Schooling Trends
dren, Raiden, 16; Alexis, 12; and Colton, 6, for more than seven years. However, if you stop by their home in Crescent, Okla., don’t expect to see the Guthery children working in textbooks all day. A typical day for the Guthery household is to get up, have break- fast, and then do chores — what Amber calls “blitzing the house so there are no distractions while we’re homeschooling.” They usually get started on schoolwork by 9 a.m. and work on basics until noon. Instead of working on separate subjects for each grade level, Amber does science together with Alexis and Colton, and History and Bible with all three. The other subjects are done inde- pendently.
If they don’t get the work done in the morning, they fi nish it in the afternoon. However, as Amber puts it, “A homeschooler never quits homeschooling.” The rest of the day is spent on life skills such as cook- ing, cleaning, grocery shopping, and feeding the dogs and chickens, as well as extracurricular activities such as music lessons, sports, volunteer experiences, and working with their dad in the family business. Ryan uses his custom cabinet and remodeling business, Guthery, Inc., as a “classroom” to teach his children important work skills. The children build cabinets, sand, help clean up the shop, or just hang out with dad, depending on their age. The experience Raiden gained in woodworking not only taught her work skills, but it was also instru- mental to her acceptance in a sum- mer youth program at the Dream Center in St. Louis, MO. Although most fi rst-time home- schoolers begin by setting up a “classroom” in their home, lectur- ing from textbooks, giving tests
“A homeschooler never
quits
homeschooling.The rest of the day is spent on life skills such as cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, and feeding the dogs and chickens, as well as extracurricu- lar activities such as music lessons, sports, volunteer experiences, and working with their dad in the family busi- ness.”
- paraphrased from Amber Guthery
and grades, and keeping their chil- dren segregated by grade level, most homeschool parents move to a more eclectic approach after learning about the variety of teaching meth- ods available.
Keith and Sheila Wilson, mem- bers of the Lake Region Electric Co- op, have been homeschooling their two children: Hannah, 13, and Seth, 10, for eight years. In their home in Coweta, Okla., they begin school af- ter the chores are done, usually by 10 a.m. Instead of a formal classroom, Sheila and her children start school on the couch with subjects they all do together and afterwards move to the kitchen for independent work. Sheila uses a combination of text- books and library books, as well as classes from a local homeschool co- op.
Mark and Angel Morris, from Oklahoma City have been home- schooling eight children, Elizabeth,
15; Asher, 14; Abigail, 12; Gideon, 10; Noah, 8; Lydia, 6; Anna, 4; and Eli, 1, for more than ten years. In ad- dition to the textbooks and other re- sources she uses at home, Angel likes to use special events as educational resources. “At the drop of a hat,” they’ll go to an art festival and use it as the basis for an art lesson or to a Medieval Fair and use it for a lesson in history,” Angel said.
Although some homeschoolers teach year around, Amber, Sheila and Angel mostly follow a typi- cal school year of August through May. For Angel, it’s because “mom needs a good break!” She used to pressure herself to work longer, but after being reminded by Mark that traditional schools rarely finish a textbook, she now stops in May, whether fi nished or not.
How do graduate, go to college and obtain jobs?
As the mother of eight, Angel
Morris takes full advantage of on- line classes and tutors, especially for high school. This year, she has enrolled her teens at Epic 101 Char- ter School. Her son, Asher, who is interested in pursuing a degree in computer graphic design, will take Honors Biology from a private tutor, three credits from Oklahoma Virtu- al Academy and three credits from Giant Campus, all through the Epic 101 program.
Homeschoolers can also take ad- vantage of concurrent enrollment at local colleges, earning college credits while still in high school. Elizabeth, who is aiming for a career in veteri- nary medicine, has been accepted in MetroTech’s Biomedical and Sci- ence Program where she will earn 14 college credits while fi nishing high school.
Continued on Page 18
Elizabeth Morris, a homeschooled student from Oklahoma City, volunteers at the Oklahoma City zoo.
Luke Pinion of Tulsa is a college graduate who was homeschooled. He just landed a full-time job.
AUGUST 2011 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84