About once a month or so, I come across a link to an article about homeschooling. Since I belong to very few homeschooling sites or groups, most of what I come across are articles on sites where the primary focus is not homeschooling, but rather things like healthy cooking. I tell you this because I think it greatly influences the type of articles on homeschooling I'm exposed to. Over the past year I've noticed a theme that seems to run through these blogs and editorials. It goes something like this:
"My husband and I never thought we'd be homeschoolers. . . .but x, y, and z happened. . .we started looking into it. . . when we started meeting people they weren't the (insert description of the Duggar family). . . .the face of homeschooling is changing."
The face of homeschooling is changing.
I've even thought this myself, but not because I think that over the past 10 years homeschooling families went from exclusively right-wing, conservative Christians to include people who have more liberal views. But my reasons are a whole different post.
Let's not forget, homeschooling was never exclusively right wing conservatives. The homeschooling movement was founded by two groups of people, one of those being right-wing conservatives that were appalled by the declining morality of our society and in our public schools. The other group was at the opposite end of the political spectrum. The hippies. And not the Birkenstock wearing, granola eating, Whole Foods shopping, wanna-bes of today. But rather, people that didn't want "the man" indoctrinating their kids. Parents that thought the real world was a better classroom, that believed experiencing life was a much better teacher than a text book. When did we forget that? But, let's move on.
All of these people write about how when they finally dared to join the well established homeschooling community, they are surprised to find a whole host of like-minded people. Homeschooling support groups that have women whose children are now in college, or beyond. They find a host of non-Christian curriculum with years of reviews, and revisions (often written by people who first homeschooled their kids, then wrote curriculum). This world didn't just pop up over night. It has been YEARS in the making.
Has it not occurred to these new homeschoolers that it's their perception of homeschooling that is changing?
Let's look at my, so far brief, homeschooling life. 5 years of being an official homeschooling parent. When I first started homeschooling my children, the real life group (I belonged to a couple of online support groups too) I joined was made up of Christians, Atheists, a Buddhist, and Pagans. We know, or have known, people from all backgrounds. In fact, I don't know any families that you could describe as "Duggar-like."
The face of homeschooling is the face of America, everyone. Even, dare I say, me. Me, mom of two and only two kids, who is tattooed, pierced, and Pagan. That all-inclusive face has been the reality of homeschoolers for a long time. My hope is that when people say the "face of homeschooling is changing" they are talking about the perception of who a homeschooling family can be.
