By Karen Gledhill

I have chosen to step back from the conventional education system, and teach my children at home. But, like many parents, I find the prospect of navigating university entrance – and ensuring that my teenagers are prepared – quite daunting.

For 11 years, I have worked to support homeschooling families – and have seen an increasing number choose to see it through to grade 12. I have participated in six graduation ceremonies for home learners.

Over the Christmas vacation, I had a chance to catch up with a few alumni who graduated from high school last June, and are now in their first year of college. All had completed grade 12 at home, for the most part by taking online courses, and several had never been enrolled in a ‘school’ in the conventional sense.

Two in particular inspired me to write this article. They both shared papers with me that they had written, as part of their first year English course work, on the transition from grade 12 to college.

So how do home learners feel they cope with the demands of college?

Based on the two papers and anecdotal evidence I have accrued over the years, I would suggest they manage extremely well – and may even have some advantages over conventionally educated students.

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One student, who now attends a large public university, had conducted a small-scale study of her fellow former homeschoolers. Most of them indicated they found college courses easier than homeschooling. They were all highly engaged in college life, enjoying their courses and earning good grades (B or above).

They attributed their success to skills they had been required to learn at home – including resourcefulness, time management, self-motivation, and learning from multiple sources (not just the teacher).

The second student’s paper was from a completely different perspective. She focused on how the dedication of her parents to instill a strong Christian worldview had guided her education and laid the foundation for her to succeed in college. She believed that she was well grounded in her faith because of the investment her parents had made in her life – and that the transition away from home was eased because of this.

Are home learners better prepared than students who attend school? It is impossible to make generalizations from a few examples, but they certainly don’t seem to be floundering.

Karen Gledhill is principal of Traditional Learning Academy Online. Contact: schoolathome.ca

February 2011