Celebrate Home School In Jakarta Indonesia

The weekend of March 26, 1994, my parents, my 17-year-old sister Victoria and I were the keynote speakers for the Oklahoma Central Home Educators' Consociation in Oklahoma City. During two days of speaking to the audiences and answering endless questions from parents, one question kept recurring: "How were you able to earn high school diplomas at eleven, bachelors' degrees at age 15, and master's degrees at age sixteen?" Underlying that basic question, however, were two more fundamental questions, "Why did you accelerate your educations?" and "Would you do this again?"

We explained that my parents did not initially plan to accelerate our educations. My mother began teaching me to read and write one month before my fifth birthday. When I was five years and four months old, my parents enrolled me in the first grade through Calvert School, a nearly 100-year-old school based in Baltimore, Maryland, which offers a thoroughly accredited course of correspondence study for grades one through eight. Although I was the minimum age at which Calvert will accept a first grade student, when I began the first grade I already knew how to read and write, and I knew the addition and subtraction tables. In addition, I had a wonderful teacher at my side every moment of my school day to supervise my work and keep me moving from lesson to lesson. Under her supervision I was able to complete the first grade in two and a half months, the second and third grades in six months each, and each grade from fourth through eighth in eight months each. When, at age ten, I had finished the eighth grade, my parents enrolled me in an accredited high school program through the American School in Chicago, Illinois, which I completed in eighteen months, so that I had earned a high school diploma before I was twelve years old. Each of my nine brothers and sisters began school at the same age as I and progressed at exactly the same rate.

In spite of the rapid pace, however, we never skipped any grades. In fact, we never even skipped a lesson or a part of a day's work. To us, education was not about "getting out of school quickly." It was about earning the best education possible, which meant that our grades had to be excellent and we had to demonstrate that we had really mastered each phase of the material before we moved on to the next. With Mother directing our school, however, we were able to earn l's and 2's -- Calvert School's equivalent of A's and B's -- and still complete the work in much less time than would normally be expected.

Part of the secret of this acceleration was the twelve-month school year which our family followed. Mother realized early on that with ten children to teach, she did not have time to go back and reteach subjects which we had forgotten over summer vacation. She felt that ultimately it would be easier for us to study year-round. At our house, we had as our holidays from school Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving Day, the Fourth of July, whatever federal holidays my father had off from work and, of course, every Saturday and Sunday. On all other days, we were expected to be studying at our places at the kitchen table. As a small child, I was really not aware of the concept of summer vacation or spring break-these were carefully guarded secrets in the Swann household. Five days a week, twelve months a year, school was in session and Mother and we were hard at work.

Yet, although we were in school every day, our hours were not long. Most days we studied only three hours -- from 8:30 to 11:30 in the morning. The rest of our day was our own. We played outside, performed household chores, read books and generally did the things which interested us.

Never did my parents sit down and decide that we were going to be finished with school by a certain age. The acceleration was a natural but unexpected byproduct of the way that our school was organized. While we studied only three hours a day, those three hours were very concentrated. Mother was in the school room every moment, watching everything we did. We were not allowed to play, sing, laugh, or talk in the school room. When we finished one subject, she immediately assigned us the next one. We were able to accomplish a remarkable amount of work in that three-hour time period.

Ironically, as we progressed to the university and then later to graduate work, our hours in school actually decreased. When I was earning my master's degree, I spent between two and two and a half hours a day studying, yet I was able to earn my degree in eighteen months.

When I finished school, I had some doubts about the ultimate value of accelerated education. I had always loved school; I thought my studies were fascinating, and I knew that I could do the work. Some subjects were certainly more challenging than others, but I never found any subject on any level that I could not grasp with help from my mother. Still, I wondered what would happen to me and my brothers and sisters when we finished school. How would having a master's degree at sixteen ultimately benefit us?

