My interview regarding homeschooling

I was recently interviewed on a great blog site, by a great blogger regarding homeschooling. Here is the transcript from that interview. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed giving it. Every chance you have, you should check out this guy's blog!


--Good evening and welcome to the blogs of Matthew Evans. My guest this evening is homeschooling dad, Matthew Evans from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Welcome Mr. Evans.


Oh thank you very much Mr. Evans, but please call me Matt.


--Well OK then, Matt, and you can call me Matt. Why don't you start out by telling us a little about yourself and your family and why you chose to homeschool your children instead of sending them to standard school?


Well, Matt, let me first say that I find your blog to be the most interesting, intelligent, exhilarating blog I have come across. It is filled with up-to-date current events and an objective and insightful view on them all. I truly enjoy reading them over and over again and look forward with great expectation to future ones.


--Thank you so much, that's so kind of you to say.


My wife and I chose to homeschool basically because we did not like the idea of someone else telling our children what to think or what to believe. What I mean by that is this: we want our children to be able to look at a situation and come to their own conclusions based upon facts, objectivity, reason and experience. All organized schools, whether public or private, have ulterior motives. Organized schools want children to be good little citizens who obey the laws and do as they are told. Public schools want to teach children, let's take for example global warming, they teach that global warming is an undisputed fact and all of science agrees that it is a horrible thing. However, in reality, there are many scientists who believe the opposite is occurring; that the earth is cooling. There are even more scientists who state that this is a naturally occurring cycle and we should just roll with it. Private schools are usually religious based and teach their brand of religion and what they believe the Bible says, and that is not at all what we wanted for our children. We want our children to look at all the information available and come to a logically based conclusion. For example, my oldest daughter and I disagree on the issue of immigration. We both agree that the system needs overhauled, however she agrees with full amnesty for illegal aliens, whereas, I do not. That is exactly what we wanted to nurture in our children. We did not want them to become little robots, mindlessly repeating the doctrines someone else taught them. I don't want my children to blindly follow-the-leader. I want them to question the leader, to question authority and become the leaders themselves. Not to mindlessly pledge allegiance to something or someone; but to pledge allegiance only if they choose to do so.


--So how do you actually teach in such a manner?


It's not as difficult to homeschool as people think. We use the library and the internet primarily. There are several math textbooks to choose from, it's rather difficult to use math to indoctrinate children into something. We have all found sources of information we trust more than others and sources we do not trust at all. So have my children. I want my children to trust me and use me as a source of information so I attempt to provide them with as much information about things as I can. I attempt to prove my point logically through morals and reason. They use the same method for judging other informational sources.


--What about socialization? How do you think your children will adjust to society when they become adults?


That is the question we are asked the most. I am not sure why people think it is such a big deal. Depending on who is asking I tell them that socialization is good, if you want your child to be a good socialist. Socialization is inevitable, unless you live on a deserted island, your children will be socialized.


--(Ha Ha, chuckle, chuckle) I never thought of it that way. Good point. Please continue.


Children in organized schools socialize with children their own age or very close to their own age. That is not how we live our lives. Five year old children shouldn't learn etiquette from other five year old children; they should learn it from adults. My children socialize with people their own age, older and younger through extra curricular activities, homeschool co-operatives, shopping, living in a neighborhood, etc. It is not uncommon for our 11 year old son, Matthew Jr., to carry on an intelligent conversation with an adult. If my girls choose, they can talk about the latest American Idol winner or discuss the latest bail out plans of the government. They can communicate with children a fraction of their age or adults several times their age.


--Do your children participate in sports related activities?


Yes, of course, it is basically part of their physical education. My daughters (Hannah, Rebecca and Rachel) are all members of one of the local homeschool volleyball teams, the Fort Wayne Falcons; they play competitively locally, statewide and nationally. My son participates in many of the basketball and baseball programs in our city.


--What other types of extra-curricular activities are there? I know you mentioned the co-ops available, what are they about?


Homeschooled families often pool their resources and parents give a presentation regarding their job or other areas where they have a specialty. An example would be, that due to our careers and education, my wife could present a class regarding heart health or I could give one regarding animal care or laws. Two of my daughters, Hannah and Rachel, are reading tutors for children third grade and under through a local education organization. Through this group they also visit nursing homes where they read to the residents. Rebecca and Rachel are both members of the Explorers program which is hosted by the Animal Shelter and and is a program for young people to explore animal related careers. The girls are also members of CHAT, a local group for homeschooled teens. The Fort Wayne area is rife with homeschool support. This area makes it easy to be a homeschooler, as do Indiana laws in general.


--What about the laws? Do you need to have the children tested or vaccinated just like regular school kids?


No child is required by law to be vaccinated, that is a misnomer. Each state is different. Indiana is one of the best states homeschoolers could live in. Basically the state law requires that only the local school superintendant can question us regarding the matter; and all he/she can ask for is proof that we provide something educational to our children for 180 days. The same amount of days children go to regular schools.


--So if a police officer knocked on your door and asked why your children were not in school, what would you say?


I would politely tell him that my children are homeschooled and ask that he leave my property.


--What if he demanded proof that they were in fact homeschooled?


Then I would no longer be polite and demand he leave my property immediately before I took drastic measures. Those measures, however, are for a different interview.


--I see. So what do you think has been the most difficult part of homeschooling?


I know I say that my wife and I do it, but she deserves all the credit. Now the children are old enough to basically do it all themselves and lean on us for occasional questions, assistance or other needs. Teaching the basic "Three R's" was tough at first. In the beginning my wife was a stay-at-home mom, and I worked several jobs so she could be. We sacrificed through that time so she could lay the educational foundation for us and the children to build on. Hannah, our oldest, was our guinea pig. The poor thing, we tried several methods with her, ultimately settling for what we consider a watered down "unschooling" approach.


--"Unschooling?" What does that mean?


Since Hannah is in high school we opted for a more set curriculum. She receives videos of a classroom with a teacher and students and she performs everything they do, as if she were sitting in the class as well. Our other children though, basically do their own thing. No organized school time and their only established curriculum is Saxon Math. If they take a hankering to learn about trees, fine, they learn about trees; the same for poetry, cooking, or rocket science. I say it is a watered down approach because we do include some text books for math and some other forms of curriculum, but math is the only subject they consistently use a text book for.


--What has been the best part of homeschooling?


Knowing my children are going to be home safe and sound after school is comforting. No worries about my children being caught up in a school shooting or gang violence. We all know the reports of how poorly the government schools perform; I know from personal experience that private schools aren't much better. I have no intention of sending my children somewhere, to be indoctrinated into a system that has already proven to be a complete failure. The fact that my children are free and independent thinkers and can discuss relevant matters and important issues with adults and can express themselves in an articulate manner is gratifying and makes it all worthwhile.


--That's great to hear. Well Matt, that's all the time we have for today. It has been an absolute pleasure talking with you today. It has been an exciting, interesting and educational interview. Thank you for your time and thank you for raising your children in a manner which will ultimately benefit all of us in the future.


Thank you Matt, I've had a great time. Keep up the great work and I look forward to more blogging.


--Good night everyone. Queue the music…