Now, as we take college classes, both of us have been surprised and pleased to discover how well homeschooling has prepared us. Having one (main) teacher during our early homeschooling years to supervise and examine the quality of our work taught us to attack each project wholeheartedly - a work ethic that is greatly appreciated by professors! Additionally, homeschooling conditioned us to view teachers as approachable and intent on aiding their students, which has emboldened us to ask questions of our professors; doing so has helped us to more thoroughly learn and has enabled us to gently challenge misguided theories and ideologies they espouse. We were prepared to do so by the firm foundation the integration of our beliefs with our academic studies during our homeschooling years has given us.

Having been immersed in a non-traditional learning environment from the beginning, it's no surprise that we find ourselves interested in taking advantage of the full spectrum of possibilities - from conventional to innovative - for gaining college credit. Because we focused intensively on mastering English in high school, we acquired a solid grasp of grammar and composition; this enabled us to easily obtain the English credits required for our General Education through CLEP testing. Additionally, because we recognize that some of the most qualified teachers and skilled instructors are not professors, but rather are men and women using their expertise in a particular area to earn a living, we are also pursuing options such as apprenticeships, internships, and portfolio assessment to gain credit.

Both in predictable ways and in ones we couldn't anticipate, homeschooling has turned out to be a great blessing. God knew that we needed focused attention from a teacher to learn properly; He knew the character traits that He desired to form in us; and He knew our need to see that education is pertinent to our lives no matter its form. Our years of homeschooling have served us well especially because our homeschooling environment was more like real life - with its diverse ages, its broad spectrum of beliefs and preferences, its requirements for some degree of flexibility, and most importantly, its necessity that learning not become relegated to theory but instead be relevant to and integrated throughout life. 

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