Madison Browning, 8, spent a recent school day coloring, playing on swings at a park and whirling to Japanese string music at a cozy dance studio. Caedyn Curto, 13, studied biblical scripture at his family's kitchen table before tackling decimals, completing a biology test and revising a journalism essay.
The Browning and Curto families, both of whom live in the South Bay, have embraced very different styles of education. But they now find themselves on the same side of a battle to continue teaching their children at home in the face of an appellate court ruling that home schooling in California must be conducted by credentialed instructors.
The February court decision is not being enforced pending appeals. The 2nd District Court of Appeal agreed last week to rehear the case in June, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger pledged to support new legislation allowing home schooling if the decision is not reversed. Meanwhile, the ruling has forged a rare alliance of religious and secular home schoolers.
Religious families like the Curtos remain a significant bloc, but other motives have grown increasingly visible. The state's estimated 166,000 home schoolers include students from affluent suburban families who can live on one income, children who hope to hone an athletic talent or artistic passion and those who, like the Brownings, shun traditional education for a more child-centric approach.
Before she had children, Michelle Browning of Torrance, who has a bachelor's degree in early childhood education, taught at elementary schools for four years. But she didn't like the insistence on conformity that she saw.
After meeting home schooling parents, Browning began to think about educating her children herself.
The 41-year-old, mother of Madison and Makenzie, 6, broached the idea with her husband, Brandon, who was skeptical. He had fond memories of his school days in New Jersey and wanted a similar experience for his daughters.
"I'm traditional . . . especially when it comes to things that worked for me in the past," the 37-year-old law enforcement official said of his initial reluctance.
Browning persisted, ultimately persuading her skeptical husband to let her try home schooling on a month-by-month basis.
Browning had first heard of "unschooling," which shuns regimented lessons, when her first daughter was born. She questioned how children could learn the basics without instruction. But by the time Madison was 2, she knew her letters and numbers because of her own inquisitiveness.
