More families find merit in home schooling

One family cites togetherness, ability to make faith a part of curriculum

By: By Kim Underwood | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: August 06, 2009

Before she had children, Judy Morales taught first grade.

When her first child, Emily, came along, it seemed natural to start teaching her at home. The more that Morales taught at home, the more benefits she saw.

"Right off, the benefit is being together," she said.

Morales and her husband, Ruben, had four more children -- Joseph, Luke, Laura and Daniel -- and they ended up home-schooling all of them. The youngest, Daniel, is a rising ninth-grader.

The Morales family is one of 1,321 families in Forsyth County who home-schooled their children during the 2008-09 school year, according to a report released by the N.C. Division of Non-Public Education. That's an increase of 92 since 2007, when there were 1,229 home schools in the county.

The state estimated that 2,476 children in Forsyth County were home-schooled last school year. The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system serves about 52,000 students.

Statewide, more families home-schooled their children this past school year than any other year since the state began keeping records 23 years ago. A total of 41,042 home schools operated this past school year, an increase over the previous year's total of 38,367. The state estimates that statewide, about 77,000 students were home-schooled.

Home schools can be found in all of the state's 100 counties. The counties with the largest number of home schools were Wake with 3,771; Mecklenburg, 2,956; and Buncombe, 1,637. Forsyth County's total made it fifth in the state, after Guilford, 1,568.

A home school is defined as "a nonpublic school in which one or more children of not more than two families or households receive academic instruction from parents or legal guardians, or a member of either household."

In modern times, home schools became legal in North Carolina starting with the 1985-86 school year. Today, home-school enrollment accounts for about 4.5 percent of the students between the ages of 7 and 16 who are required to attend school.

Some people have suggested that home-schooled students are less socialized than other students. That's not Morales' experience. Her children have been actively involved in their community, she said, and have been able to have broader experiences than some students in school. Being together as home-schoolers has also built strong bonds within the family, she said.

Their faith is important to them, Morales said, and another benefit of home-schooling has been the ability to make that a part of what is taught.

"We are able to lace all of our subjects with Scripture," she said. And they are able to make sure that their children don't get an overdose of negative influences.

About 66 percent of the schools classified themselves as religious schools. The other 34 percent identified themselves as independent.

Through the process of teaching five children, Morales said, she has tried all sorts of approaches -- from strict schedules to less-structured. In general, she follows a guideline of hours with the emphasis being on getting as much done in the mornings as possible. Ultimately, she said, home-schooling is a lifestyle.

Daniel, 14, said he likes being home-schooled and that he thinks that colleges are finding that home-schooled students have strengths that not all students have.

"Home-schoolers are a lot more attentive, and we learn to teach ourselves more," Daniel said.

■ Kim Underwood can be reached at 727-7389 or at kunderwood@wsjournal.com.