Reflections by Lora Burbage
In 1983, my husband, Gary and I were traveling down a highway called Mainstream. It was well lit and nicely paved. Many people lived along this highway and more importantly there were all the traditional choices of education. There were public and private schools, small church schools, and a wide assortment of pre-schools. We were awed at how many choices we had. So, when Joel, our two year old at the time, was ready for school, we would do our research and pick a school.
As we traveled down the highway, we saw a small sign which read, “Upstream Road, Next Exit”. We wondered what could be on that road?
Well, about this time in our lives, I had been getting together with another mom, Linda Borgia, to do arts and crafts and pre-school activities with our sons. One day she handed me two books, and said, “Here, read these and tell me what you think. This is what I’m going to do for my sons.”
The first book was Home Grown Kids by Dr. Raymond Moore and the other was by a woman named Marva Collins. They presented, with glowing reports, a totally mind-boggling concept called homeschooling. We were ignorant to the fact that this was the oldest method around.
Gary and I were so impressed with what we read. I went back to Linda and said, “This is a great idea. Whatever you do for your boys, do it for mine too, and I will help you with all the other important things, like art and PE. In my mind, I could handle those subjects. Linda was the certified teacher; she could tackle the real hard subjects like reading and math. Have no fear Linda is here! I knew she would do a great job. Besides, what did I know about education; I was a hairdresser by trade.
We had just taken the exit off Mainstream Highway onto Upstream Road. We were shocked! We expected a decently paved road at the least. This road was not paved; it was dark, lonely, and narrow and, strangely enough, it was going in the opposite direction.
Shortly after our departure onto Upstream Road, Linda announced that she and her family were moving to California. I was in a panic. Oh no! What was I going to do? I was a product of the local public school system. I grew up with Run Spot Run and Dick and Jane. Besides I was a hairdresser. PHONICS? Was that a new perm solution?
The road was darker now, and lonelier.
Before Linda left, she did organize a support group meeting – if you could call it that. I vividly remember everything. I wore a purple seersucker jumper and I was nine months pregnant. I walked up to the second floor of the office building located on the corner of Punahou and Beretania Streets. Five women including a Board of Education member (who was favorable to homeschooling) were present. No one gave her name or information about her children. It was the coldest and scariest meeting I had ever attended. All we talked about was the legality of homeschooling and the woman who had recently gone to jail. There was so much mistrust, suspicion, and fear in that room. I left shaking my head and telling God, “I am not going to do this. God, do you know this is illegal and people are going to jail for this? Not me!”
Did we take the wrong exit? I wanted to get off. Upstream Road was still dark and very lonely, but to our surprise we started seeing a few homes along the way. I learned that these families had children who were of compulsory school age – six and older. No wonder they were so worried. On the other hand, I didn’t have any children that age. Joel was almost three and Rebekah was on the way. We were still very intrigued by the testimonies of the people we met, especially the ones in Dr. Moore’s book. If the method worked, I had time to do something about the legal situation before Joel turned six.
First of all, I had to prove to myself that I could teach Joel – as if I had never taught him anything previously. The Lord is so faithful especially when we think we can’t do what He has asked of us. He gave me courage to learn in order to teach. I ordered the only book I knew – Professor Phonics. I taught myself first before starting with Joel. This was a far cry from Run Spot Run books. Well, Joel started reading by age three. I was ecstatic!
The road was still dark and rutted but we were a little more confident that this was the right road.
Gary and I began meeting with other families, mainly to figure out a plan on what to do about the law or lack thereof. Around this time, a good friend of ours, Cam Cavasso, had become a state representative. We decided to ask him for help.
Cam helped us research the laws in other states; we then came up with a bill. Cam also introduced us to the Senate Education Committee Chairman, Charles Toguchi. It was in this committee that our bill was heard. Senator Toguchi told us to go the Board of Education (BOE) first and see if we could work something out.
Is God Sovereign? YES! After the 1986 legislative session was over, Senator Toguchi became the new Superintendent of the Department of Education. We had already educated him about homeschooling. He was familiar with us and now all we had to do was convince the rest of the Board members. Simple right? Naive, yes!
Upstream Road was not as dark now; there were actually a few streetlights. More homes could be seen and surprisingly the road was less rutted.
In the summer of 1987, we went before the BOE. We prepared well and were so convincing with our testimonies that one of the BOE members said that he wished he had had that type of schooling when he was growing up. The Board sent our proposal to a committee for further study and a few of us were invited to be at the monthly meetings to iron out our differences.
We had an uphill battle. Our viewpoint was that parents had the ultimate responsibility for their children; the Board’s viewpoint was the exact opposite. They of course were the experts; we were only unqualified parents. It was very discouraging and it seemed we would never resolve our differences no matter how long we talked. The BOE told us that we were asking them to take a huge leap in another direction. “Yes,” we said, “big leap or small what does it matter? Two feet or ten, just do it!” I clearly remember leaving very discouraged and praying that God would change their minds.
Well, at the next meeting, a complete change in attitude and ideas had taken place. The Board even went so far as to say, “What if everybody chose to do this? We would empty the public schools.”
We tried not to laugh. “We will never be a majority.” God was at work! Finally, after a year of talks with the Board and the Superintendent, we came to an agreement. In 1988, the homeschooling regulation was passed. What a relief!
As Gary and I and our three children traveled down Upstream Road, we were so excited to see all kinds of trucks pulling out onto the road to pave it. It was the most beautiful sight we had ever seen.
Our little support group turned into Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii, headed up by John and Arleen Alejado. I still remember our first curriculum showing, where everybody (about 10 families), brought out their books – either A Beka or Christian Liberty Academy. That was about it!
It was a major decision to pick which company you were going to use. No wonder people feel overwhelmed about their choices these days. We sure have graduated onto bigger and better things! Besides the area of curriculum, smaller area support groups started up to support moms with classes, co-ops, and fields trips for the children.
Along Upstream Road, the scenery began to change rapidly. Streetlights were going up quickly and actual rest stops were opening up. There were places where you could stop in and be encouraged and rejuvenated for the journey. Large new developments were popping up on the horizon with beautiful community centers for gatherings and events. Even billboards could be seen advertising the newest courses on CD or satellite. Every educational choice that you could imagine was present.
Sadly, Mainstream Highway has experienced quite a few tragedies lately, from drive by shootings to terrible accidents. In comparison, there have been very few accidents and no shootings on Upstream Road. We know why we haven’t experienced those tragedies. We have chosen to go in the other direction, against the traditional flow in society. We have chosen to go against the government’s mentality and take responsibility for our own children, nurturing and caring for each child. The journey is not an easy one but nothing of great value comes without a price. Remember, WE SERVE A FAITHFUL GOD!
Oh, by the way, if you get on that road today, it is now a four lane highway and has been renamed from Upstream Road to Freedom Freeway. God bless you on your journey.
