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High standards with flexibility

Kate Tsubata
October 8, 2007

Manfred Smith easily could be called one of the founding fathers of home education in the United States, and definitely in Maryland.

Not only did he and his wife, Jeanne, teach their three now-grown children, Jamie, Jesse and Darcy, but they also have observed the trends in home-schooling over nearly three decades.

"Back in the 1980s, the families who did home-schooling were like the mountain men out in the wilderness, getting attacked by the bears, and surviving," Mr. Smith said in a recent interview. "Then, in the 1990s came the pioneers with wagon trains, followed by waves of settlers who came to establish communities, where things were already built. Then, after 2000, we're starting to see a new wave, which you might call the tourists, who come wanting air-conditioned buildings and having things all set up."

The difference in timing has created some new trends among home-schoolers that Mr. Smith feels are crucial.

"We are now seeing older students coming to home-schooling after eight, 10 years of being in the schools, out of desperation," he said. "The families are like refugees, and they need a lot more hand-holding than the home-schooler that has been raised doing independent learning."

The Learning Community International (TLCI), which is registered with the Maryland State Department of Education and operated by the Community, a nonsectarian, nonprofit religious organization, has long served families from all religious and philosophical traditions. Faced with the additional needs of late-entry home-schoolers, TLCI has adapted by creating a new program.

Its mentoring program helps families first experiencing a home-based education as advisers show families how to design courses, develop documentation and provide evaluations. As students and parents gradually pick up the skills needed, they move toward independence in the learning process.

"It takes time to change the focus to realize that the individual is the center, things are not the center," he said.

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