Keeping it in the family: Ohio couple's decision to educate their three sons at home pays off with entry to the Ivy League.

Paula Penn-Nabrit and her husband, Charles, removed their three sons, twins Charles and Damon, then 11 years old, and Evan, 9, from a noted prep school in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, after concerns about the lack of black faculty and administrators. In Morning by Morning: How We Home-Schooled Our African-American Sons to the Ivy League (Villard Books, February 2003, $24.95, ISBN 0-375-50774-4), Paula Penn-Nabrit writes about her family's journey through homeschooling.

Morning by Morning does not sugarcoat the homeschool experience, and when interviewed, Penn-Nabrit spoke candidly about her son's unhappiness with homeschooling. "They were normal kids who liked to watch TV and eat pizza. For them, the whole prospect of being schooled at home was "horrible" All three boys hated it from the very beginning," she says. "Throughout the process it was an ongoing battle. One of them asked us, 'How could you keep us trapped here like animals?' About five years into the process, Damon began to relent."

Penn-Nabrit continues, "It's hard as a parent to not give your children what they want. My job as their mother is to do what I "know is best for them, communicate that, and be disciplined about it. Onlookers said outright, 'You know you're making a mistake!'" and she admits, "We didn't know what we were doing."

The Nabrits are a family who hold tightly to their faith. "Charles and I had a vision," she says, referring to the Old Testament, (Habakkuk Chapter 2, Verses 2 and 3). "Now I know why the Bible says, 'Write the vision. Make it plain.' There was no way to know we were not making a mistake until nine years later when we had finished." Penn Nabrit says she and her husband had to have "sight beyond sight. We had to look past the surface and agree with God."

What they were sure of was that the education their sons received had to be holistic, that the learning process must meet the needs their children spiritually, intellectually and physically.

SOCIALIZATION IS FAMILY, NOT SCHOOL

To critics who say that keeping children at home with limited socialization is unhealthy for kids, Penn-Nabrit writes, "I have always viewed socialization as continuous and unavoidable. Everybody gets socialized; it's just that some people are more adequately socialized." Throughout the book, readers are shown how her sons' lives were varied and expansive, yet without the intense negative social influences of the traditional school environment. The nuclear and extended family, considered arcane by some, is of central social value to the Nabrits. Nonnegotiable time each weekend was devoted to sitting together in church and to a Soul Food-esque Sunday dinner at Paula's mother's house.

HIRING A "FACULTY"

Though both are highly educated--Penn-Nabrit attended Wellesley and has earned her law degree and her husband attended Dartmouth--the Nabrits knew they could not teach all of the subjects their sons needed due to lack of interest and time constraints. "We agreed to do the bulk of the teaching ourselves, and to supplement our efforts by hiring trained professionals," she says. So tutors were hired. All were graduate students or held doctorates. And all but their math teacher, who is a black at woman, were black males--either African or African American. The boys themselves were key participants in the process of selecting the "faculty."

SCHEDULING--HOMEROOM

"God is a God of order," Penn-Nabrit states emphatically. She shares in her book how she scheduled each week, but left room for things to fall apart. During their homeschool years, they lived without cable and video games, and instituted a daily 20 minutes of silent, independent reading (comic books and TV Guide did not count).

She and her husband juggled schooling with their consulting business, which included travel. The boys traveled with them (funded by accumulated frequent-flier miles) and helped with the business.

To stay true to the vision of a holistic education, they scheduled volunteer activities at the science museum and sports. "We used Columbus parks and recreation centers to meet our kid's need for athletic activity. The boys took fencing, golf, swimming, tae kwon do and tennis. Swimming and fencing lessons evolved into team-sport activities. The boys were exposed to and participated in the arts. Religious practice was a part of their everyday family life, so going to church was not a "meaningless and empty ritual." Each boy had a "Rites of Passage" ceremony at age 13.

THE TEST

The Nabrits remained consistent and disciplined throughout the 10 years they homeschooled. They felt triumphant when their sons were accepted at Ivy League schools: Damon and Charles to Princeton, and Evan, Amherst.

Then the unexpected occurred. "We failed to anticipate the impact of re-entry. It was ugly." At Princeton, Penn-Nabrit notes, there was open hostility. "Charles and Damon were stopped by the campus police several times." Each time, Mr. Nabrit went to campus and was told, she explains, "That Charles and Damon lacked appreciation for having been admitted to Princeton." Young black men, sure and confident of themselves, were not the expected there.

