At Home In School Parents Take Turns Teaching In Cooperative Home School
Deep into last Thursday’s lesson on atoms, molecules and all things microscopic, Sebastian Davis had a thought.
Wasn’t DNA the stuff they used in “Jurassic Park?” he asked, sparking a conversation about the wonders of genetics that took up the remainder of class.
It wasn’t the next order of business on the lesson plans, but that was fine with the teacher. Such wayward musings are encouraged in this classroom.
In fact, that’s just the way the parents want it.
“We don’t go by clock time,” said parent Joanie Eppinga. “We go by what comes up.”
Three Peaceful Valley and Vinegar Flats families have teamed up this year to create a home school. While the concept of home schooling isn’t new, the unique advantages of a cooperative project drew these families in.
Three days a week, Sebastian, 13, and his sister Judith, 10, meet with Doe Hawkes-Roach, 12, and (see memo)
Tuesday is history with Eppinga, Nina’s mother. Friday, science with Sonja Davis and then on to music appreciation with Ellen Hawkes. Keavy Neff, Nina’s father, provides the physical education aspect with frequent visits to the YMCA, and Tom Davis is the resident poetry expert.
Each family tackles math and other subjects individually.
For Eppinga and Neff, it was something they’d wanted to try for a while. Their decision was cinched on Nina’s third day of kindergarten.
Nina, then 6, got off the bus and asked her parents, “When are they going to teach me something?”
The ballooning size of public school classrooms was a concern for the Davis family.
“They learn better in a smaller classroom setting,” said Sonja Davis.
It may be easier to send children off on the bus each morning, but these parents say the extra effort of home schooling is paying off for them as well.
“I find I’m learning as much, if not more, than the kids,” said Davis. “And it’s not just the lessons. I’m seeing how different people take in knowledge.”
Davis and husband Tom met with Eppinga, Neff and Hawkes in early September to lay the groundwork for the school. She was motivated by a need to be more involved with her family.
“I was a hospice nurse,” Davis said. “It took up all my energy. I became aware of what was important in life, and that was my family. I realized the kids are going to be grown up and gone, and I’ll miss it.”
Home schooling has become an increasingly accepted alternative to public education in recent years. In a 1985 Gallup poll, just 27 percent of respondents said home schooling was a good idea. That number rose to 43 percent in a survey this year.
In Spokane’s District 81, 577 students are home-schooled, up from 472 last year.
With that budding popularity comes a wave of resources. Dozens of Web sites are devoted to the subject, and Washington has at least five organizations designed to support home-school families.
“We’ve been surprised at how helpful everybody is,” said Sonja Davis. “The resources and curriculum are so rich out there. I don’t know how we’re going to do it all.”
Spokane’s District 81 and the state of Washington take a laissez-faire approach, providing only the most basic guidelines for home schooling. By state law, home-school teachers must either contract with a certified teacher on a weekly basis, take a home-schooling course or have 45 college credits. The state also requires a yearly declaration of their intent to home-school.
“What we do as a district is we maintain paperwork for them,” said Maureen Schneider, coordinator of elementary student services. “We don’t run the curriculum or set any specific standards.”
Home-school families can tap into district resources, though. They can work with willing schools and teachers to develop curriculum, and students can attend ancillary classes in public schools. The Libby Center offers computer courses designed for home-schooled students.
Classes like those also provide socialization that kids miss out on when they’re schooled at home - a common criticism. The cooperative-school parents say their program sidesteps that problem by providing interaction between different ages.
“I think it’s exciting, especially because they have a small group so the child isn’t missing out on socialization,” said Gerri Graber-Wilson, a home-schooling consultant working with the families. “Part of education is hearing other ideas, and they’re achieving that.”
Besides, say the parents, public school socialization isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
“I remember junior high,” said Eppinga. “Everyone was just a bundle of insecurities. That stuff was just a nightmare, and Nina’s such a beautiful, creative child. I’d hate to see that lost.”
With a 1-to-4 teacher-student ratio, the parents say they spend less time dealing with disciplinary problems and administrative red tape inherent to a class of 25-plus students.
“I remember reading in college that one hour of home-school time is equal to eight hours in a regular classroom,” said Hawkes. “That stuck with me.”
The students spend time on their individual interests. Nina likes to cook and paint. Doe spends time writing. Sebastian studies Spanish and works on “The Ghost of Glocktenspiel,” a play he’s concocting along with sister Judith.
“It’s like a cross between a soap opera and Shakespeare,” Sonja jokes about the dialogue.
Eppinga lectured about the Revolutionary War to an audience lined up on her couch in rapt attention. They were fascinated, she said, not with dates and timelines, but with the fact that British soldiers took hours to put on their uniforms because their pants were so tight.
“It’s those little details you throw in that make it interesting and meaningful,” she said. “You often don’t have time for those in public school.”
Extra time also allows real-life experience to be incorporated. Neff often takes Nina along with him to his job as a caregiver for the elderly. It teaches her compassion, he says.
Sebastian recently accompanied his father along on a remodeling job, where he helped with painting and carpentry.
“Almost anything we do, there’s 10 learning experiences available,” said Neff. “We mostly just integrate the kids into our lives.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: Unpublished correction: story was cut off from page 1. Paragraph that starts with “Three days a week…” is incomplete.