 Then again, not every
home-schooled child has a certified teacher for a mom. That might
explain why Sanchez, 21, and Lawless, 26, learned just as easily in
the living room as they did in the college lecture hall.Sanchez,
who hails from the Chicago suburbs, is a student at the University
of Illinois-Springfield. Lawless, of Springfield, is a graduate of
Thomas Aquinas College in California.
The transition isn't always easy for home-schooled, college-bound
students who are not used to "traditional" classroom settings.
But home-school students don't seem to have a problem settling in
at UIS, which is among colleges that actively recruit them,
according to Judy Shipp, director of the counseling center at UIS.
"If someone has any kind of transition issues, regardless of the
background they've come from, we can help them with those kinds of
things," Shipp said. "I can't say that we have something
specifically set up for people who have been home-schooled, and I
can't say that we've seen those kinds of issues."
UIS does not track the number of home-school students who attend
the college, said Leigh Brannan, an admissions counselor.
Similarly, the State Board of Education doesn't have a number for
home-school students, because they're not required to register with
the state, said Mary Fergus, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Brannan said UIS saw an opportunity in trying to attract
home-schooled students.
"Within the past couple of years we've started an initiative to
reach out to those students," she said.
That includes recruiting at the Chicago Homeschool Expo, which
gives home-schoolers a chance to meet educational vendors and
admissions counselors for three days each August.
"There are also quite a few postsecondary institutions that are
there to try to pull in some of the high-school-age students whose
parents might be there to get information," Brannan said.
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Another way to connect with students is through the social
networking site Homeschool Nation, according to Brannan. It's
essentially like Facebook for students who are taught at home.
"Students can get on there, talk to other students who are in the
same boat as they are, looking at schools, trying to figure out what
their options are," Brannan said. "I actually get on and post
general information for students -- what to include in a personal
statement, what kind of high school courses they need to be taking
in order to prepare for college.
"I've also personally reached out to a few students who have
expressed interest in UIS and kind of kept in contact with them."
Both Sanchez and Lawless grew up in Catholic families, though
their parents didn't teach them at home for religious reasons.
Sanchez was home-schooled in the Chicago suburbs along with her
eight siblings because her mother, a former professor, didn't like
that the oldest child was being taught sex education in a private
school. He was only 12 at the time, Sanchez said.
"My mom said, 'They're too young for that,'" Sanchez said. "She's
the type of person who believes that parents should be the ones to
teach sexual education."
Lawless' mother taught her six children at home in Springfield
after graduating from college with a degree in education.
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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