There is a reference to someone my wife knows and that is why we posted this. And like others in the post, there are people who homeschool for other than religious reasons.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/lifestyles/1227519,3_5_EL19_HOMESCHOOL_S1.article

No place like home school

Parents feel right at home teaching their children themselves

After looking for educational resources for her son, James, Cindy Adamski of Bartlett decided to work for an online business that is gaining attention in the field of home schooling.

Adamski is one of three home-schooling moms employed by Des Plaines-based Home School Inc., which launched its Web site three years ago and has grown to serve more than 48,000 registered users.

» Click to enlarge image James Adamski, 10, a home-schooled fifth-grader, practices his guitar in the living room of his parents' home in Bartlett. James' mother, Cindy, works part-time for Home School Inc., a business for home schooling families.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)
» Click to enlarge image James Adamski grimaces as he tries to open a jar of sand as he and his parents, Cindy and Victor, work on creating a small desert environment as part of his home schooling studies.
(Michael Smart/Staff Photographer)

"It's part of the philosophy of my husband, Victor, and I to find the best products out there. So one night (in the spring of 2007) I was looking for a better way to be organized with a home-school planner. I came across one on the Home School Inc. Web site and couldn't find a price, so I called the 800 number," said Adamski.

Adamski's call was returned by Virginia Vagt of Wheaton who told her the planner was indeed available and the fledgling company was looking for home-schooling parents to work as customer service reps. Now Adamski works about 20 hours a week for the company.

"I handle phone calls and e-mails and go into the office two times a week. Essentially, I talk parents through their concerns and questions. I'm there, in part, to encourage them. I've been there and done that, and they can do it, too," said Adamski.

Home School Inc. provides materials and resources for parents who have decided to teach their own children.

The company was founded by Thomas Morrow of Arlington Heights who worked the southeast Asian market for Motorola and ran a company that provided technical support for small businesses before launching Home School Inc. on Oct. 17, 2005.

Morrow's inspiration for the Web business is personal.

"I have two close friends who pulled their children out of schools. One had a daughter who was being bullied and the other a son with Autism Spectrum Disorder who now is in college in Texas. He wants to be a math teacher," said Morrow.

Morrow said home schooling already is a $5 billion market and "a highly evolved industry with more than 500 publishers involved."

With so much online information on the topic, the Web site's initial goal was to provide a filter, eliminating less useful information, he said.

Morrow said the home-school market mostly includes white families and the "solidly middle class" with families averaging 2.5 children. One-third of his registrants come from outside the United States. His biggest market is Texas, and outside the U.S. it is Australia. While home schooling is more prevalent among families living in ex-urban and rural settings and is about 80 percent whites, Morrow said it is becoming stronger among the urban and nonwhites.

"The fastest growing segment of the market is people who are home schooling for nonreligious reasons. My business is about 40 percent Protestant and 60 percent people who home school for other reasons, which is the flip of the typical market," Morrow said.

For many, home schooling is done for a combination of reasons.

African American parents Farrah and Patrick Stephen of South Elgin have four young children and a fifth on the way. Farrah Stephen said the couple have a "desire to spend time with our children, to be the main people to develop them to the adults they will become."

While religion played a role in that decision, the Stephens also were concerned about the rebelliousness and the materialistic trends they have noticed in society.

The Stephens use the material reviews available through Home School Inc. They met the Adamskis through Home School University, a co-op that uses Community Fellowship Church in West Chicago for its sessions. It serves about 100 families with teachers or other experts hired to teach classes from preschool through high school, said Cindy Adamski.

"It's a melding of private and home school," said Adamski.

Morrow feels that home school and institution hybrids will be the wave of the future.

"I like to say that parents are becoming the general contractors for their children's educations. Ultimately, this will be cheaper, more effective and more satisfying," said Morrow.

Home-schoolers point to success stories like the Bramsen family of St. Charles. Eldest son Philip has earned two degrees from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, son Peter has two degrees from the University of Illinois and daughter Sarah is a graduate of the University of Chicago.

"We believe we could offer more academically, make it more challenging and teach it in a more classical way," said Annette Bramsen, whose friend, Virginia Vagt, helped develop programming for Home School Inc.

The Bramsens made sure their children's home-school experience was balanced with activities outside the home. They competed on a math team, took courses at local colleges and did volunteer work.

"Our goal was to raise independent, responsible adults," said Bramsen.

That's the same for the Adamskis.

"We are trying to raise a well-rounded child, to raise a leader, not a follower," said Victor Adamski.

"James is involved in a lot of extras. He takes guitar and piano lessons and has been involved in Christian Youth Theater in Elgin," said Cindy Adamski.

"I like the flexibility of stuff, that I can get up anytime and do my work. One time, I was up at 3:30 a.m. and done by 9 a.m.," said James Adamski, 10.

The Adamskis noted that sacrifices have to be made to home school their only child, but they appreciate the rewards that come with the effort.

Bramsen agrees.

"I really felt like -- and some might find this odd -- but it was fun. We enjoyed learning together," Bramsen said. "We had a very rich family life, with a lot of freedom to spend our time. You have to be willing to learn yourself the things you don't know yet.