Over the next few years I saw that my doubts were groundless and that my education at home would bring only good things into my life. After receiving my master's degree, I wrote the book No Regrets about our family's experiences with home education. The book was published in 1989, and in June of that same year I began teaching history at El Paso Community College. Although I was only eighteen years old at the time, I had exactly the same credentials which the college required of any instructor. As the administrator who interviewed me did not ask me my age, I did not volunteer the information. One month after I went to work, a story about my family appeared on the local news, but by then the officials at the college where I worked could see that I could do the job for which they had hired me, and they simply laughed about my being so young.

Over the next four years, I taught hundreds of students, worked for two different departments at the college, and was evaluated by several colleagues. I enjoyed a good rapport with both students and faculty, and no one ever told me that I did not belong or that I was too young or inexperienced to do the job.

I have also seen how accelerated education has given my brothers and sisters a head start on their careers. My brother Christopher began working as a photojournalist for the CBS affiliate in El Paso, Texas, when he was nineteen years old. Today, at 22, he is an excellent photojournalist with the top-ranked television station in El Paso. Likewise, my brother Dominic went to work for the local public television station a few weeks after receiving his master's degree. Not long afterwards, he was hired by the CBS affiliate, where now, at the age of nineteen, he works as a director.

My sister Francesca began teaching at El Paso Community College at age seventeen. Today, at age 20, she has three years of teaching experience. Although she does not plan to continue teaching at the college, her experience will help her tremendously in pursuing a career in a related field.

Accelerated education made it possible for the younger children to assume additional responsibility as well. Last year, my father, who is a financial consultant, opened a restaurant for a client. As he needed employees, he turned to family members, and recruited nearly all of us to work there. My brother Benjamin, who was fourteen, was finishing his bachelor's degree at the time. Because Benjamin was in college and working only two to two and a half hours a day, he was able to get up at six o' clock each weekday morning, work on his studies from 7:30 to 9:30 A.M. drive to the restaurant with my father and work from 11:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. each day. In addition, he worked a full day on Sundays. That year he worked a forty-hour week, completed his bachelor's degree, and earned all of the money he needed to pay for his master's degree.

Benjamin, now fifteen, is once again a full-time student and will graduate this December with his Master of Arts. He wants to go to law school, and he is currently looking into the possibility of earning a law degree at home. Because he is still very young, he can work, go to school for a few hours each day, earn his law degree, and begin his own practice in his early twenties.

Accelerated education gives a young person an early start on life. A young man or woman goes into the workforce and begins carving out a career. Not only does that individual learn what he or she would like to do in life but, just as importantly, that individual is able to eliminate those things which he or she does not want to do. Before marriage, before children, before making those commitments that limit the direction of a person's life, we are able to find out what we are best suited to do, to become established in a career and to realize some dreams of our own.

This April marks seven years since I received my master's degree from California State University. Today, at twenty-three, I no longer teach; I am now an editor for a publishing company in El Paso which produces nursing manuals. I still think often about my parents' school at home, and I am very grateful for the opportunities that my education has given me.

At the convention this year, a parent asked me if, given the opportunity, I would change anything about my educational experience. I replied, "When I have the chance to do this over again with my own children, I will do it as close to the way my mother did as possible. It worked well for us."

On that hot September day in 1975 when I sat down for the first time with my oldest daughter Alexandra to begin teaching her at home, I knew virtually nothing about homeschooling. In fact, I had only one example - a family of traveling Mennonite missionaries we had met several years earlier who homeschooled while they were on the road but enrolled their children in school as soon as they reached their destination. Their homeschool was a hodgepodge of well-worn texts piled in the back of an ancient station wagon that served as their classroom on wheels.

When the Lord called John and me to homeschool, therefore, I thought first of this family. As much as I admired them for their dedication and Christian witness, I was appalled by their casual approach to education, and I knew that I did not want my homeschool to be anything like theirs.
I am a rigidly organized person who lives a highly structured life at every level. I had to find a method of homeschooling that would fit my lifestyle. That is rule number one - begin by finding an approach that complements your personality type.

Simple Steps to Success

I began by writing a schedule with a time slot for everything I had to do during my day including meal preparation, house cleaning, laundry, and school. Thus I could move from one task to another without wasting time or getting bogged down with one activity and neglecting others. That is rule number two - make a schedule. Even if you pride yourself on being disorganized, there are certain things you must do each day to keep your family running. Make at least a basic schedule with regular school hours so that the most important things will get done.

