Political wisdom for 2008

No Regrets - Homeschooling in Arizona

The following is an article written for the Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE) Journal, 2nd quarter 2008 publication. Because of space restrictions, I had to shorten stories and drop many others. As I have time, remember and am motivated the tales will be updated. I’m grateful for the four ladies God brought into my life. They are beautiful, gracious, exciting, talented and lovers of God. As for my two sons-in-law, who I’m proud of, they definitely married up. I did too.

In 1976, Colene and I read the life changing book, How Shall We then Live, by Dr. Frances Schaeffer. The book deals with the impacts of secular and Christian worldviews. It explained historically how music, philosophy, theology and science influenced thinking and behavior from the Roman Empire up through the Beatles. It prophetically depicted the impacts of these two competing worldviews on the “life issues.” We were now committed; if ever we had children, they would receive an education from a Christian worldview.

At that point in time, home schooling children never crossed my mind, which is interesting considering that in the early 70’s Colene and I attended a weekly college Bible study in the home of a longtime home school family, the Lloyds. They were homeschooling in the 60’s--very dangerous times to buck the government monopoly on education.

The Lloyd family greatly impacted us. They expressed a love for God that translated into love of family and a warm open hospitality to all their visitors. In their home, there were shelves everywhere and all abundantly stocked with books. Their children were kind, fun, smart and conversant on many subjects and with any age group. It was here that the home school seed was first planted.

After the birth of our first daughter, Heather, in 1979, we found ourselves volunteering on Sunday morning in our church’s nursery. There, we met another incredible pioneering home school family and founders of Christian Home Educators of Arizona, John and Christina Ramsey. All this time, Colene was taking note of these and other pioneering families. I remained oblivious to the option of home schooling. I knew my children would have an education from a Christian worldview and the only place that could happen, I thought, was at a Christian school.

Four things influenced a shift in my awareness and consideration of home schooling. The first was Heather’s experience at a prestigious Christian school. In kindergarten, all was well. Heather’s teacher taught phonics and Heather was reading. However, in first grade, she lost the ability to read. The school had made a policy change, dropping phonics for a “look-say” reading method. What ever happened to God, country and phonics?

Second, Heather’s high energy landed her at the back of the class where she would be less disruptive. It seemed every five minutes Heather needed to stand and circle her desk. Heather, a kinesthetic learner, would retain this trait for some years. Thank God this happened before the onslaught of Ritalin!

The third reason dealt with Heather’s exposure to inappropriate behavior from her peers. Many were already mindful and expressive of the distinctions between designer and regular dress. The materialism with a fashion focus was age inappropriate.

Finally, I had done the math on the cost of three daughters in private school, a private school that had failed to otherwise impress me. So when Colene suggested we consider home schooling, I was ready. I had no anxiety about Colene’s ability to teach; my only concern was, “Would she survive being ‘Home Alone’ with the children?”

Like other home school families, we wrestled with what our school would look like. We purchased little surplus school desks. We did the morning flag salute. Four-year-old Bethany would go into hysterics as two-year-old Evie dropped and dragged the American flag around the house. We quickly learned that the formal school structure was stressful to mom and kids. So rather than creating a school in the home, we gravitated to a home where we learned. Colene soon came across many wonderful resources, including the KONOS curriculum, which was a godsend for our kinesthetic daughter, complemented multilevel teaching for a family of three, and fit with our un-schooling philosophy.

Heather, our first born, was the experimental child. Our successes and failures were appropriately passed or withheld from her siblings. However, our philosophy of a home where we learn as a way of life was a blessing to all the girls. For several more years, Heather continued to circle her desk while reciting her math tables or taking a test. Likewise, rather than lectures about boats, Heather made a boat. Rather than reading about Bedouins, she became one and migrated about the house. Only home lends itself to this type of learning modality.

