Sue Seydel is the ISP Director of Calvary Christian Academy in Chula Vista, California. She has over 15 years of experience as a home school mom and has been involved with Independent Study Programs for more than 16 years. This interview gives you a realistic and encouraging snapshot of what homeschooling is all about.

Q: What specific encouragements do you offer to new home school moms?

A: My favorite part of my job is encouraging ISP moms. I see myself as their cheerleader. I feel that if God called them to this, then they CAN do it. We all get discouraged and need to be cheered on. That is my job. When I sit down and interview a new ISP mom I exhort her, "You’d better contact me when (not if) you get overwhelmed!” I've been there. I home schooled for 15 years and every year I cried 'Lord! Am I supposed to be doing this? I'm not qualified? I'm a terrible home school mom!' EVERY YEAR!!! The Lord reminded me "I began this work in you. I will complete it!" That is my job, to remind the moms that GOD began this work and GOD will complete it. I encourage them through words, prayer and lots of love! I love my moms and I love their hearts. It hurts me when Satan beats them up! So, I try to remind them of the truth. God LOVES you and YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! I always feel sooo satisfied when I meet with a frustrated mom and she leaves relieved and with that burden lifted from her shoulders.

Q: How important is it to understand your child’s learning style?

A: Extremely important! I used to teach a home school Kindergarten class once per week. My son John was fidgety! He would tap the floor, flick his pencil, etc. He always had to be moving. Drove me nuts! "John! Stop moving!", "John, sit still!", "John! GIVE ME THAT PENCIL!" Then I went to a class at Biola University taught by Cynthia Tobias on learning styles. My Word! I learned that when I took John's pencil away, he couldn't hear a thing that I was saying! He was just thinking, "When can I get my pencil back? When can I get my pencil back? When....." If he could have something to fidget with, he could process and learn! Eye opener for me!!!

Learning styles are very important and I highly recommend that all home school moms (all moms in general!) watch Cynthia Tobias' training video. You will learn sooo much about your child (and your spouse)!

Example: I am EVERYWHERE!! I have what my husband, Roy affectionately calls "Sue piles"! There are pieces of me everywhere. When I scrapbook, look out!!! I make a HUGE mess! But I'm in my element. Roy, on the other hand, is very organized piles when he works. He uses charts on computer. (I'm a sticky note girl... sticky notes EVERYWHERE!) Roy has a trash can next to him when he works. He puts one next to me because I like to throw my wastepaper on the floor. It's fun! He moves a trash can next to me and I still throw it on the floor! When I'm done, I'll put it in the trash.

Some kids need to chew, or move, or listen to music to learn. Other need silence, or daylight, or florescent light. Some need visuals, others thrive on text. I am a major believer in hands-on! Tides low? Go to the beach and check out the urchins! Forget about reading about it...live it!

So, yes, I am a STRONG believer in knowing your child’s learning styles and knowing how to minister to them. Imagine me, a free and creative mind, teaching a little Roy - someone who needs structure and a desk. I'd have our work spread out all over the coffee table and the kitchen table. The whole time little Roy would not be able to concentrate because it's "messy". It is an art to learn how best to minister to your family when learning styles are so different. It's a challenge, and we have to bend, but it can be done!

Q: What are the greatest advantages to homeschooling? The drawbacks?

A: The GREATEST advantage is that you get to always be with your kids! The GREATEST drawback is that you always get to be with your kids! Get it? I LOVED being with my kids all day. I loved having them be parent-dependant rather than peer-dependent (one of the reasons I actually started homeschooling). But, I also felt so boxed in at times. My girlfriends were going to lunch and getting pedicures and having fun! I was teaching. They had it "easy" to just send their kids to school.

A great advantage for me was that I could teach them character. Character counts! Character matters! They won't get that training in school! Am I sheltering them? In a way, yes. God shelters us under His wings. As parents, we are called to protect our children. The world sees this as "sheltering" in a bad way. I see it as doing what I was called to do, raising my kids in the Lord!

