Schooling Out of the Mainstream: At Home

By Bill Sontag
Feature Writer

There is no adequate defense, except stupidity, against the impact of a new idea.
        -- Percy Williams Bridgeman, American scientist, 1882-1961

Tiffany Evans, left, spends much of her day (and night) at this table and on her computer, preparing lessons for daughter Alyssa, 15, and son Braxton, 13. Both youngsters are excelling in their studies and have extracurricular interests that keep them both involved with community youth groups and sports. Tiffany is a cancer survivor, and the pernicious attack on her thyroid seems to be over, but the homeschooling never stopped. (LIVE! photo/Bill Sontag) (click image to enlarge)

Homeschooling – literally being educated where a child lives –  is hardly a new idea.  It’s older than classrooms and degreed teachers.

But thanks to tradition, fashion, and the parochial resistance of some paid educators, homeschoolers are still sometimes viewed with a mix of suspicion and pity.  So why do they so commonly excel?

Faye Breiten and her husband, Ken, moved to the area for his position with the International Boundary & Water Commission at the Amistad Dam.  Faye homeschooled their son, Richard, now 23, and daughter, Candace, 18, until both graduated from “Breiten High School.”

This fall, Candace is headed for the honors program in English at University of North Texas, Denton.  And Richard just graduated from Louisiana Tech University, in biomedical engineering, with a minor in computer science.

Homeschooling is a pivotal way of life for an estimated 160 Del Rio and Bracketville families, many of them stationed at Laughlin Air Force Base.  Laughlin homeschooling parents estimate that at least 40 Air Force families teach their kids at the kitchen table, the dining room, and bedroom computer desks, in homes on base and in town.

Scott Evans, T-6 “Texan II” instructor pilot in the 96th Flying Training Squadron, and his family, moved to Del Rio when he was still active duty Air Force, then flying the now-obsolete T-37 “Tweet” trainer.   His wife, Tiffany, a petite, quiet woman with the resolve of a long-distance runner, homeschools the couple’s daughter, Alyssa, 15, and son, Braxton, 13.

Alyssa enters the 10th grade this fall, and Braxton begins eighth grade.  Alyssa attended private school for preschool and kindergarten, when the family was stationed in Georgia, but all of the siblings’ schooling since then has been at home with mom, now in a quiet residential neighborhood on the city’s north end.

Despite a protracted period of battling thyroid cancer about four years ago, Tiffany never gave up homeschooling Alyssa and Braxton.  It crossed the minds of everyone in the family, but each readjusted and adapted the formula for success.

“We slowed down through the months I wasn’t feeling well, and then we picked up in the summer ... and we just worked through it,” Tiffany told LIVE!  “As far as we know, I’m now cancer free, and I just have regular checks on it.

“It was kind of disruptive for about two years, but, after a lot of worrying about it, I got through it.  If anything was going to make me quit homeschooling, that would have been it,” recalled Tiffany.

Why did Tiffany persist then, and why did she take her children’s education in the homeschooling direction to begin with?  Hers is a common refrain, heard among nearly all homeschooling parents.

“It was the sense that if I kept my kids at home, I could set the expectations for them – spiritually, culturally, academically, and morally,” she said.  “I knew it was possible because I had seen other people do it.  I had researched homeschooling, and we had some friends doing it, too.”

Asked about the spiritual connection, Evans was succinct:  “By purging our schools of religion, we have stolen hope from our kids.”

But even at home, Tiffany said, self discipline for both kids and parents is necessary.  “One of the wonderful things about homeschooling is that there are almost never huge discipline problems.  It’s incredible how it fends off the ‘biggies’, like [problems with] drugs and sex, and ... it’s just a different way of thinking.”

In addition to teaching, Tiffany also does hours of research, collecting curriculum materials to ensure comparable or better educational materials for Alyssa and Braxton.  And she is “glued to [online] message boards,” sharing information with other parents.

Scott and Tiffany Evans, both Colorado natives, she from Montrose, he from Vail, are college graduates with keen understandings of the importance of education.  Tiffany graduated with honors in psychology at Colorado State University, and Scott in computer science, receiving his commission through ROTC there.

Braxton and Alyssa, as with most Del Rio students in any school system, are vigorous participants in “off campus” (out-of-the-house) educational activities.

“We have really enjoyed and been very surprised by how much Del Rio has to offer for extracurricular activities,” Tiffany said. “Especially the Firehouse, because my daughter is very interested in drama.  For six years straight she’s performed with the Missoula Children’s Theater when they come to town.

“And before the movie Chronicles of Narnia came out as a movie, Alyssa wrote, directed and earned the money to produce a play based on the story,” explained Tiffany.  Since then, Alyssa has taken on “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and now “King Arthur,” all being staged at the Paul Poag Theatre.

“I think a really big impetus to do it on her own was when I was sick, and she just said ‘Well, I’ll just go do it,’” said Tiffany.

As stage drama is Alyssa’s passion now, Braxton’s has been gymnastics since he was six years old.  “But, he’s probably gone about as far as he can here in Del Rio,” Tiffany said.  “One of the things that sometimes drives people back into the school system is boys and girls sports.”

Also very involved in baseball leagues, Braxton was a recent member of a championship team, and the entire family enjoys hiking, water skiing, and swimming, as well.

Tiffany stressed that homeschooled education need not be limited to the kitchen table.  For example, Alyssa is also taking courses at Southwest Texas Junior College.

“She took creative writing this spring, and in the fall she’ll have college algebra and freshman English.  She took the creative writing course from Dr. Billings there, and she just loved that.  So Alyssa’s looking forward to taking English from him in the fall,” Tiffany said.

“If anyone is interested in learning more about homeschooling, I’m perfectly happy for them to give me a call for more information,” said Tiffany.  She may be reached at 775-2858.