Home Sweet College
Is college at home an option for you? Miss Stowman shares some of the experiences and challenges she went through, as she explored this particular path.
When I was five and our family began our journey down the homeschooling road, the critics shook their heads. Imagine their disappointment a few years later when my parents chose to keep me at home for high school. When graduation day arrived, so did the guests with their favorite question, “What are you going to do next year?” I would have expected that after thirteen years of observing our family, people would be used to the concept of home education. Yet I again took them by surprise with my next move, which was no move at all! I chose to complete my college education at home.
My satisfaction with attending college at home went beyond the curriculum and skills learned to the fact that I was free from physically attending a university. Living at home under my parents’ care, guidance and protection was important to me.
This chapter of my life began with a pack of homeschool advertisements arriving in the mail. I now see God’s hand in bringing the card from Whitefield College to my attention. The more I looked into it, the more excited I became. Reading their mission statement was a pleasure. Whitefield is a college built upon a biblical worldview, willing to be different.
Other characteristics of Whitefield impressed me from the beginning as well; their homeschool-friendly attitude was even evident in their application process. Plus, they had the major I wanted. Here a committed homeschooler could take education classes and love the material.
In the year 2000 I enrolled in Whitefield College’s education program. I remember, for the first time in my life, waiting for a grade. I was more curious than afraid. But I was unused to the fact that there was little or no feedback throughout a class. If I had a question, I was free to contact the college dean, but other than that it was up to me—with my books, recorded lectures, and anyone I could find with whom to discuss the material. I valued the brief comments that came with my grade at the end of the class and I learned to apply all I could glean to my next class.
I quickly realized that college at home was going to be a lot of work. I spent hours each day reading, listening, taking notes, and summarizing what I had learned. Interestingly, only two classes of the whole four year program employed tests. In addition to doing extensive writing during the classes, each one ended with a required research paper, giving me the opportunity to show what I had learned. Slow at first, my pen steadily gained speed and I gained confidence as I practiced writing skills on a daily basis.
While there was a lot of hard work involved (often six to eight hours each day of intense studying), I loved what I was learning. General education courses provided me with a concrete foundation and the opportunity to delve into the Bible, church doctrine, history, literature, and more. The classes for my field of education were also wonderful. Rather than having to knock heads with liberal professors, my philosophy of education was strengthened and refined. I did not always agree with the point of view of an author or lecturer, but this did not bother me. I believe that a danger of Christian education is to let down our guard and unquestioningly absorb material. I welcomed the reminder to remain discerning and thoughtful.
Completing college at home was demanding. Self-direction, self-motivation and discipline were essential. I had to be willing to spend many hours alone. It required creativity and determination to keep at my studies and fit needed variety into my days. I also had to scour home, seminary, and internet libraries for sources rather than going to a convenient college library. And then there were the frustrations of slow communication with the college. It was not always easy, but those challenges were not really harmful. I look back at them as learning experiences—a training ground for whatever God has in store for me down the road.
My satisfaction with attending college at home went beyond the curriculum and skills learned to the fact that I was free from physically attending a university. Living at home under my parents’ care, guidance and protection was important to me. I valued the insight they offered to my studies as well as being able to stay involved in the daily life of my family and church. I was able to remain in the real world rather than being cloistered away on a college campus surrounded by peers. If I wanted to talk with classmates, I could do that through the online “campus,” but I could take it or leave it as I wished.
Since I set the class schedule, I was able to continue on with many of the activities that had been an important part of my life before college. Mission trips to Russia with my family continued, as did an occasional winter afternoon of quilting at my grandmother’s and helping with my father’s business during the sea-sonally busy time. These perks made the challenges well worth the effort.
My studies at Whitefield College brought me to an exciting and unique experience I will never forget. To graduate in my field, I was required to complete a student teaching practicum. The college would have helped me find a place to do this, but they also welcomed my input. A personal connection with a missionary family in Shell, Ecuador, afforded me the opportunity to teach in the Nate Saint Memorial School, a school for missionary children. Whitefield and Nate Saint cooperated well to give me an amazing, five month, handson learning experience. I still marvel at the chance I had to be involved in the everyday joys and struggles of real people. Not only did I get practice in front of a classroom of children, but I learned patience as I worked one-on-one with a little boy with Downs Syndrome. I also was able to minister to a child whose home life was being turned upside down by an upcoming move, and I befriended the lone teenage girl in the school.
This practicum embodied so many of the elements that attracted me to college at home in the first place. I was given the freedom to explore my interests of travel, missions, and “non-traditional” learning while getting my education in a reallife setting.
And if it is any comfort to the critics: I actually left home! God used my years of study in our homeschool to prepare me for college at home, the challenge of life thousands of miles from all that was familiar, and life after college. As a private tutor, I now spend my days helping others journey down the homeschooling road. Sticking to that course—even through college—was worth it for me, and I long to see others benefit as I have.
©2009 Homeschooling Today magazine, Nehemiah Four, LLC