Heather would go on to excel at ASU. I still recall waiting that first week to see how our “sheltered” home school child would fair in a classroom of three hundred. She was not intimidated. Our theories held true! Heather was shocked at the number of students who ditched class, or who would not seek teacher help after class. After a first semester science class, she asked the professor a question derived from his lecture. He responded that the question would not be on the test. Inquisitively, she asked, “But what is the answer?” Puzzled, the professor asked where she attended high school. “Home schooled,” was the response. He smiled and commented, “That explains it.” Heather later became one of the youngest undergrad research and teaching assistants in the biology department, and was graduated summa cum laude with a BA degree in biology.

Home schooling also gave us an opportunity to work with our children on non-academic areas of development. Early on, our second daughter, Bethany, battled shyness and a speech impediment. In a family Sunday school class we helped start, we constantly prodded her to meet the new families. She overcame her timidity during her mid-teens, as evident by her involvement in the YMCA Youth & Government program and her political activity in the Republican Party. She could pull together fifty kids at a moment’s notice and equip them to rally around a candidate or policy position. She was in big demand with East Valley legislators.

But it would be in her senior year of high school that she achieved near mythical status in the home school community. Frustrated by her lack of access to scholarships at ASU, she wrote a bill addressing the inequality during a mock legislative project. Her novel approach was to allow SAT or ACT testing to count towards Regent Scholarships at the three state universities. After a lively dinner discussion and seeing the bill’s merits, I directed the bill to AFHE and the Center for Arizona Policy. The bill gained immediate traction with Senate President Ken Bennett and Fox 10 Evening News’ Kim Posey. The legislation passed unanimously and was promptly dubbed “Bethany’s Law.” Although it became law too late to help Bethany, she later found other scholarships and graduated with top honors with dual degrees in English literature and political science.

It is one thing to pass and another thing to implement law. Bethany’s Law instructed the Board of Regents to establish an equitable inclusive policy for granting scholarships to home schooled students. The Center for Arizona Policy’s attorney Haddon Tucker was assigned to see that shenanigans were minimized and implementation went forth smoothly. Haddon’s bulldog determination achieved very workable guidelines. I’m told that the first recipient of a scholarship under the new law was Martin Sector. Coincidentally, Martin and his family were active in our “Family Sunday School.”

I found out later that Haddon’s father was Michael Tucker, pastor of Bethany Community Church (BCC). BCC was instrumental in AFHE’s success in those financially strapped early days by hosting our home school conventions for several years. Also BCC was home to Bethany Home Educators, one of the largest support groups in the state. In1989 when Colene and served as its directors we were over 200 families in size. It was good natured Pastor Tucker who fastened to the sanctuary door on opening convention day the famous home school graduation cartoon. This became my signature slide for all my presentations. The Tucker family was a blessing to home education.

Colene and I also learned how home schooling provided a flexible educational environment. In first grade, our youngest daughter, Evie, was at a kindergarten level in reading but a third grade level in math. She could easily conceptualize objects in her head, which won her the honor of putting together my Home Depot treasures like barbeques and other sundry items. Evie caught up and then surpassed grade-level in reading in her teen years. She continued to gravitate towards math, mastering the most advanced supplemental classes at the community college before she graduated from high school.

Colene was the quintessential home educator. I was not. I never felt comfortable teaching the three R’s. However, what was lacking in aptitude was made up through passionate lobbying and public relations on behalf of home educators. In those days, the public was not familiar with home schooling and some legislators thought we were weird. Representative Bev Herman once asked me, “How many home schoolers drink blood and do animal sacrifice?” Wow! The public relations arm of AFHE was born. And as I provided House and Senate testimony and media interviews the children were there learning the ropes.

In the early days it was difficult to find home school families willing to let the press into their homes. As a result, the Lewis family became the face of home schooling in Arizona. Colene and I taught the children how to develop and deliver talking points and what not to say. Our television debut was 12 News Live with Bill Blannon. The family went on to appear on everything from secular talk, religious, country and hard rock radio stations to home and studio television shows, newspapers and magazines. Strangely enough the hard rock and county radio stations treated us kinder than some of the Christian stations.

