TESTIMONIAL

FROM HOME TO DOME

by Jennifer Marie Ryan

If I ever get married, I will home school my children. I cannot imagine giving them anything less than God has given me through my parents' choice to home school.

The conversation starts out like an ordinary one when a stranger and I are getting to know one another. Then somehow the word "home schooling" reaches the ears of my listener. An alarm goes off in her head as a flood of questions fills her mind. She's heard about this strange alternative to regular school, but she has never met one of the weird people who actually choose this alternative!

She manages to blurt out the number one question that is drilled into the ears of home schooled students. "What about socialization?" The question arises because home schoolers are commonly thought to be isolated from the world and trapped without escape in the confines of the home.

Although there were many opportunities to get together with my peers, I want to clear her mind of the idea that socialization only occurs with those of your own age. "I socialize with my family and my church!" I say. I enjoy friendships with people of all ages. For example, an elderly lady at the nursing home and my three year old brother are both my friends.

I have nine younger siblings, ages eighteen to nine months, and two parents, so I have plenty of opportunities to socialize within my family. Ed, Anne, John, Nick, Gwen, Mary, James, Joseph, Robert, and I are the children of Ed and Mary Ryan. We live in Chanhassen, a western suburb of the Twin Cities in the allegedly frigid state of Minnesota. Our home school, which we call All Saints Catholic Institute, includes kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Home schooling has been an integral part of my academic, social, and spiritual life. Its blessings have permeated my relationship with my family, my friends, and my Creator. Our family started home schooling ten years ago because Mom and Dad felt that home schooling would better educate us spiritually and academically than any traditional school could. No other person in the world can love and care for a child in the way a parent can. My parents felt that they could give us more spiritual food in the family circle, complete with their own example of living in the Lord. They wanted us to develop solid characters rooted in our Catholic Faith; to know who we are, and why God put us on this green earth. So I emptied my desk at the local school when I was in fourth grade, and only returned to traditional school this first year of my college education.

Contrary to popular opinion, there are many opportunities for a home schooler to have a "social life," especially as home schooling around the country continues to grow. In our area there is a large group of home schooled teenagers called Youth Educated At Home (Y.E.A.H.). This group plans parties, sporting days, and even a prom substitute. Participating in sports is another way that we get together with kids our own age. There are also plenty of opportunities to socialize with members of our large family. Our family loves to play sports together, pray together, and celebrate birthdays! There is never a dull moment. There is always someone who wants to play. If you don't want to go sledding with your siblings, you can always boil the noodles and set the table! Yes, there are always options in our home!

All right, so maybe home schoolers do learn how to get along with other people, but immediately my questioner's low confidence in parental education comes into her inquisitive mind, and she questions "Do your parents teach you?"

Of course my parents teach me, academically and spiritually! As the Catholic Church teaches, parents are the primary educators, ultimately responsible for their child's spiritual, emotional, and academic education. So although academic training is part of the education we receive from our parents, it is accompanied by equally important types of learning,

Regarding academic training, Mom is the primary educator for elementary school. She is involved in explaining concepts in our subject books that we don't understand. She also facilitates more creative types of learning such as field trips, art projects, and home economics activities. Also during my elementary school years, Dad taught math, computers and business night classes at various times throughout my education. Math class became Math Club when Dad, Ed, Anne, John and I formed a secret handshake, made laminated Math Club cards and formulated math goals.

During my high school years, Mom and Dad became resource people and guiders. Dad is a Certified Public Accountant, so he answered most of our math questions. Mom helped us with our English and graded our papers. When Mom and Dad couldn't answer a question, they suggested using another book from the library or calling a local teacher. My brother and I participated in a chemistry lab for home schooled high schoolers at a local college. My brother now communicates via computer for one of his subjects.

Regarding spiritual and emotional education, home schooling has an incredible advantage. Because our family lives together for the entire day, my mother and my father are our role models. My parents teach us how to live our daily lives the way we see Jesus living in the gospels. While we were memorizing the book of Ephesians, Dad and Mom would joke with us, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord", while we teased back, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord".

This training includes discipline. Although at the time I did not like the way my parents consistently stuck with their discipline system, I realize more and more how it has helped me in many ways. Always accompanying their discipline is love and care for me, as they show me how my behavior can get into line with the Scriptures.

So now our inquisitor is gaining insight into the beauty of the parent-child relationship of the home schooling family, but something is still bothering her. She knows the golden rule: Every child must be involved in sports in order to have a quality education. So she asks, "What about sports?"

We love to exercise and our family plays all kinds of sports. Although our district has made it too costly for us to be on the public schools' teams, we participate in community sports. Also, our family loves to participate in triathlons, a three event competition in which we swim, bike and run. Throughout the year we also skate, ski, and play basketball, hockey, and tag football.

Another "sport" called Bible Quizzing has blessed our family tremendously. I have learned more through participating in Bible Quizzing than in any other school subject. Bible Quizzing combines our family's love for competition and interest in learning about the Word of God. Bible Quizzing is run by the Christian Missionary Alliance. In Bible Quizzing, teams from different churches get together once a month to compete on our memorization of certain books of the Bible. These monthly competitions culminate in team and individual tournaments at the end of the year. The five top quizzers from each district compete in the International Bible Quizzing competition. Ed, Anne, John, and I have had a chance to continue the fun and excitement of quizzing on the international level.

