by Tammy Drennan (Written in 2000)

You would think that after fifteen years of home schooling I would have a quick, quippy answer to the question, "Why do you home school?" But my reasons involve issues that don't lend themselves to sound-bites. They cover topics such as the long-term damaging effects of institutionalizing kids and the crime of treating children like computers, trying to program in specified amounts of information at a steady, unthinking pace.

Since I have more than just "sound-bite room" here, I will try to give something of a summary of my motives for home schooling.

1. Academics. At home my children can learn more and learn it more deeply than anywhere else. Learning is relevant to life.

2. Resources. At home we have access to truly good books and other resources. We are not tied to shallow textbooks or single sources of information. We have easy access to endless points of view. We can truly research topics.

3. Communication. Talking is one of the most important aspects of education -- talking about what we learn and think, learning to express our thoughts and learning the give and take of debate (real debate, not school debate). My children and I spend hours at a time talking through our ideas, honing our thinking and communication skills.

4. Socialization. Institutional schools do enough damage in this area alone to make all the challenges of home schooling worthwhile. I want my children to be confident, able to communicate effectively in any situation and able to empathize with people of all ages and cultures. It may one of the ultimate ironies of modern society that while schools claim special ability in these areas, in reality they are the perpetrators of just the opposite. Most children operate in a survival mode in school. This makes them necessarily completely self-absorbed, which is not usually considered a social skill.

5. Self-determination. I was in fourth grade when I realized that I was a prisoner, that my teachers were running my whole life. They could tell me what to read and deprive me of time to read what I wanted to. They could tell me what to do and when to do it. Nearly every move I made was based on an order they issued. Is it any wonder so many young people enter the workforce unable to make even simple decisions or take simple actions without being told what to do? When life throws problems their way, they think only of turning to some authority for help. It does not occur to most to try first to help themselves, to better their lives with their own skills. They become sheep, waiting to be cared for and bleating loudly if someone doesn't respond quickly enough.

6. Tenacity. I want my kids to have the ability and the freedom to see a thing through, and I want them to understand that many things in life require weeks, months and even years of hard work. I don't want them to think that because they spent a week on the Civil War chapter in a history book they know something about the Civil War. I want them to become tenacious, deep learners, doggedly pursuing knowledge and truth and understanding.

7. Creativity. I'll wrap up with this point. I want my children to be producers more than they are consumers, and this takes an active, creative and free mind. When they sit at a computer, I want them to be more likely to create something than to search for entertainment. When they read a book or see a movie, I want their minds to be so active that these things are fuel rather than pacifiers. When they hear music, I want it to inspire them rather than lull them. All this takes a mind that has been vigorously exercised -- and vigorously free.