Approximately 1.77 million children in the United States were educated at home during the 2011-2012 school year. In 2007, the number was 1.5 million. Home school education is on the rise. (U.S. Dept of Education)

In the State of Florida the homeschool movement is growing.

During the 2012-2013 school year, the State of Florida had 75,801 children registered in home education programs. (Kids Count Date Center)

On Florida’s Treasure Coast, 495 children were registered in Martin County and 1,369 in St. Lucie County. Since 2013, the number in Martin County has risen to 646 and 1,430 in St. Lucie County (August, 2015).

Why is this?

Stacy Efinger, a trained teacher and veteran homeschool mother has spent 15 years overseeing and teaching her children’s education. She is a modern pioneer in the Florida home school movement.

It wasn’t until Stacy began attending church at Stuart Nazarene (now New Hope Fellowship ) 20 years ago, that she even heard about homeschooling as an option. Approximately 30 percent of the church’s families were educating their children themselves.

Stacy was intrigued. During her college internship teaching kindergarten, first and second grades, she began to think to herself, “I could do this with my own children.”

The next year, Stacy attended an annual home school convention in Orlando and then shortly afterward, her first child, Jonas, was born.

In the 1960s, ‘70s and early ‘80s, homeschool education was considered radical and illegal; homeschool parents, considered by almost every state as criminals, had to go to court to fight for their civil rights. (Home School Legal Defense Association)

Dr. Jolene Oswald, former Spring Arbor University professor of elementary education was part of the home school education defense. She regularly attended court hearings, speaking on the need for and value of children being educated at home.

In 1985, the homeschool movement began to boom around the country.

Originally, homeschool education was a pioneer effort during the development of the United States, beginning at Plymouth Colony with the Pilgrims.

Parents schooled their children in sod homes, log cabins and beside campfires as the Federal government encouraged families to move west and settle the lands. Often, the only books used were a beginning reader and a family Bible. Made famous in her Little House books, was Laura Ingalls Wilder, whose younger years were under her mother, Caroline’s tutelage. Other famous home-educated individuals include 10 former Presidents (John Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt) writers (Pearl Buck, Louisa May Alcott, J.R.R. Tolkien) and most recently football’s Tim Tebow.

The history of homeschool education has shown that it has benefited not just individuals, but also the building of the United States of America. It is no wonder that homeschool education is no longer considered illegal, but a fundamental right of the country’s citizens.

Homeschool education has many benefits:

· No wasted time disciplining unruly children

· Students may work at their own pace—often moving ahead of their peer group.

· No teaching to the test—home school students study a broader range of subjects and are required to remember all that they study because their testing (Terranova) is a more rigorous general knowledge test.

· Religious or moral instruction can be included in the curriculum.

· Children with special needs

· Parents are not comfortable with some school subjects being taught, ie. sex education.

· Phonics, spelling and handwriting or cursive are still taught in homeschool education, whereas they are not taught in public schools any longer

Stacy Efinger’s son, Jonas, now 18 years old, works two jobs and has been dual-enrolled with homeschool education and at Indian River State College. He states that home-education gives parents flexibility with curriculum and he may go as fast or as slowly as he wishes. For example, Jonas finished one year of algebra in less than two months.

Jonas is a typical young man; he enjoys hunting and robotics, and went to an international championship competition in St. Louis, Missouri with a local SPAM Robotics club. He also volunteers, and has given seven years to the Busch Wildlife Sanctuary. Jonas plans to attend the University of Western Florida and pursue a degree in artifact preservation. He is a fan of history, much like his father, Kurt Efinger, who is a professor of history at Indian River State College.

To the children, Jonas adds this: “Homeschooling was worth it. I had more opportunities to try things; I got to go out and see different people every day. My range of experiences has been much broader.” Jonas has even traveled to Israel in the Middle East, seeing the ancient sites firsthand.

Though homeschooling is no longer illegal and the State of Florida has become friendly toward the movement, it is still a challenge and a commitment. Stacy considers the opportunity to teach her own three children a privilege. She loves being with them and they enjoy being with each other. The Efinger home is a family-oriented home that has produced a lifetime love of learning.

At a time when American schools are reacting with society’s change, their daily events filling evening newscasts with violence, homeschool parents are continuing to help build and rebuild our country, producing highly educated and happy young adults who seek to add positively to the Treasure Coast, Florida and even the United States.

It is important that the rights of Americans to educate their children continue within their counties and states. This is historically, a fundamental and necessary right that has been time-tested more than 400 years.

