title of an often-controversial federal program, the phrase 'No Child Left Behind' might very well be the rallying cry for the contemporary homeschooling movement. On the rise nationally -- and with a prominent presence in Acadiana -- it's evident that among those with the will and determination, home teaching is a rich and satisfying experience.

Unfortunately, because the nature of homeschooling is still somewhat a tacit act of rebellion -- one which sometimes doesn't lend itself to voluntary information disclosure -- statistics are somewhat dated and limited.

As reported by the National Center for Education Statistics, the most recent national survey estimated the number of homeschooled students increasing from 850,000 students in 1999 (about 1.7 percent of the total student population), to 1,096,000 students in 2003 (approximately 2.2 percent of the total student population). While such a rate of increase doesn't yet endanger the current U. S. educational systems, it should create some reflective moments in wiser school administrators.

As an alternative to traditional school programs, the reasons for moving away from institutionalized education are as varied as those who homeschool. Some find a home environment a preferable alternative for religious reasons; others, however, say they are seeking a quality of individualized education lacking in schools run by an increasing oligarchy of professional administrators whom they often find more interested in the current lover's knot of test scores and government funding than in providing education to individual students.

Two Lafayette parents, Kate Corkern and Marie Diaz, members of the Magnolia Home Educators community, have had ample experience with children and their education. According to Corkern, the traditional school system was definitely more concerned with adapting her child to fit their mold rather than finding an individualized approach to his needs. To her, homeschooling is a way to provide a rich education to her children, while bypassing the increasingly programmatic instruction in today's schools.

"But it quickly becomes more than that," she says. "The family dynamics are natural and there's no interference."

In addition to how she views homeschooling as a natural extension of the family, she also cites a variety of reasons other homeschoolers she knows have undertaken the education of their own children.

"The reasons are as varied as people are," she says. "Some are religious, some kids are brilliant or slow or weird or persecuted in school."

Corkern's assessment aligns accurately with the NCES survey findings. According to the survey, 31 percent of parents responding cited school environments "as the most important reason for homeschooling." Another 30 percent noted a need for religious or moral instruction they found lacking, with 16 percent citing "dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools."

Or as Corkern simply states, "Most people would say they're homeschooling because they want to offer their children something different."

Diaz has had experience in both local public and private schools. A Tulane graduate, she nevertheless found that when the time came to introduce her daughter Ruth to the traditional school systems, neither were sufficient.

"We looked at public and private schools where my daughter was accepted," says Diaz, "but it just wasn't right. It just didn't feel right."

Beginning with Holy Family Home Educators, the local Roman Catholic homeschooling organization, Diaz eventually joined what was then only a mailing list begun by Corkern and a few other interested parents. As the list grew and others found an open network of like-minded parents, Magnolia Home Educators was born. Three additional children later (Joseph, Martha and Annette), Diaz is pleased with the choice she made back when her family was just beginning.

"We began as a group of interested parents," she says. "We were lucky enough to network with a couple who had homeschooled and they were reassuring."

Speak to any dedicated homeschooler and you will eventually hear of the need for such a connection. Without the support of others within a community, the very idea of homeschooling can be so intimidating as to welcome either poor practices or outright failure. With mutual support, however, Lafayette homeschooling parents can begin undauntedly teaching their children, and continue as the experience achieves academic results.

"Based on skills ranking my children, (they) haven't done too badly," Diaz modestly admits.

By anyone's account, the scholarly success of each of her children is remarkable, even by the standards of traditional education. Indeed, those are the standards by which most serious home educators gauge the progress of their pupils. With a 4.0 grade point average, Diaz' eldest daughter qualified for acceptance at a variety of both public and private universities; at the senior high level, her son Joseph is a college scholarship recipient and a National Merit semi-finalist.

Was this the kind of success she envisioned when she began homeschooling her children?

"We home schooled kind of one year at a time," says Diaz.

With support and dedication came the positive affirmation of academic success. One year led to another, she says, until at one point she eventually realized "the chances of not doing it are kind of slim right now."

Despite the enthusiasm engendered by almost every successful home-schooling parent, most traditional school participants have some serious and legitimate concerns when considering homeschooling.

How does one acquire the qualifications for imparting knowledge to one's own child on a wide variety of subjects even parents sometimes find daunting?

"Teacher's guides," says Corkern, "are essential."

Also, thanks to a free-market economy and the rapid expansion of an initial cottage industry, homeschooling parents now have an expansive array of educational material to choose from -- unlike those parents who often had to make do with used texts and subject guides less than a decade ago.

"You start out with 'school-in-a-box', everything prepared for you, but you quickly move on," says Corkern. "You start shopping around. The marketplace has really expanded to fit so many different people. Most people who do it for any length of time get the hang of it."

Not unlike teachers themselves, she adds.

Modern homeschoolers also dismiss that oft-cited bugaboo some bring up time and again: The lack of socialization homeschooling provides in contrast to the traditional classroom and playground.

"We haven't found a problem with socialization skills," says Diaz. "We see other children a fair number of times, above and beyond having friends."

She cites numerous community organizations and activities in which her children and others participate, again illustrating that a community of caring parents plays a key role in educating one's own children. The list grows rapidly as Diaz recounts the extensive extracurricular activities of the Magnolia Home Educators.

"We do field trips together, have group meetings, we sometimes meet at the park," she says. "The only thing they [the students] do alone is study. Generally most of their academic work is done at home with their brothers and sisters, if they have them. But for most other activities, there are ways to meet people, and we take those opportunities."

One example of socialization is the monthly meeting of the Magnolia Home Educators held at the Main Branch of the Lafayette Public Library.

"The library has been very welcoming to us," says Diaz. "A lot of the teenagers are involved in the Lafayette Teen Committee at the library. This year they had Book Buddies, and several of the homeschooling kids were involved in that."

Book Buddies is a confidence-building program in which independent readers aged 7-10 are paired with more experienced readers. Initially part of the Summer Reading Series, the success of the program has it resuming in October. Among home schoolers, as well as the public, it is the literate and educational activities that make local libraries community focal points.

"The Children's Department has been wonderful," says Diaz. "I think in most communities homeschoolers will gravitate to the libraries."