More parents choosing home schooling options

By Jennifer Hiller
Advertiser Education Writer

The first year of home schooling, Beth Vellalos worried she hadn't chosen the right curriculum for her sons. She worried about her ability to teach some subjects. She worried she was cheating her kids out of something better.

At a read-through for "A Midsummer Night's Dream," home-schooled actors Leo Delbert, left, and Victory Worth get coaching from 'Iolani Ikehara. The production gives home-schooled students a chance to work on a group project. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

"The burden was dropped from my back," Vellalos said.

Her sons flourished. Later they received full academic scholarships from Hawai'i Pacific University.

While the decision of whether, and how, to home-school was difficult, Vellalos and thousands of other Hawai'i families say they have never looked back.

"Our decision is really based on the fact that we are responsible for our kids' education, whether or not they are here or at a public or private school," said Vellalos, a member of Christian Homeschoolers of Hawai'i. "If I didn't think this was the best thing for them, then they wouldn't be at home."

With a wealth of resources available on the Internet, and several well-organized support groups throughout the state, education experts say more parents see home schooling as a viable alternative to traditional education.

There are an estimated 6,620 students being taught at home in Hawai'i this year, according to the Department of Education. That's a 10 percent increase over last year's 6,005.

Nationally, an estimated 1.3 million students were taught at home in the 1999-2000 school year, said Nina Buchanan, education professor at the University of Hawai'i-Hilo.

"There's been a shift nationally in who home-schools," Buchanan said. "It used to be that the major reason people home-schooled was to control their environment for religious purposes, and not have their children exposed to negative social pressures. Now there seems to be a shift to people who may have given up on the public schools."

The No. 1 reason families give for choosing to home-school is improving the quality of their children's education, Buchanan said.

Kym Long-Wallace is one of the them. She pulled her fifth-grade son, Nathan, out of a public school class of 32 students and started home schooling this semester. Even though she and Nathan both loved the teacher, Nathan was so far ahead of the class that he didn't have much to do during the school day.

"He gave me worksheets, but he didn't really have time to work with me," said Nathan, 10, who scores in the 99th percentile on standardized tests and has gone to summer programs for gifted children.

"I like home schooling because you can go with what they need," said Long-Wallace. "He can read anything, so he can move at a fast pace. I sometimes wonder what they did all day at school."

There are other benefits. Nathan usually wakes up at 8 a.m., after the school day has already started for most school children.

"I get breaks, too," he said.

Kaprena Worth, left, Hyram Worth and Nathan Wallace attend a rehearsal of a play being put on by home-schooled students. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

The Hawai'i Homeschool Association, which the Long-Wallace family belongs to, has grown by about 20 families since Christmas, said member Katrina Fujisaka.

Fujisaka likes the flexibility and freedom that comes with teaching at home. "It simplified our lives. We were not slaves to anybody's schedule."

For a military family like theirs, schooling also gives the children consistency. "We're always moving. We're never in the same house. Daddy's always deploying," Fujisaka said. "At least this doesn't change."

Home-schooling statistics are notoriously difficult to track. The DOE doesn't know when families leave Hawai'i; some home-schooling parents don't bother to tell their local school when they arrive, and the DOE doesn't know whether some have switched to private schools. Some families stay out of the system as a matter of principle.

Parents are required only to check in with their neighborhood schools through yearly reports or when the child would be changing schools — say from elementary to junior high school.

"It's not an accurate count because we're not sure how many people are still home-schooling their children," said Joann Swearingen, DOE educational specialist. "We constantly get phone calls about home schooling from parents, so we know that it's alive and well."

Stacey Marlow, associate professor of educational administration at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, said no single person is responsible for home schooling, so principals are left trying to determine whom the group includes. In training programs, she urges principals to reach out to home-school and private-school families.

But even home-school proponents warn that the practice is not for everyone. The first few years are daunting as parents attempt to sift through seemingly limitless information and advice. Many say choosing a support group that fits with their family's style can be confusing. And there are hundreds of school curriculums to choose from, not all designed for teaching at home. It's also a financial hardship, because one parent must stay home, and the family must buy its own supplies.

Ikehara said it sometimes seems like more work for the parents than the students.

"You wouldn't believe the homework you have to do," she said.

There are also the comments that come from others: What about socialization? You're crazy to try it. How do you do P.E.?

The state also has concerns. Marlow said that in the rare instance when parents don't educate their children well, public schools are often left to pick up the pieces.

"Nearly all of these families are very committed," she said. "There aren't often problems, but it can be a concern for principals."

Home schooling became popular during the Reagan-era emphasis on less government, and was embraced by everyone from hippies to Christians, Marlow said. Hawai'i was one of 37 states that loosened its laws to allow for home schooling.

Nevertheless, Marlow said, the stereotypes of home-schoolers as socially inept and of families as eccentric have endured, although that is slowly fading as the practice becomes more common. When she interviewed for a job at Manoa in the 1990s, Marlow was warned to avoid talking about her research in home schooling.

"It was a taboo," she said.

Home-schooling families usually scoff at the notion that the child's socialization will suffer. Between team sports, dance lessons and the host of activities available, from a summer Shakespeare Festival to group science classes or debate competitions, home-school families say they have plenty of nonfamily members in their lives.

"People have an image of mom and the kids sitting at the kitchen table all day and never going anywhere," said Patti Phears, a Hawai'i Kai resident who home-schools her son Michael, 14. "That's not what our life is like at all."

Mallory Maves, 13, has been home-schooled by her mother, Gina Maves, for about three years. This summer she's taking part in the Shakespeare Festival, will continue to compete on a swim team and may take up pottery.

Home schooling gives her more time for art and other enjoyable activities, Maves said.

"It's actually more fun," Mallory said. "I get to spend more time with my family. I can sleep in sometimes."

Mallory's school day doesn't usually start until about 10 a.m., which she considers an important benefit of home schooling for any teenager.

The common thread among home-schooling families seems to be that they are middle class and have one parent working, Marlow said.

Geri Elliott, who now home-schools four of her six kids, said her husband, Peter, had been a great source of moral and financial support.

"He never expects dinner on the table," Elliott said. "He never expects the house to be cleaned. He understands that in addition to raising the kids, home schooling is my job."

Like many families, 'Iolani Ikehara, who home-schools her four children, said she started because she wanted to spend more time with her children.

"I'm quite sure my kids will forget 80 percent of what they learn in school, as most of us do," Ikehara said. "But the parts they do remember, I think they remember with greater passion and greater depth."

After her son's academic success, Vellalos agrees. She now home-schools her three youngest children.

Reach Jennifer Hiller at jhiller@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8084.