SASKATOON – Elwin Hermanson may well be the only MP on Parliament Hill who did not go to school, at least in the conventional way.
When he was growing up on a farm near Beechy, Sask., west of Regina, Hermanson’s school desk was the kitchen table.
The farm was nestled in a valley about 10 kilometres from the closest all-season road. When winter came, the family stayed put until the snow melted.
The Reform MP from Kindersley-Lloydminster riding, along with his younger brother and sister, were home-schooled by their mother.
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“I have to hand it to my mother, she showed a lot of patience and perseverance,” he says now.
They avoided homework and grumbled about certain subjects, as all kids do.
But all three finished the government correspondence assignments that were then sent to Regina to be marked. The only time they stepped into the local school was to write departmental exams beginning in Grade 8.
“(It was) just to prove I was doing the work,” he said.
Home schooling, whether traditional or via computer, is a growing trend across the Prairies as more rural schools close and parents decide their children should try an alternative to long bus rides.
There were advantages and disadvantages to home-schooling, Hermanson recalls.
He always was available to help his parents when they needed it. If he spent a day helping his father, he could make up the schoolwork in the evening or on the weekend.
It also taught him to think for himself and to decide what is important, he says. It is a skill that comes in handy on Parliament Hill.
“I’ve picked up a lot of my skills through experience.”
Hermanson thinks staying at home also made the family closer. They all still farm, he and his brother living in the area where they grew up.
He went on to study for three years at the Bible College in Eston, Sask.
“I think I was able to fit in fairly well to the post-secondary environment.”
But he concedes there are disadvantages.
He missed the social and sport aspect of attending public school. Since he never had to give presentations in front of a class, Hermanson still finds public speaking difficult.
But “school is school,” according to Hermanson. There are ups and downs to any form of education.
“It’s a matter of using your strengths … and compensating for the shortfalls.”