She attributes the boys' strong sense of self to the close and constant relationship they have with their father and other black men in their lives, including tutors, developed from homeschooling. Her husband, she says, "was adamant about children being treated with respect. He makes demands on character. He treats children in such a way that they rise to the expectation."

And their sons have. "I am mesmerized," says the proud mother, "by the kind of people my sons have become. Damon, Charles and Evan are outstanding young men." Charles, a philosophy major, graduated in June 2003. Damon, who was a religion major, left Princeton to form his own Web design business. Evan, an art major, will graduate from Amherst in 2004.

Morning by Morning is both about "how we did it" and "WHY we did it." Penn-Nabrit poses questions and gives advice at the end of each chapter to help readers think through the possibility of homeschooling. The underlying principles apply to whatever educational choice a family makes. The Appendix contains a list of helpful Web sites.

Homeschooling is getting more serious consideration within the black community. For those who get the vision, Morning by Morning will be a precious resource.

REQUIRED READING

Survey of 300 A+ Students: A+ Students Describe Their Strategies by Kenneth Green Creme de la Creme Press, August 2002 $23.99, ISBN 0-972-38880-X

Excerpts from interviews with college students from around the world relate the academic strategies they employed to earn A+ in their respective school systems, from pre-term through the semester and examinations. Such topics as student finances and stress are also explored. The advice and study habits recommended are elementary and best employed by the time stu

THE SHOCK OF RE-ENTRY

An Interview With Damon Nabrit

"The homeschooling experience was very varied. It was both good and bad. I especially enjoyed the flexibility of the schedule and the ability to have close contact with my tutors. But I didn't understand the collegiate atmosphere initially. I had to be self-directed with my studies because I was used to a more structured end familial environment."

When asked what he would change about the homeschooling experience: "Then--at the time? Everything. It was not fun and I even doubted that it was the right thing to do. Now--I'm hard-pressed to change it in any substantial way. Perhaps, sharpen the focus on math and science. Have a stronger language component and, for me, music."

For parents considering homeschooling: "Be analytical. Take a hard look at your own educational environment. How you learned best. Pay attention to how your children learn best. Be careful, it is easy to let homeschooling become less than an academic pursuit. Be prayerful."

RELATED ARTICLE: Web sites teach the teachers.

BY SHERYL ESTRADA

Today's teachers and parents who help with homework or instruct children at home can take advantage of new and rapid advances in technology, including Web sites with resources for lesson planning.

DISCOVERYSCHOOL.COM (www.school.discovery.com) is a free online destination for teachers, parents and students. According to Kimberly Smith, director of Digital Products and Services, using this site for lesson planning is a unique experience. "DiscoverySchool.com has a library of more than 400 video clips teachers can preview and use," Smith says. "With teaching tools and lesson plan tools, teachers can create their own lesson plans and save them on the site. In their lesson plan; they can even create links to other areas on our site. For example, if it is a lesson plan about giraffes, you can link to encyclopedia articles on the site."

The lesson plans are available for grades K through 12. There is an A to Z list of topics ranging from everything from astronomy to weather. Students are also able to find homework help, and there is a section dedicated to giving parents advice on assisting in their child's learning process.

THE NEW YORK TIMES LEARNING NETWORK (www.nytimes.com/learning) can be used as a tool to help formulate your students' perspective on national and international affairs. The daily lesson plans for grades 6 through 12, in the Teacher Connections section, are created in conjunction with the Bank Street College of Education in New York City, and are based on New York Times articles.

According to the site, the basic lesson plan schedule is the following: Monday: American History, Civics Tuesday: Science, Health Wednesday: Global History, Geography Thursday: Technology, Math, Economics Friday: Language Arts, Fine Arts

In addition, it offers a lesson plan archive of previous entries. I searched for information on the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) epidemic. The results were four different lesson plans with activities ranging from students investigating global responses to the SARS, to holding a mock emergency health summit to address concerns.

You can receive daily lesson plans by email for free, if you register with The New York Times on the Web, at no cost. The NYT Learning Network, also allows students to use its site through the Student Connections section, and parents through the Parent Connection section.

Here's to rising to the challenge of educating today's youth!

Sharita Hunt gets pleasure from reading and writing about people who meet challenges head on and make it through. Her hope is that readers are as encouraged as she has been by the journeys and accomplishments of some remarkable individuals. Hunt has worked as an actress and writer and is currently an instructor and Director of Internships at The King's College in New York City. Her story about the Nabrits and their homeschooling success begins on page 20.