I then began a curriculum search. Keep in mind that in 1975 there were no curriculum fairs, etc., and I had no idea where to begin. I located a school supply house and purchased addition and subtraction flash cards and a couple of phonics books. I used the books to create a set of phonics flash cards and then added other cards by including the most frequent letter combinations I found in children's books. For readers I went to my local discount store and purchased two Dr. Seuss books and several Little Golden Books. Using these materials and plain notebook paper, I taught Alexandra reading, printing, and addition and subtraction facts. That is rule number three - a homeschool does not have to be fancy. Cheap basic materials work as well or better than elaborate expensive ones when teaching a child the fundamentals of reading, writing, and math.

We Chose Calvert

Of course, I knew that I must find a curriculum that would meet all of Alexandra's needs as she progressed. Fortunately, our attorney located the Calvert program for us which proved to be exactly what we were hoping to find. For each grade level the Calvert program offered an accredited curriculum which included all texts, a teacher's manual with structured lesson plans for each day's work, and an optional advisory teaching service (the advisory teaching service is expensive but mandatory if the student is to have the benefit of accreditation).

When Alexandra was five years and four months old, we enrolled her in Calvert. Armed with my personal written schedule and the Calvert manual, I was able to maintain the structured lifestyle I wanted so much to preserve.

Structure Works

I had a baby every year until I had produced ten children in less than thirteen years. Thanks to a structured homeschool, I was able to add a new student to my classroom each year until 1988 when Judah, my youngest, began the first grade, and also keep the house clean and well ordered.

I was far from confident when I began teaching my daughter. To tell the truth, I feared that at some point my homeschool might come tumbling down like a house of cards. I am happy to report, however, that after 21 years of using a structured approach, I still believe that it was the only method for my family.

All of my children who are old enough have earned their Masters degrees at age 16. My five oldest children, who range in age from 21 to 25, are happily employed in a number of fields, including television news production, photojournalism, education, and publishing. My 17-year-old son Benjamin is the youth pastor at our church and supplements his income by substitute teaching at a local elementary school. He plans to eventually pastor his own church. My 16-year-old son Israel received his Masters in December. He is an excellent artist who hopes to find a career as an animator. The three youngest - ages 12, 13, and 15 - are earning their university degrees.

I believe that structure is the key to an educational experience which makes the best use of both the student's and the teacher's time. There is no "magic" curriculum that will do the work for us. There is no perpetually "fun" course of study that will constantly interest and delight our students. While some are unarguably better than others, all curricula are imperfect. However, the manner in which we present a curriculum to our students makes a great deal of difference. If we are casual about our children's education, they will probably not feel any real motivation to push ahead and do their best.

For me, embarking on an educational experience without the benefit of structure and a schedule which includes both daily and long term goals would be as foolhardy as leaving on an automobile trip without a road map. After all, if we do not have a well-marked route, how can we ever expect to reach our destination?

I was a little nervous when Dad and I went to talk to the Admissions Advisor, Mr. Valentine. On the way to the college, many thoughts ran through my mind. When I was about nine or ten, I had decided I wanted to start college early. At the time, I thought if I worked really hard maybe I could be ready by the time I was fourteen years old. Little did I expect that I would be ready for college when I was twelve - going on thirteen, but nonetheless there I was starting the application process.

I remember praying that morning that things would work out for the best, whether I got into college or not. After we got there, it was pretty simple. All we had to do was find Mr. Valentine, and talk to him about homeschooling, why I wanted to go to college early, how I worked for it, prayed about it, and about how we all felt that I was ready. He said that he needed some sort of papers stating that I had graduated from high-school. He also said I would have to take an Asset Test (the college entrance test for the Community College System). Depending on my scores, we would proceed after the test.

The first problem was easy. When we returned home, Mom went to the computer, created a diploma on a word processor, and printed it up. Then she printed up a copy of my high-school transcripts (she keeps accurate records, so that was simple). When Dad left for work that afternoon, he dropped off the documents at the college. They accepted the diploma and transcripts with no further questions.

