An interview with a public school teacher who was homeschooled as a child

January 6, 5:33 PMNY Education ExaminerLorri Giovinco-Harte

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Homeschooling seems to be gaining popularity among parents who are seeking an alternative to traditional education.

I know very little about homeschooling other than bits and pieces of information that I have heard and read about. Most of what I know consists of stereotypes about children who have been homeschooled; they are very bright, socially awkward, and seem to win most of the national spelling bees.

My stereotypes changed, however, when I met my good friend, Kristina Brooke.

I first met Kristina when she was a brand new, New York City Teaching Fellow who had been placed in my classroom as a part of her pre-service training. To say that I saw a lot of Kristina after that is an understatement, as Kristina proved to be a person who wanted to know everything that there is to know about teaching.

Many new teachers can be afraid to ask for help but Kristina reached out to me on a daily basis. I often visited her classroom to provide her with feedback and found her to be dynamic, funny, and very tough in the classroom. We worked together on lesson plans, classroom management and we eventually became good friends. In time, I learned that she had been homeschooled as a child, thus shattering my stereotypes about homeschooled children.

I asked Kristina if I could interview her, as I think that her position of being a public school teacher who was homeschooled provides her with a unique perspective on the subject. She agreed to answer a few questions for me.

Q: For how many years were you homeschooled?

K: From the middle of kindergarten to the end of fifth grade.

Q. Why did your parents decide to homeschool you?

K. My parents were separated at the time, and it was actually my mother's idea to homeschool me, although my father was in agreement. There were a couple of reasons that she decided to homeschool me. One reason was that I suffered from breathing problems which caused me to be sick a lot. Another problem was that the public school that I was zoned for in New York City had a poor reputation. The final factor, though, was that my older sister was getting into trouble in public school and this worried my mother.

Q. So there were no religious reasons?

K. No. There is definitely a misconception that homeschooling is primarily used for religious purposes, but more and more parents are homeschooling their children for secular reasons.

Q. Can you describe what a typical 'school day' was like for you?

K. Not every day was the same, but I’ll try to give you a summary. My mother and I woke up around 6:00 a.m. and had breakfast. Then, we started the day by reading the daily newspaper. When I was younger, we read The Daily News.  My mother would introduce me to a particular part of speech or aspect of writing, and she would have me find examples of both correct and incorrect usage in the paper. As I became older, we used The New York Times as well and compared the two papers.

This was usually followed by some Math exercises. My mother had purchased a "Speak and Tell" program, and I would practice my math skills by using this. Then, we would engage in a 'hands-on' subject like art or music.

After lunch, was either Science or History, which was taught to me through field trips.

(Side Note: See New York Homeschool Examiner for more information about field trips and homeschooling)

For Science we often visited a museum. I also attended a camp called Clearpool twice a week, where I engaged in nature hikes, trails, and guided tours. For Social Studies we attended a program at the local library which introduced me to a piece of literature and taught the historical background of it. These visits were followed by a thematic project that I would work on.

Q. What do you say to the criticism that homeschooled children do not develop necessary social skills?

K. I say that it's ridiculous. School is not necessarily the place where children develop social skills. I developed mine through community activities like Girl Scouts and other clubs. I was involved in several after-school activities at the local public school such as chorus and sports. I am still friends with many of the children I met through those activities.

Q. How was your mother able to school you at home with all of her financial responsibilities?

K. As I said before, my parents were separated, but my father was very much a part of life. My mother was a nurse and worked the night shift so she was free to be with me during the day. My parents arranged for my father to spend the evening with us while my mother was at work.

Q. Why did your mother choose to end your homeschooling at the fifth grade?

K. As I became older, my mother wanted me to experience a school setting with other children, so in the sixth grade, I attended the local middle school in my neighborhood

Q. How did that go?

K. It was terrible. I was enrolled in 'gifted' classes, but was still bored out of my mind. I had covered most of the subject matter years before and found it hard to sit around and listen to the same information I had already learned. I started getting into trouble because I wasn't being challenged. My mother then decided that she still wanted me to be in a school setting, so she enrolled me in a very competitive private school in Manhattan. She had to work two jobs, but she was able to pay the very high tuition.

Q. So your experiences in public school were very limited. What surprised you the most when you started working in a public high school?

K. There were so many students in one room! My early years were spent in a home school environment and my middle and high school years were spent in a private school where classes never contained more than 12 children. I was baffled by the fact that 34 children were placed in one class. I was very worried about how I was going to meet the needs of every child in the room.

Q. In your opinion, why do children who have been homeschooled perform so well academically?

K. Well, that is a bit of a misconception, because not all homeschooled children do. However, many homeschooled children perform very well for some obvious reasons. In the first place the curriculum, lessons, and even school day is tailored to meet the individual needs of the homeschooled child. In a school setting, children are expected to conform to the school's schedule and curriculum. In a homeschool setting, the schedule and curriculum conform to the child.

Schools have very structured and limited time to do things, whereas in homeschooling, time is more flexible. If a child is not feeling well or is very tired, they can take a break in a homeschooling setting whereas in a school environment the child is forced to learn while feeling poorly-which is counterproductive. Also, no one knows their child better than a parent, so my mother understood why I might be having a bad day or lacking attention. In a classroom environment, a teacher has to learn to figure out the moods and needs of 30 something children whom he or she has never met before.

Q. You are a very creative and inquisitive person. You've earned several post-graduate degrees, edit a Creative Writing magazine, and run your own web-based business. How do you think that homeschooling has influenced your desire and ability to learn?

K. When you are homeschooled, you are often the only child in the class. When the teacher asks a question, there are no other children to answer it. The teacher has the time to wait for you to come up with the answer yourself. As a result, I learned to try to find my own answers and solutions to problems. Also, because so much of my homeschooling was project based, my creativity was encouraged and had a chance to grow.

Q. Having been homeschooled and then becoming a teacher in a public school must have given you a unique insight. What is your overall opinion of the public school system?

K. Truthfully, I think that anyone can be an effective teacher if given the tools. The biggest problem I've seen is not so much that we have a lack of quality schools, but rather that there are way too many kids and not nearly enough resources and teachers. I think that these factors contribute to the inflexible schedule that schools have which can't meet the needs of so many children. I also think that there are far too few 'working' resources in schools. Even when you are able to get your hands on a piece of equipment, chances are that it won't work.

Q. Finally, would you home school your child and if so, up until what age would you do so?

K. I would love to home school my child and hope to be able to do so. I'm not sure about the age that I will continue until because all children are different. I would stop when I felt that she had a good sense of identity and confidence.

You can find out more about Kristina at her website, Mom on the Rise.

I asked Kristina to provide me with some links about homeschooling that she feels would be helpful to people who would like to know more about the subject.

She suggested Homeschoolingcoach.com and Ta-Dah Mom.

You can also visit our own New York Homeschool Examiner.