During the six years that I have participated in Bible Quizzing, we have memorized Acts, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Mark, 1 & 2 Corinthians, John, Hebrews, and 1 & 2 Peter. Not only do we commit the Scripture to our minds; we try to commit it to our hearts as well. Our team meets together weekly and spends a large portion of the meeting sharing the impact of the Scriptures in our lives, challenging each other to live out what we were memorizing. Because our Bible Quizzing team is ecumenical, our family explored the meaning of the Scriptures in our Catholic lives during family Bible studies at night. We consumed John 6 with great vigor when we memorized the Gospel of John. We soaked up Paul's words about the Eucharist when memorizing Corinthians. Now when I am home, I hear how my family is discovering anew Jesus' words to Peter concerning his position in the church in the Gospel of Matthew.

Another element that I loved about Bible Quizzing is that it was an activity we did as a family. We always helped each other with our memorizing, sprawling on each other's beds, listening to each other recite the Scripture. Mom and Dad quizzed us in the evening, making up games to put a new twist to our recitation. This whole family's involvement in Bible Quizzing is one of the biggest advantage of home schooling. I miss the common bond of participating now that I am in college.

Mom and Dad taught me numerous life lessons through Bible Quizzing. I learned about trying to be a leader, doing my best for God's glory alone, and having fun during intense competition. We learned how to win, and lose graciously. We learned about commitment and dedication to a goal and the great rewards that come from achieving it.

Now our questioner is getting a handle on the unique advantages to family life that home schooling gives. It is sounding so interesting that she wants to know more about the logistics. Family life advantages may be fine, but she wants to know how the academics are fleshed out in every day life.

We began using the books that we had used at the local school, only later incorporating the best books from different publishers to form a mix that changes periodically. We have also used many different approaches to our studies. Sometimes we did unit studies, and concentrated on a single topic as a family. We studied the human body, evolution, art history, and ancient cultures. We also loved to participate in an event put on by our home schooling support group called Expert's Night. For weeks beforehand, each student would write a research paper, construct a visual display, and prepare an oral presentation on a certain topic. I chose topics like global warming, world hunger, ancient Egypt, and Ireland.

Mom and Dad decided to accredit our school, All Saints Catholic Institute, several years ago. This accreditation means that we are recognized by the state of Minnesota as a school. Being accredited also gives structure to our home school. We are required to send in school academic goals for each student at the beginning of each year. We also send in quarterly grade reports which are used to create a transcript. The grades come from the results of publisher tests for the textbooks we use, our parent's grading on papers, oral exams, and other subjects.

Now my friend may be thinking, O.K.,it's a viable option; home schoolers can get an orderly education. But will the product of home schooling be ready to face college and its challenges?

To this question I say YES. Home schooling has prepared me for life and college in countless ways. It has given me self-confidence in who I am, the faith passed down to me from my parents, a close relationship with my parents and siblings, and self-motivation in the academic arena.

Home schooling has been instrumental in giving me an excellent foundation in my faith. Mom and Dad are fulfilling their parental duty as they continue to nourish the soil of my soul where the Lord has planted the seed of Life. I really feel close to my family. I was there while the young ones grew up, I witnessed their first loose teeth, and I held their hands as they learned to walk. My brothers and sisters and I rode our bikes together for our transportation long before we recently got our driving licenses. I am so thankful that I shared this special time with the members of my family. These are the relationships I will have for a lifetime.

I also appreciate the way Mom and Dad encouraged me to complete my studies, no matter how hard I had to work each day to get them done. They held the yardstick high, giving me the opportunity to pursue whatever kind of education I wanted after high school.

I am enjoying college life even as I am thankful for the solid foundation I received at home. The biggest opportunity to grow that college is presenting me is not academic, but social. During my home schooling years I had been surrounded by my family, church, and Bible Quizzing friends. This environment helped me to grow up surrounded by good role models. Now I am learning to live with young people who do not share all of my beliefs. The Lord is showing me how to communicate with those who have led a much different lifestyle. In the words of my father, the challenge is to learn how to respect others, without giving up one's own identity. When God presents the opportunity I must be ready. One of my roommates once asked me "Why are you always so cheerful?" Our conversation ended up with our talking about how Jesus gives joy and purpose to our lives. God is teaching me that He can only work in me when I am open to the promptings of his Holy Spirit.

Following my family's discovery of Dr. McInerny on our school visit last year, the Lord has brought many other strong Catholic Christians into my life. Enjoying fellowship with others excited about their faith has been an incredible blessing for me. Emily Moriarty, who writes about her home schooling experiences in this issue, and I were brought together one night at a Campus Christian Fellowship meeting. Our friendship has been a wonderful gift to me. The relationships based on Christ are the ones that will last a lifetime.

Another blessing about college is the opportunity to go to Mass or rosary any time of the day; in the basilica, in front of the grotto, or in the dorms. I don't even have to get my coat on to sit with Jesus in the tabernacle in our dorm chapel.

Academically, the switch from home schooling to college was smooth. It was weird "going to class" and having a professor at first. But I enjoy having professors and studying with other students. The professors have helped me grasp many concepts I would find difficult at the college level. The University of Notre Dame is a scholarly community whose motivated students like to discuss school topics in and out of the classroom. I have heard many different views about life that are opening my mind to new ideas while, at the same time, challenging me to clarify my beliefs and make them my own. I believe that God wants to strengthen my faith when I study to find out why my views differ from those of a theology class, a friend, or a textbook. It is through knowing that we are ignorant that we begin to learn.

Now my friend thinks that home schooling is an interesting option. I can imagine her home schooling her children some day. If I ever get married, I will home school my children. I cannot imagine giving them anything less than God has given me through my parents' choice to home school.

Jennifer Ryan is a freshman at the University of Notre Dame.