When asked whether they would also home-school their own children, both Reed and Drew say it would depend on where they were living, how much time they were able to spend with their children and how good the nearest schools were. "If I were in the same situation as my parents," Reed says, "I would definitely teach them on my own. I am glad I was homeschooled."
The choice to homeschool their children was an unconventional one for Micki and David Colfax, both of whom went through the traditional American public education track. Micki Colfax says they both found the "normal route" of education "rather static," adding that "things have gotten a lot worse in American education since the '40s and '50s, when they attended primary and secondary school.
Both parents are graduates of Pennsylvania State college. David Colfax, who holds a Ph.D in sociology from the University of Chicago, has written several books. In 1988, the couple published Homeschooling for Excellence, and they are currently writing a second book about homeschooling and "living on the land," Micki Colfax says.
When parents call the Colfaxes for advice, Micki Colfax says they "don't pretend to have any answers. We are uncomfortable with the idea of being experts." Her main advice for parents who want to homeschool their children is that they should relax. "They get too frustrated," she says.
"Any reasonably intelligent parents can homeschool" their children, Micki Colfax says. "It takes a lot of patience...Having a child with you 24-hours-a-day seems to take a lot of time, but to us it just seemed to be the norm," she says.
She says the couple has a "high regard for schools that do a good job." She insists that the decision to homeschool their sons was not a sign of contempt for the American education system.
"We did not move to the land to make a statement about society," Micki Colfax says, "but probably did ultimately by sending three kids to Harvard."