Elizabeth Daley and her mother and teacher, Jana Daley, have some one- on- one time to work on reading skills.
Editor’s note: Elise Porter is a homeschooled senior who is writing for The Columbia Star as a school project. She r ecently received notice she was a N ational Merit Semi- finalist.
On a weekday afternoon, Jana Daley sits on her couch with her seven- year- old daughter Elizabeth, helping her sound out words in her reader. At their school table, older sister Anna Katherine, age nine, types her writing assignment into a laptop. Class is in session, and Mom is the teacher. The Daleys are one of many families in the Columbia area who have chosen to teach their children at home.
In South Carolina, approximately 14,279 students were homeschooled during the 2004- 2005 school year. National estimates show the number of homeschoolers is increasing by seven to 14 percent annually. At the minimum, Kathleen Carper, director of the South Carolina Association of Independent Home Schools (SCAIHS), suggests that homeschoolers in South Carolina now number around 17,500. Being accountable to SCAIHS is one of the three legal options for homeschoolers. Other options are reporting to a public school or a recognized homeschool association.
Mrs. Jana Daley, homeschool mother, helps fourth- grade daughter, Anna Katherine, with her composition.
Parents have different reasons for homeschooling, most often including wanting to provide religious and moral instruction, being dissatisfied with the instruction or the environment at other schools, or having children with special needs.
Christie Unthank, a mother of four with 13 years of homeschooling experience, believes that homeschooling is about building strong family relationships: “You’re influenced by the people that you are with the most—and we’re together!”
The Daleys chose to take their daughters out of public school and started homeschooling them two years ago. Concerning their decision, Daley states, “It never felt right, waking Anna Katherine up at six, and having her gone all day. All the things I thought I was going to teach my children when they got old enough to listen and learn—things about the Bible and life—there was no time for that! We want to live by what the Bible says and, for us, homeschooling is how we want to do it.”
“One of the big pluses of homeschooling,” says Carper, “is that you are working on mastery. In a traditional school setting, the teacher has to move forward with the class whether everyone has mastered the material or not.
“You can tell so much about their performance because you are one- on- one every day,” states Daley. “We don’t go past a math lesson unless they’ve gotten it!”
Unthank states, “I am tailoring [my children’s] education to their gifts. I try to find their strengths and work on building them up in that area.”
She also balances her children’s studies with other activities: “They play with kids in the neighborhood. They’re in flag football, gymnastics, activities at the church, choir—we’re with people all the time!”
Like Unthank, many homeschoolers take advantage of support groups, local and online classes, and other organizations providing opportunities for homeschoolers (see side bar for more information). With the number of homeschooled students growing, the amount and type of materials and curriculum to assist homeschoolers has also increased.
In higher education, homeschoolers benefit from their schooling experience. Carper states, “Homeschoolers adjust well to college life because they have had a schedule that reflects that of a college schedule, and they’ve learned to work independently.”
Jessica Freed, an admis- sions coordinator at USC- Columbia, states that most colleges do not look at homeschooled applicants differently, as long as students meet the same requirements as those in traditional schools. In her experience, homeschoolers have generally been successful in college.
With the rising success of homeschoolers, more and more parents are turning to this form of education. The SCAIHS staff of 16, who supports and advises member families, are very familiar with the success of homeschooling. SCAIHS director, Carper, states, “The more people meet homeschool families and see how successful it is and how close those families are becoming, the more people think ‘We’d like that for our family’… They see that it works—and it works well!”
Home school opportunities: Midlands Home School Resource Center Irmo Christian Homeschool Center Excelsior! Academy Classical Conversations Organizations offering programs for homeschoolers: Midlands Home School Band Home School Strings Orchestra Home School Aquatics Riverbanks Zoo SC State Museum Columbia Museum of Art Confederate Relic Room EdVenture Children’s Museum Anchor Lanes JEEP Rogers Family YMCA Carolina Gymnastics Center Local support groups: FACE—Forest Acres Christian Educators REACH—Resources, Encouragement and Activities for Columbia area Homeschoolers SAFE—Southeast Area Family Educators HERALD-5—Home Educators in Richland and Lexington District 5
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