THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 17, 1994 TAG: 9410170066
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: FAIRFAX LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Nearly 1,000 conservative Christian teenagers whose parents teach them at home gathered for a weekend conference to praise the Lord and their lifestyle.
The teenagers touted the benefits of the home-schooling system at the daylong conference Saturday, saying most young people focus too much on having a good time during their school years.
``Living from day to day and outfit to outfit is a sure way to throw away four years of your life,'' Joshua Harris, a 19-year-old home-schooling advocate, told a cheering audience at the Calvary Road Baptist Church in Fairfax County.
Harris, the conference's featured speaker, called on the students to concentrate on educational and spiritual development. An estimated 6,000 children in Virginia and Maryland learn at home with their parents rather than attend school.
Harris, of Portland, Ore., started a quarterly magazine last yearcalled New Attitude, for home-schooled Christian youths. His fundamentalist message was refreshing for the teenagers, who said they sometimes are misunderstood by their peers.
``It's really encouraging to see someone with the same standards,'' said Mark Slimp, a 14-year-old from Manassas.
Parents who teach their children at home are often criticized for removing their children from the socialization process that goes on in schools, but the students said they have plenty of opportunities to interact with others.
``We want to cut through the perception most people have that we're sheltered or isolated,'' said Tim Lash, 15, of Fauquier County.
Lash, who has been schooled at home all his life, said that he and other home-schooled children are not being forced to stay home by their parents and that the extra time they spend with their families more than makes up for any experiences they miss by not going to school.
In Northern Virginia, families who educate their children at home have formed groups that arrange outings, and parents form classes with other families. One group put together a yearbook for the students.
Chris Loope, 14, of Prince William County, said he and other home-schooled students in his neighborhood often play soccer after lunch. ``It's our physical education class,'' he said.
Loope also said he is able to be with his younger siblings during the day, which wouldn't be possible if they were attending different schools.
``I'm at home with the younger kids and we can be friends,'' Loope said. ``If we were in school, I might be a stranger to them, then I would go away to college and we wouldn't be as close.''
Several students said that as the number of home-schooled children increases, their friends who attend school sometimes are envious.
``We can take a day off during the week when others are in school,'' Slimp said of the occasional field trips he takes with his family. by CNB