Spring 1998
Vol 6 Issue 2
IN THIS ISSUE...
New Alignments in Calculus Instruction
Change: Do We Really Have a Choice?
Change, Learning, and the Future.
Kaleidoscope Education
Using a Student's Fund of Knowledge to Guide Discovery
You Say You Want and Evolution?
SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction
Kaleidoscope Education
Jennifer Paige Boonlorn,
Student, PVCC
Home schooling is like a kaleidoscope, each time you look through it you see a
new color, shape, and design. It's metallic, it's iridescent, it is always different.
I have been home schooled for almost all of my school years. Now, as a college freshman,
I believe that this particular style of education has had a vital impact on my life
and academic career. Home schooling has definitely changed my education and helped
to shape my future. It has allowed me to develop in my own unique way and be an individual.
I have been able to pursue the things that mattered most to me. But, above all else,
home schooling has taught me that God's world is very diverse and that I must deal
with each person on his or her level. At the same time home schooling has put me
in contact with all sorts of people and events -- just like an ever-changing kaleidoscope.
Home schooling is just like anything else in life; you get out of it what you are
willing to put into it. For me home schooling was one positive experience after another.
My sister and I believe we did not miss out on anything vital to our education as
a result of being home schooled. We participated in organized sports, and were a
part of a "cultural literacy" group and a history group; art and music
came through private lessons, some even taught by other very qualified home schoolers.
We also worked our way through two years of Latin as part of a small group of homeschoolers
who were taught this subject by a public high school teacher. We even planned and
attended our junior and senior statewide home school proms. This is not nearly a
complete list of all the activities and events we participated in, but it does outline
some of the opportunities that home schooling has provided. To answer the question
most often posed to home schoolers, socializing was never a problem. We had many
friends, and most of us joined in many of the same activities.
Having been home schooled most of my life, community college was the perfect route
to go for my college education. With community college, I could spend two years at
a small school getting used to college life, without being thrown into a class of
500. Community college would become the stepping stone between what I am doing now
and all that academically lies ahead. Paradise Valley Community College has been
very accepting of me as a home schooler, and the faculty and staff have made the
transition between high school and college a very smooth process. I was impressed
with how accommodating PVCC was to me; through the help of several faculty members
I was able to receive the President's Scholarship, which is usually given only to
students who graduate from public high schools. I also was quite honored by the fact
that two of the faculty members at PVCC nominated me for the All-USA Community and
Junior College Academic Team. Last semester I was able to climb to the top of Mr.
John Nelson's Honors English class. As a result of this class I have seen a great
deal of improvement in my writing and thinking skills. My American Government class
(Political Science 110) taught by Dr. Abigail Hemingway, sparked a real interest
in government and the legal system. I am indebted to Dr. Hemingway for the fact that
my future plans now include the possibility of attending law school. PVCC has had
a profound impact on my education thus far, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it
to home schoolers who plan to attend in the future.
Home schooling has prepared me for the road that lies ahead (at this point I hope
the College of Business at ASU, and then law school) by encouraging me to be a self-starter
and self-learner. PVCC has helped to develop and expand what I had already learned
during my homeschooling days. I know that if I truly want something, I must be motivated
enough to work both academically and physically very hard to achieve it. Each day
Paradise Valley Community College, coupled with home schooling as my foundation,
furthers yet another aspect of my education. Each experience is different and new,
colorful and bright, and it all comes together in the kaleidoscope of life.