Then for nine days I did intense review work. I worked especially hard in my weak area . . . math. The morning of the Asset Test I was really nervous. How I did on the test would decide whether or not I went to college. I prayed most of the way to the college. When we got there, I took the test. Afterwards we waited half an hour for the results . . . I passed with flying colors! Mom and Dad took me out for lunch as a reward.

Later in the week, I met my college advisor to decide what courses to take. I registered for two classes: Survey of The Old Testament and second-semester U.S. History. Mom took both of those classes with me. That was fun! It gave us some extra time together.

I was a little nervous on my first day of college. The professors were both very nice, and I loved both of my classes. The classes and experience were wonderful. My curiosity was satisfied. College was no big deal, after all. The classes were easy, yet rewarding. It was everything I thought it would be, but by the end of the semester I was tired of college life. Even though I passed with a 4.0 average, I was ready for a break! I decided not to take classes during the summer. Mom and Dad agreed that I needed some time off to pursue my interests.

By the time fall rolled around, I was writing my own newsletter, studying things that interested me, helping my younger siblings with schoolwork, planning a Youth Prayer Group, starting my sixth year of piano lessons, and reading all of the good books that I could find. I didn't think that I'd have time to do all those things if I went back to college. So after much prayer and discussion with my parents, I decided not to go back to college this semester. I made this decision, not because I don't like college, but because this is time I can never get back, and I am happy doing the things I'm doing. I'll probably go back to college next fall, but for now I'm happy being at home - doing what's important, studying whatever interests me, and just being myself!

Our son recently turned 8. He recognizes letters and can write words, but still doesn't read.
By all accounts, we should be panic-stricken. Given our competitive society, many would no doubt feel we are highly irresponsible to let our son fall "so far behind."
Surely, we must be desperately looking for advice on dealing with late readers. Or we must be on the hunt for that breakthrough curriculum which will quickly turn him into a reader.
Nope, neither.
We feel confident when he is ready to read, he will read. And perhaps when that day comes, he will read with passion and purpose. We believe this because we've noticed a lot of interesting things about him.

For instance, whenever I play him in chess, he beats me. I'm no chess pro, but good grief, I can usually make a respectable showing. Honestly, I try to beat him. I give it all I've got. But he always wins. So I'm left to conclude he has a pretty good noggin.

Our son entertains us regularly with some very imaginative stories. The other night he invented an army tank (on paper) which has all sorts of ways of defending itself against enemy attacks. One of those is a force field which turns incoming missiles into liquid just before impact. Another is a net which catches bombs and tosses them back at the enemy.

This is just the tip of the iceberg of his fascinating mind. He is always asking questions. He is endlessly curious. We suspect before long, his desire to learn more about a given subject will be his motivation to become a reader.

Our approach to educating both him and his older sister, is that of unschooling. In other words, we serve them up regular platterfuls of learning opportunities and then leave them free to sample and dabble.

Of course, we ensure they do some of the 3R's each day. For instance, we require our daughter to write in her journal daily. And math is a daily kitchen table event.

But beyond those and a few other basics, the children independently follow their learning interests.

I didn't enjoy such learning independence until just a few years ago when I finally freed my mind of the notion that self-learning was inferior; that I couldn't truly learn something unless I attended an institution and paid tuition.

That discovery opened a whole new world. My wife had long since been a self-learner. She was just waiting for me to catch on.

Together, we decided it would be great to "teach" our children self-learning from their early years.

Hence, we unschool. And we don't get too uptight when our children fail to meet society's standards of mastery.

We think passion and curiosity are much more important, anyhow. And we like to believe passion and curiosity have a greater chance of becoming lifelong companions when given enough time and space for development during childhood.

So, we allow our son to spend lots of time in his imaginary world. Who knows, down the road when he finally masters reading and writing, he may have something profound to share with us. Or perhaps, he may not choose to do that, but simply use his reading and writing skills to pursue his passion and curiosity on another level.

Whichever he chooses is up to him. Our only hope is he will forever feel free to learn at his pace and according to his interests.
In terms of learning, it doesn't get much better than that.