Furthermore, using methods such as those used in traditional schools will most likely be counterproductive in the home school environment. However, we also believe that there are certain basics that each child must be required to learn (though the method of learning may differ) and that students should be encouraged to be diligent in their learning. Children need parents to diligently guide and inspire them to learn and to teach them the principles of the Christian faith, and parents are accountable to God to train their children. So, we would add a dose of "Christian work ethic" and an understanding of the God-ordained leadership of the parent to the unschooling approach. Otherwise, we would find many of our methods and pedagogy to be similar to the unschoolers.

David:
It would be surprising to find very many Christian home schoolers who are using a strictly "unschooling" approach. Most of the ones we know would rather have some structure in their curriculum. However, the spectrum will run from the extremely disciplined (e.g. AITA) to the very loose unschooled approach. The point is that every parent is free to design the child's curriculum in the way that is lovingly created to meet that student's individual needs and future promise. If the parent thinks unschooling will provide the best education, wonderful! If another thinks it needs to be rigid, so be it. (A family can even select a unique curriculum for each and every child along the entire gamut of options, though this would probably be
rare.) What is the differentiating uniqueness of a Christian education? Everything is Christ-centered. We want the Lord to be the ultimate teacher of our children.

The more important question is rather, why Christian "home school?" We believe the answer is that parents provide the best educational opportunity for their child. They are the most qualified teachers because they care for that student more than any other person ever could or would. They understand the student's idiosyncrasies and nuances. They want the absolute best for the child. They are usually willing to make any sacrifice and provide any resource humanly possible for achieving each student's best
interests.

The research shows that no matter what the educational level of the parent, the home schooled student will more likely do better in the home school than the equivalent institutional environment. In the majority of the cases, the child will be potentially more well-rounded, prepared for life, and intellectually motivated for future learning because of the home school. This is what the studies indicate; recent college admissions acceptances for home school graduates bear this out too.

One other question that many parents are now starting to ask is, "how do I protect my child from the physical dangers of public or private institutional education?" This is a very new problem that wasn't even
considered until recent tragedies at Columbine High School in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, or the shooting rampages in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and other schools. Many parents are looking at home schooling for the very first time. But they need to think through the more important reasons for home
schooling than just physical protection. There are also the spiritual and intellectual concerns. We want to help parents think through their options and be prepared for the future educational process they plan to pursue with their children. We think our material provides ideas unavailable in any other source.

David & Laurie:
We are chapter leaders of a small home school support group in the Utica, New York area, something we have done for the last seven years. We have about thirty families that we help and encourage on a regular basis. The relationship is not one-way, however. We also receive encouragement, support, and practical help ourselves for our children in varied ways. For example, we have group lessons twice a year, allowing our children to learn subjects that are difficult to teach one-on-one, like drama and science lab work. Our relationships within our support group have allowed us to understand the wide range of schooling styles that occur within families.

We also have a weekly column on www.crosswalk.com's home school page (homeschool.crosswalk.com/callihan) that is designed to help home schooling parents gain needed insights to encourage and reinforce their home school instruction. Additionally, we host a weekly chat called "homeschooling your teens" every Saturday evening from 11 to midnight Eastern time, drawing home school parents of secondary students from across the country together for encouragement and advice.

We are actively speaking throughout the country at home school state conventions, conferences, and curriculum fairs on subjects similar to the chapters in our book. We give free workshops to local home school groups, working with nearby Christian bookstores to provide copies of our book to participants who want to acquire it. Our desire is to provide information that will be of value to the parents and allow them an easier time home schooling than they would otherwise have had.

Regarding our two oldest children, Jeremiah and Rebekah have graduated and have spent the last year working on college credits while living at home. Jeremiah is planning to attend a liberal arts college here in New York in the fall. He is planning to try out for the college basketball team (an NAIA and potential NCAA Division II school). His four years of play in a home school basketball program (with dad's help) have given him the confidence to try-out. We think he has a shot at making the team. He has a strong interest in business, which will be his major, and he is hoping to have his own company by the time he graduates. Rebekah plans to stay home for another year and "CLEP" (test out of) a number of subjects in preparation for a degree in nursing. She eventually plans to go to the mission field as a nurse. We know things can change, but it is good to know that we gave our children the preparation they needed to finish strong after high school. Incidentally, our third child, Katie, is sixteen, but she has been done with her high school work for over a year. She is also "CLEPping" college classes while living at home. She wants to graduate in the class she is a member of chronologically, and will use this additional year to play basketball on the Syracuse home school girls' team. Josiah, who is fourteen, and Wesley, who is twelve, are doing high school work, and should do well in their high school academics at the current pace.

We have learned many things from our experience with all five of our children. Many of the ideas in our book come from our own trials and tribulations as well as our relationships with home schoolers in our support group and seminars. We are not that exceptional as home schooling parents. In fact, we see ourselves as "average" parents who just used our heads to find ways to give our children the best possible education we could. We put those ideas together in our book, as well as into our crosswalk columns, so that others can learn from our journey and become a catalyst for better and more positive educational opportunities yet to come!