Christian Aid for Secular Home Schoolers

Along with the usual workshops on “Biblical Child Training” and “Defending the Christian Faith Against Evolutionary Humanism,” the annual Christian Home Educators Convention this weekend will offer help to seemingly out-of-place visitors--secular learners.

Home schooling, once the province of parents opposed to scholastic restrictions or to teaching evolution, increasingly is drawing parents who simply believe traditional schools are failing their children.

These parents need advice on how to handle a struggling reader or prepare for college admissions, topics the convention will address when it sets up today for its 17th year at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

Pam Sorooshian, a Los Alamitos woman who provides a nonreligious home education for her three daughters, usually attends a secular home schooling convention in Sacramento each year. But she also has attended the Anaheim event to examine new teaching materials at the numerous vendor booths.

“When I talk to brand-new home schoolers, I never discourage them from attending [the Christian convention], because they can see a lot of materials and hear some good speakers,” Sorooshian said.

For parents exploring home schooling, the approach to education can be more relevant than religious or political philosophy. Some parents advocate a free-form curriculum that follows a child’s interests and development, while others favor more structured methods that include phonics and memorizing multiplication tables.

“We try to tell people that there are many approaches, that they should explore them and not feel confined to one,” said Susan Beatty, co-founder of the Christian Home Education Assn. “You have to be discerning and do some of your own studying and weigh the choices.”

One approach, known as classical education, has experienced a rebirth in the past few years, and several workshops during the weekend will detail its methods.

Classical education emphasizes the teaching of history and literature with original sources rather than textbooks and, in a child’s older years, promotes formal debate. It divides the learning years into three distinct phases that cultivate different skills.

“I think classical education really helps give home schoolers a map for what their plans are,” said Susan Wise-Bauer, who will lead some of the seminars. “I think it’s helpful for people to have in mind, ‘This is what I’m trying to accomplish [during this phase].’ ”

Wise-Bauer, who is completing a doctoral degree in English literature, was classically home-schooled and now uses the same methods with her children. She does not include religion in her daily lessons.

Those who disagree with such structured teaching methods say children shouldn’t be forced to learn according to a schedule calling for reading by a certain age and long division by another. Instead, they advocate teaching skills and topics when children become interested on their own.

The convention offers a free “Introduction to Home Education” workshop from 6:30 to 8 p.m. today. Registration at the door costs $66 for one day and $78 for Saturday and Sunday. For married couples, costs are $76 for one day and $88 for both.