In eight more years, Stacy Efinger’s youngest child will graduate high school; Stacy though, expects to remain in the movement as a teacher who trains other parents to do what she has done.

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Boxing began before the time of Jesus Christ, during the times of the Sumerians in the 3rd millennium BC. Considered a formal sport, boxing became an Olympic event in the 23rd Olympiad (688 BC).

Also known as pugilism or prizefighting, the outdoor contest was not without blood and injuries. In ancient days, there were no rounds, death occurred at times. (Britannica)

Later, the Romans enhanced the gladiatorial sport for their colosseum events by adding pieces of sharp metal to boxing gloves, which would inflict greater damage on an opponent.

With the rise of Christianity’s influence and the decline of the Roman Empire, boxing closed its ring for several centuries.

The British renewed the sport in the late 1600s and boxing crossed the Atlantic to New England in the 1700s.

By the late 1880s, United States’ colleges kept boxing inhouse as an intramural sport.

During World War I, boxing began to be used for training the United States military.

After the war, the sport of boxing became an intercollegiate contest to ready young men. By 1930, 100 universities had teams. Former President Gerald Ford was once a boxing coach at Yale University. http://www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-gerald-ford

In 1960, University of Wisconsin boxer Charlie Mohr died in a boxing-related death.

At that point, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) withdrew its support of the sport and intercollegiate boxing ceased for a few decades.

Only recently have colleges reopened their rings to boxing teams and clubs.

Kevin Cryderman, the National Light Heavyweight Champion in the beginner division, states that “the hiatus is over.” The United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association (USIBA) was formed in 2012 by boxing coaches and students who wanted the renewal of a safe, amateur boxing league. The USIBA is associated with USA Boxing.

19-year-old Cryderman boxes with the Renegade Boxing Club at Florida State University (FSU) in Tallahassee. He sees the sport as very competitive.

Kevin Cryderman hails from Martin County, Florida. He grew up in Jensen Beach on the Atlantic’s Treasure Coast. Kevin loves competing and the roughness of boxing. In high school, he played football and grew used to the yearly conditioning of his body and the disciplining of the mind.

Boxing itself involves speed, endurance and strength when standing alone against an opponent.

At Florida State Cryderman spends approximately five hours a day, five days a week getting fit to fight. Three hours are given to building strength in the weight room and two more are designated to boxing skills practice.

There are a variety of blows in boxing; Cryderman cites the “overhand right” as his best. He feints a “body shot,” then comes over the top from the back with his backhand which is his “power hand.”

A Light Heavyweight, Cryderman usually must cut his weight down to 178 pounds. Combined with his workout, using the sauna and eating well will help him drop unnecessary weight.

Cryderman states, “Not everyone can keep up the discipline, learn the necessary skills and develop fortitude.”

The university boxing clubs and teams are divisional: Beginner, Novice and Open. As a former Beginner, Cryderman returns to Florida State for the 2015-2016 season as a Novice with experience behind his Championship belt.

In the ring the athletes wear headgear, 14oz gloves, and a mouth guard for protection.

The Renegades’ coach, Dr. Joab Corey, an economics professor, had Cryderman try out. Dr. Corey is a former amateur boxer, professional sparring partner, and was a coach for West Virginia University’s Boxing Team. Kevin adds that Corey competed in the Golden Gloves, which is the road to the Olympics.

Vincent Giovannoni is the endurance coach. A marathoner, he leads the team on early morning runs and teaches boxing skills in the gym.

“Florida State never walks away without winning a belt,” states Cryderman. He won his own Championship at a three-day tournament at the University of Michigan. Each day he had to fight. Each day he won.

Unlike other sports, boxing has no timeouts. The fighter must continue until the bell rings.

Cryderman has learned that discipline of the mind, the will and the body, working together, pay off. Endurance, whether to run the good race or fight the good fight, is what matters. Cryderman is learning skills not just for boxing, but about life—what it takes to get through, no matter the pain, no matter the nerves, the fear, or the fatigue.

Boxing is not a sport one plays, it is a sport of determination which becomes a way of life. To be better than the next boxer, a personal decision must be made to move forward, quelling doubts while building confidence.

Kevin Cryderman has done this; he has learned how to work hard and overcome obstacles.

Between workouts, Cryderman studies. He is a history major and intends to become a high school history teacher, and is considering returning to Jensen Beach to teach. Cryderman is the son of Lisa Cryderman, a local Stuart Middle School teacher and Clark Cryderman, a civil engineer and former college football player.

Hometown Heroes: Boxer Donny Poole And His Wife Allison

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