Sun Times Homeschooling Article

School's in ... the home

Donald Stewart had a choice of six colleges, including Johns Hopkins University, Amherst College and Haverford College. He ultimately chose Dartmouth. The enviable list of schools wanting to admit him, he says, was the payoff of the education Stewart received -- in his Chicago home.

Looks like he has a bright future continued from his interesting past and present.

"It taught me in many ways if something's interesting to you to go out there and do it, and not wait for someone to give you instructions as to how and as to when," said Stewart, a musician who has his own record label.

Critics who worry about homeschooling are limited to teachers' unions: They are concerned parents aren't properly trained to instruct.

"Just as there is concern about having properly certified teachers in every classroom, that's also important for students being educated in the home," said David Comerford, spokesman for the Illinois Federation of Teachers union. "All schools should have the same set of requirements in terms of standards."

Just say congratulations to this young adult who found a way to educate that worked for him, Mr. Comerford, and get off your union platform.

College officials in recent years have become more eager to recruit homeschooled students. Those students typically impressed Anna Ivey when she was dean of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School from 1999 to 2000.

"More often than not, they struck me as people who had approached college with a seriousness, maturity and intellectual vigor that was often lacking in conventionally schooled students, who often take longer to land on their feet when they start college," said Ivey, author of The Ivey Guide to Law School Admissions: Straight Advice on Essays, Resumes, Interviews, and More (Harcourt, $14).

Seems like the college crowd gets it about homeschoolers.

Homeschooling doesn't by any means require keeping the kids at home. Catching bugs in the backyard? Rogers Park mom Tiffany Ragland arms her sons with insect field guides and heads outdoors for "science class."

Me, too. I like that science 'class'! We, including the dog, just had an almost 'hands on science' encounter with a skunk walking down our road last night under a very new moon.

I liked this article!