Having the privilege of traveling to conferences to speak to homeschooling families is the highlight of what I do here at Demme Learning. I love learning about families’ learning journeys and where they have been with the opportunity to explore education on their terms.

This summer has been full of adventure (considering that my “summer” started in February with a trip to speak at Building Faith and Family’s Winter Conference in PA.) I have met many families whose stories have affected me and changed my perspective about education, children, and our future. Today, I want to share three of their stories with you. In some instances, I have changed names at the family’s request, and in other places, you will see photos to accompany the tales.

From Primer to Calculus: Caleb’s Story

My first story has to do with Caleb. Caleb is a bright, articulate young man I met at the CHEA conference in California in early May. Caleb has been a Math-U-See kid since Primer and has completed his studies with us through Calculus. At age twelve, he continued his math journey at the community college level, completing College Algebra, Trigonometry, Statistics, Calculus 1, 2, and 3, Linear Algebra & Differential Equations, and Computer Science & Discrete Mathematics. This is over 30 units of math! He plans to do one more year of dual enrollment at community college as a senior in high school and then continue as a math major at a university. 

This is yet another reason I love Math-U-See. Students grow up with us, and we watch their families change in their journeys. 

Why do I think Caleb’s story is remarkable? Because when you are part of the Demme Learning family, your journey continues well beyond your homeschool years. Now, I am not a terrific fan of mathematics — I tacitly agree that math is necessary, even if it is not fun for me. But to meet someone like Caleb, who has embraced his journey, made it his own, and is excited about what the future will bring, is amazing and humbling.

Lifelong Learning and Conquering Challenges: John’s Story

My second story takes me to the other end of the math spectrum. Early in my days here at Demme Learning as a sales consultant for Math-U-See, I had a remarkable gentleman named John call and ask me many questions about our Geometry level. To be honest, I could not answer all of his questions as thoroughly as he desired, and I was honest enough to say I had to recruit help to be accurate. Throughout the last 10 years, I have heard from John periodically. John has forgotten more math than I will ever know, but I love to hear from him. Hugging him at the MÂCHÉ Conference in Rochester, MN, was incredibly joyful.

What I did not know is that we almost lost John to COVID-19, and he shared his remarkable recovery story with me. During John’s experience in August of 2021, he was transported to the hospital, and his family was told he would probably not make it through the night. At one point in his medical crisis, John said he encountered Jesus, who asked if he wanted to come to heaven, and John said he felt it was not his decision to make. Remarkably, he woke up in the VA hospital and began the long road to recovery. John persisted despite learning to walk, talk, and even swallow again. Time and space do not permit me to tell you all of John’s medical experiences, but to say he is a modern miracle would be a vast understatement. Despite a hospitalization that lasted from August to December and the need for dialysis three times a week, John persisted in his recovery. After two years of dialysis, John’s body had recovered sufficiently to be taken off of dialysis. One doctor told John he was the first person he had known who had not needed dialysis for the remainder of his life!

Seeing Clearly Now: Isaac’s Story

My last story is my most humbling one. At the MÂCHÉ Conference in 2023, I met a mom who attended several of my presentations. In the course of our conversations, Mary explained that her son was on the autism spectrum and struggling mightily with acting out. The family had decided with professional consultation that it might be best for him to move to a group home. We talked at length about their experiences, and Mary was still hopeful that she could find something to allow him to continue their homeschool journey together. 

If you have ever met me or heard me speak, you know how passionate I am about helping children—particularly those who learn differently—reach their potential. My heart was so grieved for this family, and I could not part ways with Mary without inquiring whether anyone had done a binocular vision examination on their son, whom I will call Isaac. 

I am referring to whether a student’s eyes team together the way they are designed to. If there is even the slightest difference in how the eyes work together, there can be massive consequences for the student’s learning and emotional well-being. I often tell families with dyslexia diagnoses that if they have not ruled out binocular vision as a mitigating factor, they do not have the whole picture of what their child is experiencing.

Isaac’s struggles were daily and exhausting, and Mary’s whole family was deep in the midst of the fight/flight/freeze that comes with a student for whom learning is overwhelming. They had resigned themselves to the possibility that the best thing for them all was for Isaac to be in a group setting.

Now, step with me into this year’s convention where Mary returned to the booth to tell us her Paul Harvey (“The Rest of the Story”) moment. She took Isaac in for diagnostic testing for his eyes with a developmental optometrist. They found out that Isaac’s eye issues were so acute that his brain was literally shutting down his vision to one eye or the other periodically. Obtaining an accurate diagnosis and remediating his vision issues changed everything about Isaac’s life. The family is no longer enduring a constant state of crisis. They also recognized that the long-term effects of Isaac’s challenges had affected their family as a whole, so they are working with counselors to continue to create new and healthy habits. 

It was remarkable to me that this one conversation could change the trajectory of this family. If you know me, you know I am only in the position of having the right conversation at the right time—we all know who was really at work that day when I met Mary in the Demme Learning booth.

These are only three of the dozens of exceptional, inspiring, humbling stories I have learned in this convention season. Even though the season is now at its conclusion, I find myself counting the days until I can meet more of the amazing people who choose to home-educate their children.

As our convention season comes to a close, we’re reminded of the incredible journeys we’ve been privileged to witness. Whether you’re just beginning your homeschooling adventure or looking to enhance your current curriculum, Demme Learning is here to support you every step of the way.

Explore our placement tools for Math-U-See, Spelling You See, Analytical Grammar, and WriteShop to discover the perfect fit for your family’s educational journey.