For as long as we’ve been home schooling we have attended the bi-yearly SRP Political Picnic. This by far was the biggest and best of the political type event in Arizona. It would always attract the best of the gubernatorial, US Congress & Senate, Arizona legislative, city, county and statewide candidates. It was perfect for lobbying across multiple office jurisdictions. I still remember seeing Kent Johnson and Matt Salmon kneeling in conversation for the better part of an hour. It looked like the stereotypical evangelist leading the wanton sinner to Christ. In actuality Matt was converted that day to a strong support of home education. We also used it as a tool to instruct our children on how to interview political candidates, a skill that would benefit them in years to come. Ever year we had the girls prepare their own questions to ask the candidates. We wanted them to talk to democrats and republicans. I still remember when ten year old Bethany approached Representatives Art Hamilton and Tom Patterson. She asked them their positions on abortion and home schooling. She then followed with “should kids in public school be allowed to pray?” Without missing a beat she followed with, “should public school kids be allowed to curse?”

I pushed the media option still further and in September of 1993 AFHE started a weekly radio broadcast. It was called “The Home School Option.” It ran every Saturday from 8:30am - 9:00am on1280 KHEP. AFHE board member Joel Buller was the MC. We dropped several months later because of huge amount of work – it was burning out Joel.

The girls’ media education extended to the historic home school protest march in 1992, which was our response to Senator Lela Alston’s chicanery. She would not allow open debate of her bad home school law. The day of the march, Tuesday May 26, was providential. With no other news stories to occupy the press, all the major Valley television networks carried the protest. Eleven-year-old Heather and mom did a classic impromptu TV interview covering the main home school talking points. Dad was on a bull horn rallying the troops. Conveniently, Governor Symington’s helicopter landed just outside the protest area. As he strolled through our protest, Kent Johnson, the AFHE lobbyist, approached and explained our plight. The governor assured us that day that, he would protect home schooling. And thus, our event put home schooling on the public and legislative radar and got positive attention from the Governor. Positive legal change was finally in the air. A few weeks later Governor Symington would make good on his word, vetoing the ill prepared Alston bill which snuck into the closing hours of the Legislative session.

The following year, our family stood next to Governor Symington when he signed the Gary-Richardson-sponsored HB 2262 into law. HB 2262 was a study in God’s providence. The session started slow. Our issues were getting confused and diluted by a number of other voices from around the state. However, late one day, Representative Lisa Graham rushed out of her office and seeing only Charles Dresser, the AFHE lobbyist in training, explained we have only a little time to craft a home school law. So with brief phone consultation with Kent Johnson, and no distracting voices, Charles and Symington’s folks drafted HB 2262

This bill’s impact would be enormous. It eliminated teacher testing and moved student testing from annual to every three years while also granting a choice of test with no government evaluation of its results. This was a mega shift away from the government control of the former law. It would pave the way for the historic passing of SB 1348 in 1995. This Senator John Huppenthal sponsored bill would eliminate the remaining vestige of home school testing. What a stark contrast to the jailing of Apache Junction parent, Tom Sicard in 1991 over student testing. This last legislative triumph won Arizona the Home School Legal Defense Association’s honor of the “Best Home School Law in the Nation.”

In 1993 Colene introduced through AFHE the first and what would be an annual extravaganza, the statewide home school graduation. Our first one was held at our convention site and during the same time frame. That year it was the Orangewood Church of the Nazarene. Our commencement speakers were Cal Thomas and Jessica Hulcy. Over the years the commencement speakers would be congressmen, educators, policy group CEOs and Marilyn Quayle, wife of Vice president Dan Quayle. However, Bethany, winner of the speech meet in 1999 would upstage the VP’s wife with her comparison of professional and home educators. She encouraged the homeschool students to be proud that their parents were their teachers, quipping that, “professionals built the Titanic while amateurs built the Ark.” Two years later Evie would uphold the tradition, and give the graduation speech. And in 2008 Colene would be invited to give the commencement speech.

