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August 20, 2008

Growing education

Homeschool network a popular choice among Stephens County parents

DawnDee Bostwick

When brothers Logan and Zachary Welch learn about electricity, they do so with the help of a basic pencil, one AA battery, a few wires and a small light bulb.

Demonstrating how the electric current flows through the pencil from the battery to turn the light on, Logan, 13, explains that the same project won’t work with a popsicle stick. It’s a conclusion that shows wood isn’t the conductor — lead is.

For him and his 9-year-old brother, the hands-on activity that takes place at the dinner table is just one of a series that is a part of their education.

Homeschooled their entire lives by mom Kim Welch, the two show learning can extend beyond the walls of public school and into the home, a choice that is starting to become more popular.

“About three to four years ago, there was about 250 homeschool families (in Stephens County). That has grown quite a bit,” said Kathy Lovett, Duncan Homeschool Outreach to Parent Educators president.

Oklahoma estimates 14,000 to 19,000 children are homeschooled in the state, according to the Oklahoma Policy Blueprint 2004 book.

And the National Center for Education Statistics reports that nationwide, an estimated 1.09 million children were homeschooled in 2003, up 29 percent from 1999.

A parent who opted to homeschool her four children herself, Lovett said the growth in homeschoolers might be linked to several issues, such as safety concerns, moral instruction and dissatisfaction with the quality of education some students receive.

For the Welches, Kim’s concern about what kids have to go through socially in public schools is one reason why she and her husband selected to keep Logan and Zachary at home.

It’s a decision Welch said she’s glad she made, because teaching at home provides her children an opportunity to really learn and explore subjects.

“I see a lot of kids that teachers are cramming a lot of information in them because that’s the way the government has the curriculum,” she explained. “And they know it today, but not tomorrow. To me, it’s more important to know the correct answer than to see how many they get wrong.”

True to the ideal, Welch shared that each son receives nothing but A’s in his course work and on exams, because she makes it a point to go through each question with him until the answer is correct and the boys understand why it’s correct.

Without a structured classroom, learning at home also provides Logan and Zachary the chance to learn life skills that will carry them into adulthood.

Logan said he’s proud that he can drive a tractor, clean a house, cook for a whole family and do laundry, if he needs to. In this way, education becomes a way of life for the Welches, and not just an activity endured for a few hours a day.

“Everybody has to know how to do those things, whether they’re male or female,” Kim Welch said.

When asked if he felt like he was missing out by not being in public or private school, Logan said his feelings have changed during the years.

“I thought so for awhile,” he said. “I feel now that I’m glad to be homeschooled. (I’m) being taught right, not being made fun of, and not being made to act like everyone else.”

Zachary is on the same page. “I like it,” he said.

With lesson plans individualized to their needs, the two can work on appropriate grade level for each subject, exploring harder material in areas they excel, and staying on task in areas that might be more difficult.

There’s no set of rules homeschoolers and their parents have to follow, but most parents make sure their children are exposed to similar material that their public and private school counterparts are to help facilitate passing graduation exams, like the G.E.D.

It’s a method that seems to be working because students who are homeschooled traditionally outperform their peers on placement exams and college entry exams, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Protection from the Oklahoma Constitution ensures that parents will continue to have the option to homeschool their children as they see fit. Oklahoma is the only state where homeschooling is protected by constitutional law.

“A parent should have a right to choose a proper education for their child, it shouldn’t be government mandated,” Lovett said. “It’s making sure they get the education they’re going to need for the future.”

While Lovett and Welch recognize that homeschooling is not an option or the best choice for every family, it is one that has worked out for them.

“To me, it’s just a better way of teaching, and I know that not everybody can,” Welch explained. “Whether we’re sitting at the table doing schoolwork or doing work outside, I’m teaching them something.”

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