Home Schooling Spells Success
by George Abraham Thampy
Last week I won the
Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, and my picture was in the papers all over
the world. It was a really tough
competition. One letter missed or
out of place and I would have been out of the competition with no second
chances. I know that well because I
had lost at the two previous national spelling bees.
A lot of people noticed something
particular about the bee this year:
I am home schooled, as were the two other finalists. A home-schooled girl won in 1997, but
this is the first time home-schoolers have had a clean sweep. As a result, a lot of people have been
asking questions about home schooling.
So I would like to explain a little about what exactly home-schooling
means for me, and to tell you what I do all day.
I study most everything a child would
at school — science, math, English, history, geography and social
sciences. I don't study all
subjects everyday, but concentrate instead on two or three subjects. On most days I would also do in-depth
research over the Internet on one of my favorite topics.
My parents structure my time. But I study in periods of variable
lengths, not exactly like class periods in school.
I have six siblings, and five of them
are home schooled, so some subjects, such as geography, history and current
events, are taught to us as a group.
My mom often asks us to finish a task
on a certain subject before we get a break for lunch,
or before we move on to a different subject.
Most of the time, however, we are
taught individually, and the instruction is tailored to our specific
needs. We all use different
textbooks and download material from the Internet.
Science supply stores sell kits for
chemistry experiments. My dad
happens to be a biochemistry professor, so visits to a laboratory are often
possible.
We go on plenty of field trips,
sometimes with other home schoolers.
I've been to farms, banks, fire stations and museums. Also, whenever my dad has to make
presentations at work, I go with him and help him with the slides. Occasionally, I fix his software
problems too.
A lot of people can picture home
schooling when it comes to study that's based on books, like English or
math. But the other aspects of education
are also well-covered — such as sports, religious activities, personal
hygiene, letter writing and public speaking. For sports we go to the gym and to
playgrounds. I love to play
softball and soccer. I enjoy
bike-riding and kite-flying, as well as walking about the neighborhood.
My schedule is flexible enough to
accommodate specific projects. I
have chosen to do household chores as well as help my younger brothers and
sisters with their studies and special projects. In the evening we concentrate on outdoor
activities. At night, we sit with
our dad and go over math and science.
Occasionally he brings home some interesting articles on health-related
problems and we have a family discussion.
One such article was on rabies and its dissemination in certain regions
of the country by bats and skunks.
Another time we read about food poisoning in the Northwest and how it
spread from one source to the entire community.
Since most kids who go to school make
friends there, people might wonder about the social lives of home-schooled
kids. It's not that complicated,
really. I have friends at the
church youth group — we belong to the Evangelical Free Church. Also, I have befriended numerous former
competitors in the National Geography Bee and the National Spelling Bee, with
whom I keep in touch via e-mail.
In any case, just because I don't go to
a big classroom full of other children my age doesn't mean I'm lonely. I have brothers and sisters and other
home-schooled friends, not to mention Boy Scout friends, and friends around the
neighborhood and church. I have no
trouble relating to kids who go to conventional schools. They don't think I'm strange because I'm
home-schooled, especially since we study the same subjects, only in a different
way. Besides, even they usually
seem to know other kids who are home-schooled.
Home-schooling is not so hard to
understand. My mom and dad are my
teachers, and most of the time my mom is home while my dad is at work. Financially, however, it is rather
expensive for my parents to get all the latest and best materials, to update
computers and software every six to 12 months, and to keep ahead in this
race. It costs them about $7,500 a
year for books, supplies and computer needs, as well as another $1,000 for
field trips and other outings.
But it's not just a question of
money. Home schooling all of us
takes a lot of time, effort and commitment on their part. As a consequence, my dad and mom do not
have much time for themselves. I
see them often working late at night in order to keep up with their own
work. My mom has not gone to bed
before 2 a.m. in a long time.
The above piece was printed in the Wall Street Journal on June 7, 2000.
George Abraham Thampy is twelve years old.
╪