Heather’s high school graduation in 1997 would prove to be another tipping point experience for AFHE. Our commencement speaker was Representative Art Hamilton. What was unique about Representative Hamilton was not that he was African American, but that he was a democrat. We were approached by a number of home educators asking why a democrat. We explained that Representative Hamilton is pro-life and pro home school. In addition it helped with the bi-partisan image we wanted for home schooling. That night one gracious African American grandparent told me it was by far the best God, student and family honoring graduation he ever attended. Evidently, in his day he had seen a number of graduations.

Another landmark year for AFHE was 1996. We successfully championed HB 1348, which allowed home school participation in interscholastic high school competition. Initially AFHE did not support home school and interscholastic competitions. We had philosophic conflicts on the board with the concept. However we were drawn in when a home schooler in the Bradshaw Mountain High School district was prevented from trying out for the baseball team. The family then looked to their legislative representative for adjudication. Since a legislative solution would open the home school law we got involved. We wanted to safeguard the integrity of our law.

The most difficult part of this process was working with the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA). They lobby hard, have money and were downright mean-spirited. My first meeting at their headquarters was reminiscent of a board room meeting in a Tom Clancy novel, complete with pounding fist and in your face intimidation.

To the AIA the integrity of all interscholastic competition was at stake. They just knew that public school jocks with academic issues would circumvent the system by becoming home schoolers. They saw schools using it as a recruiting mechanism for star players living in another district. You know what, they were probably right. However this was not compelling enough to deny the rights of home schoolers. We finally broke through the stalemate with the simple concept that no school could contract with a private agency that forbids home school participation. Brilliant! With the threat to their pocket book consensus was much easier to come by.

It took an additional three years to iron out the language to satisfy AFHE and the Arizona Interscholastic Association. During that time, I taught Evie how to play the great game of golf. Although Gilbert High refused Evie’s request to try out, Dobson High welcomed her with open arms. We found out later that Gilbert High had to forfeit matches because of lack of players and that their coach desperately wanted Evie on his team. Evie would make full use of the new law and her new skill by lettering four years. After high school, Evie’s math and conceptual ability landed her a full ride scholarship (courtesy of Bethany’s Law) to the School of Engineering at ASU where she graduated with highest honors.

Where is the family today? Colene works with law students as the Director of the Blackstone Alumni program at the Alliance Defense Fund. She loves her four grandchildren and baby-sits or--should I say--schools them as often as our kids request. In addition, she still finds time to counsel and speak on home schooling.

Heather is happily married with three boys below the age of four. She blogs about early child development and runs a successful Internet baby carrier business. Bethany is happily married, graduated from law school, passed the California bar and recently home birthed a beautiful baby girl. Evie is a successful civil engineer working for the Salt River Project, enjoys soccer, loves gourmet cooking and traveling.

I still manage a department at the Salt River Project, instruct others in golf, play / spoil grandkids, speak or write when asked, and encourage families, friends, and church to follow the natural and Biblical order of age integration whenever I get a chance. Colene and I now refer to ourselves as “Open Nesters.” Since the kids left, we open our home to families, friends, missionaries and guests. And enjoy rousing conversations with them about politics, theology, philosophy, law and any other topic of the day.

But in spite of God’s evident grace in our lives, the big question is, in the final analysis, at the end of our days, how should we evaluate success? Is it Stanford, Iowa, SAT or ACT test results? Is it scholarships, prestigious universities, GPAs, and professional achievement? These measures are important. Yet, I never want to forget the more subjective, relational measures. Measure such as: enduring friendships; loyalty to family, church, country and community and active involvement in those institutions; a vibrant, infectious Christian faith that attracts people to the Savior; integrity in all we do both on and off the job; fond childhood memories; independence of thought while valuing cooperation; contentment in life amidst the radical materialism of our age; an enthusiastic expectation of good in life; and, finally a desire to achieve everything God intended for us. As a father, I am most proud of these accomplishments on my daughters’ “resumes of life.” And, as Colene and I reflect upon the past, we can confidentially say, “We have no regrets.” Home schooling is still the best education money can’t buy.