Biographical Information

Michael P. Farris is Chairman of the Home School Legal Defense Association and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College. Since founding HSLDA in 1983, Farris has used his extensive experience in both politics and appellate litigation to defend parental rights and help grow the organization to over 80,000 member families. He is also the founding president and current Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, a Christian institution with the mission of training students through a classical liberal arts curriculum and apprenticeship methodology to impact the world “for Christ and for Liberty.” Farris has written over a dozen books, including three novels, a constitutional law textbook, and works on marriage, parenting, homeschooling, political advocacy, and religious liberty. His daily radio program, Home School Heartbeat, airs on several hundred stations nationwide. In recognition of his work in home education, Education Week has named Farris one of the “Top 100 Faces in Education of the 20th Century.” Heritage Foundation awarded him its Salvatori Award for American Citizenship in 2002. Mike and Vickie Farris live in Purcellville, Virginia, and have 10 children and 10 grandchildren.
 

Michael Farris

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Extremely happily married since 1979, Bill and Diana Waring homeschooled their three children nearly twenty years. The Waring kids (now all grown) were the proving grounds for all the concepts and encouragements Bill and Diana teach real-life examples of the wonders of home schooling! In 1999, their youngest, Melody, competing against 75,000 other entrants, won the VFW National Youth Essay Contest, receiving the opportunity to read her winning essay before 8,000 VFW members. She recently graduated summa cum laude from Lawrence University in Wisconsin as a government major. She is focusing on relief work in developing nations, and frequently travels internationally. Michael, their second-born, returned safely to his wife Ashley and baby Zachary from a tour of duty as a U.S. Navy Corpsman in Iraq. He is preparing to finish his education in preparation for international humanitarian aid work (read: missions)Ña lifelong goal. Their eldest, Isaac, is a professional musician, teacher, songwriter and actor and is back in college pursuing all that and more. Between college stints, he has been working with his parents full-time, redesigning their business website and assisting in the publication of new materials.

Diana and Bill have worked in speaking and writing for the Christian home school and private school community for 18 years. Through their business/ministry Diana Waring Presents (formerly, Diana Waring—History Alive!), they have met and talked with home schoolers in 46 states, half of Canada, and three other continents. The curriculum for world history study Diana wrote, beginning in 1994, has been growing and expanding. She is in the midst of a five year effort to update and expand the research and presentation of the material. She is well known for her rapid-fire history recordings and workshops, but is also appreciated for her workshops and books of home school encouragement, like Beyond Survival and Reaping the Harvest. Some of these fascinating concepts received emphasis while she was reading and being mentored concerning how students learn and how teachers can facilitate learning. The Waring's mission: "To serve families by encouraging, equipping, and educating in an entertaining way."

They currently serve on the Board of Directors for Washington Association of Teaching Christian Homes.