Drawback - self confidence is a big one. Many parents (myself included) feel like failures. Add to that the normal "mommy guilt” and you have a mom that never seems to quite cut it (in her own eyes). Many people wonder why we do it; there are schools out there that will do it for us. We, as homeschooling moms, need to encourage each other because, sister, if you're looking for encouragement from the world it just ain't gonna happen (and you can quote me on that!)

Advantage - you know EXACTLY what your child is learning (and what they're not learning).

Drawback - I completed Pre-Alg in Jr. High. My son, Nick is in Alg 2! I cheated my way through History. How do I qualify to teach??? (Answer: co-op teaching ... and learning as you go!)

Q: Why do you recommend participating in an ISP program or home school co-op?

A: I highly recommend participating in an ISP because… 1) You are protected legally. You belong to a group that knows what they are doing. Our ISP is connected to a school, so that holds a lot of water with the authorities and spectators. Also, one of our requirements is Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) membership. You are covered under an Affidavit. 2) Accountability: where there is no plan, the people perish. It's good to have a leader for you to follow and to keep you accountable. 3) Support: There is wisdom in the multitude of counsel. When you are down, we lift you up! When you are "up", we cheer along with you. 4) ISP's have benefits such as field trips, class days, support groups, etc.......

I was with an ISP for 12 years before starting CCA's ISP (from scratch!) So many times my ISP Director encouraged me (poured courage into me). My ISP friends who had more experience than I also encouraged me (especially when I was ready to quit because I was afraid to teach Jr. High). I would not have stayed a home school mom if it were not for the support that I received by being a part of an ISP. That was my desire in starting one at Calvary Chapel San Diego. I wanted to "give back" and encourage those with less (or more or the same) experience as I have.

Q: Is there such a thing as too much structure?

A: ABSOLUTELY!!! Do you know the people who have the hardest time home schooling? Teachers! They need structure in their classroom. Structure is important, but you can have too much. There's a saying something like "school at home...don't try to bring the school into the home." I tried this...bulletin boards, schedules, time lines, etc..... Huh! It almost destroyed me. Do you know where most home schooling is done???? At the dining room table and on the couch! I was a mom who had a school room in both houses that we lived in. It was used more for storing the school supplies than it was for teaching.

Structure is important, don't get me wrong. I think DISCIPLINE is more important. Be disciplined to get the work done (here's where the learning styles comes in) it doesn't matter how it gets done (morning/evening... on the floor/table... at the park/library...in your pjs/fully dressed) it just matters that it gets done, right? Sometimes we get so caught up in HOW it gets done that it is a chore.

My favorite un-verse: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken!!


Q: Significant recent polls show that home school students are smarter than students graduating from a traditional school setting. What factors do you feel contribute to these statistics?

A: For one, it's individual learning. If you were in my cooking class with 20 other students I wouldn't have time to answer everyone's questions, plus you may be too shy to ask...thinking that you are dumb. If you and I do one on one cooking, I can teach to you specifically. The things that you already know, we can move past. The things you need to learn, we can stop and spend more time on.

Home school students learn what they are interested in and that sticks. If you love ocean life, you can bet that I'm going to take you to Sea World once a month and focus on different studies each time. If you love guitar, fine, you'll have time to play guitar (rather than not having time since you have tons of homework when you come home from school).


Note: You will find some people that are very prideful and home school so that they can say " I home schooled K-12." I got slack when I put my kids in Calvary Christian Academy. I was asked, "So, you gave up, huh?" My answer was, “No, I went right where the Lord wanted me!” NEVER say that you’re a "lifer". Always be flexible and go one year at a time. Be where God wants you. Impress Him only, not your friends. Some people take such pride in wanting their kids to be so much smarter than school kids. That's just plain silly (and prideful). We home school to meet our child's needs. Not to prove to anyone that "my kid is smarter than yours!"