How Home-Schooling Affected My Life
Shondra Hayes
I attended public school through the 6th grade, a private church school in the 7th grade, and the rest of my I scholastic endeavors in a homeschool environment. For me, this was a time of learning, of finding out who I was and what I believed, of deepening my walk with my Lord, and in learning study skills that would benefit me throughout the coming years.
In separating my scholastic and social lives, I learned a valuable lesson you must be focused on the task at hand, whether it be a trigonometry problem or a lasting friendship. Since I normally took ten or eleven subjects per year, I divvied up my schedule into more manageable chunks; i.e., I found out how many pages per week I bad to complete to get through a particular course and then further broke it down into pages per day. This type of scheduling taught me that when a task seems too daunt- ing, you merely take apart its components until you have a realistic goal. Not only is there a finish line in sight, but you gain a sense of accomplishing something worthwhile.
In this homeschool environment, I was not pushed nor was I held back; instead) I learned at my own pace. Rather than spending 50 minutes on a subject I was proficient at (English), I could finish that relatively quickly and devote my energy on a subject that was more difficult for me (Math). I discovered that there was no one to make me do my schoolwork. If I did not finish in the allotted time, it became homework; if I did finish, then I was free to pursue other interests.
Learning to be self-motivated and responsible helped me during those sometimes trying, yet always exciting, collegiate years. Many a valedictorian I saw drop or flunk out, because they did not know how to study. They could not, or would not, face the challenge of learning on their own. College offers many new activities, new faces, and new subjects. Without the ability to schedule your time effectively, due dates often sneak up on you.
Being alone is another area where homeschooling holds an advantage. In this fast-paced world we live in, solitude is often rare. We live in a society that fears aloneness – for if one is alone, one might have to face himself. We live in a time of quickness; a time of faxes, television, telephones, where someone around the world is as close as a phone line. Here you learn to be alone, to become comfortable with yourself. This means facing your own personal demons and working them out with the Lord.
You are not constantly bombarded with people, with peer pressures, or with negative socialization in a homeschool environment. Instead, I was able to choose my friends and intimates based on who they really were, rather than merely if they were popular. Because of the flexibility my schedule allowed, I was able to immerse myself into many community activities; i.e., piano, voice, community theatre, my church, a friend’s youth group, and a job with the local Recreation & Parks Department. I had the freedom to become friends with people all over the city, instead of staying within a little clique at school.
I strongly believe that it is the parents’ responsibility to make sure that their children are not isolated; however, I also hold to the fact that there is no reason to subjugate them to pressures that are beyond their level of maturity. It takes a certain sense of yourself to tell a person “No!” – whether it be to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or sex. All that is associated with the homeschooling time allowed me to find out what I believed in and why. This then enabled me to hold fast to my beliefs when it came my time to be tempted.
During my high-school years, I “found my calling.” I was to be in theatre, theatre that glorified my Lord. He had some convincing to do of my parents, but because of the bond we had and the fruits they could see in my life, He won them over. At this time, I also met David Burke, who was to become an influential person in my life. I had not planned on applying to Union University until he encouraged me. Through him I was introduced to the A.D. Players, a professional Christian theatre company, the company for whom I now work.
Two of my friends and I applied to Union in the spring of 1988. We had, respectively, made a 31,30, and 26 on our ACT scores. Because of our “lack of accreditation” and somewhat odd training, none of us received a full-tuition scholarship. We knew we were being observed during our stay there, primarily to see how we adjusted, both socially and scholastically. Needless to say, by the time another homeschooler came in two years later with a score in the 20’s, she received the full-tuition scholarship. We had passed! Our study skills, self-motivation, and leadership qualities impressed the school so much that now they actively recruit homeschoolers.
All three of us won scholastic medals in our respective majors. One graduated with a double major in three years, another with almost two majors in three and a half years, and I with a major and two minors in four years (I didn’t want to rush myself). I was also honored to be in the top three chosen throughout the whole graduating class for the Outstanding Senior Award. We were very active in social activities and professional fraternities, holding of- fices in various ones. This is indicative that neither our social nor our scholastic abilities were hampered during our time of homeschooling.
At Union, I received further training in my chosen field. David Burke, the theatre director, encouraged me in all of my endeavors. He told me more about the A.D. Players, for he and his wife had worked with them for nine years. A conviction that this is where I was called to serve my Lord grew. I graduated, taught theatre and music .in a private school for a year, and learned that this area was definitely not where I was supposed to be. Therefore, I gathered up my courage, auditioned for and was accepted by the A.D. Players.
Moving to Houston was a major upheaval in my life. Still, the abilities that homeschooling began and college honed served me well. As an Intern, I was immediately introduced to production work. During my first year, I learned to make flats, run the light and sound boards, be extremely creative on a very limited budget, and devote my life to serving my Lord, who is the Father of all Creativity, in the arts.
I stayed with the Players and moved into Special Events Coordinator and Prayer Chairman in my second year. The only job I kept from the previous was Assistant Costumer. I definitely had to continue to schedule my time in order to complete the tasks assigned. The impressive thing about this company is that you learn how to do it all, to be both cast and crew. It deepens your appreciation for the amount of time and energy others devote to their chosen craft as well.
Now I am in my third year with the Players. Will I stay here forever? I do not know. I know that I will be here until He calls me elsewhere. I take solace knowing that theatre will always be a part of my life, whether full-time as now or part-time later on. I want to continue my education and receive my Master of Fine Arts, but that is not what He has for me at this season in my life.
In conclusion, there were many aspects of my life that made me who I am today. However, I would have to say that the abilities I learned in the homeschool environment played a major role. These lessons stood me well in the school of life. I am definitely a stronger person for being able to discover myself, to learn to enjoy being alone, to become self-motivated and to deepen my walk with my Lord.