Home Schooling

As a teacher with an M.Ed. in Secondary Education who had to go through major hoops to get certified as a business education and CTE teacher in Minnesota, I have a lot of mixed feelings about home schooling. I've met kids who have been home schooled successfully and who have small businesses of their own after high school or have gone on to college -- and I've met kids who were home schooled and they don't know how to read or spell well, and neither do the parents who home schooled them.

One thing I will say about home schooling is that typically the student is very respectful of adults and others. If they are from a Christian home they are often well-grounded in their faith. I do believe that home schooling protects children from the taunting and bullying that can take place in public schools and thus their self-esteem will be stronger.

A previously home schooled student signed up for one of my online courses. The parent called and complained to the school counselor that my course was too difficult and required too much time and they wanted to drop it. After talking with the parent and student, I discovered that they were only used to spending 5 hours per week on their studies for all of the subjects the student was learning. Certainly it was overwhelming for my student to suddenly have six courses and spend six hours per day studying. It was at this point that I began to seriously question whether home schooled kids get a quality education, particularly during the upper grade levels when math and science courses in the traditional schools contain geometry, trig, calc, physics and chemistry. Personally I would not be qualified to teach these courses to my children and I doubt whether all of the parents home schooling their children are qualified to teach those subjects. So how do they handle those subjects? Do they have someone else teach their children those subjects. Would that be legal if the person doing the teaching isn't certified to teach?

It is my opinion that the success of home schooling depends on the education levels of the parent(s) and their willingness to continue lifelong learning along with their children. It requires a lot of discipline and organization on the part of the parent(s) to set a schedule and stick to it when other things come up that may distract them during the day. The kids I know who are successfully home schooled also have a portion of their home dedicated as a classroom with educational decor and supplies. This helps to set the atmosphere that they are now doing their schoolwork rather than just playing in the home. Taking advantage of every educational resource available, learning to play an instrument, and participating in social activities at church and in the community will also help to contribute to home schooling success.

Life Begins After a Layoff

Late one night toward the end of March 2006, I flopped backwards onto my bed and asked God to find me another job. I told Him that I didn't feel like I was in the right place working at HTI and I was willing to make a change, even though it might mean not seeing dear friends on a daily basis and possibly leaving Hutchinson. I submitted a prayer to the Lord asking Him to find me a job that I would enjoy doing for the next 20 plus years. In addition to joyful work, I asked for enough money to make ends meet, for work that involved helping people and here's the long shot -- I asked for summers off so my children wouldn't be running around unsupervised as they grew up.

Two weeks later I got a six week notice that my position was being eliminated due to customer mergers. I was not surprised when I got the news -- and I was thrilled! I knew that God had begun to answer my prayer and I was excited for what the future held! People at work were surprised by my attitude as I continued to do my job with more cheerfulness than I had previously. Some thought I was in shock and didn't realize my situation, after all I was about to become an unemployed single mom. But I knew something good was coming!

The severance pay I received lasted me through the summer as I applied for various positions but only half-heartedly so. Being off for the first summer since 1980 was a treat and my children and I loved it! It was definitely something I could get used to but the bills had to be paid and fall was coming and the severance was almost used up.

A friend from church suggested I apply for a job at the Hutchinson Middle School as a Computer Lab Educational Assistant. It turned out to be a part-time job and the pay wasn't what I was used to making previously, but when I was offered the job I took it. The 2006-2007 school year began and when I walked into the middle school, I felt like I had come home. As I assisted the teachers and kids in the lab, I knew that I wanted to become a teacher. I loved working at the Middle School. For a time in high school I had considered becoming a teacher, but didn't want to deal with the classroom management aspect of teaching, and therefore had put it out of my mind and pursued other majors.

With a B.S. in Management & Ethics and over 20 years in business, my best option was to become a business education teacher. In October of 2006, I enrolled in an M.Ed. online program through Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. (Please note that this is not the same school as Phoenix University.)

Little did I know that my journey toward becoming a teacher would become one of the greatest challenges of my life with many obstacles to overcome. Yet, it would also become one of my most exciting adventures!