Monday, July 9, 2007

Who Are Today's Homeschoolers?

Robin over at "Life Without School" has put out a call for submissions to their "Celebrating our Diversity" page. She is asking members of the homeschooling community "Who are you?"

There are so many stereotypes out there about homeschooling families. Most people outside the homeschooling community are unaware of the diversity found within it. I know homeschoolers who are just about every "flavor" of Christianity, Jews, Muslims, Unitarian Universalists, Hindus, "New Agers", agnostics, and atheists. I know homeschooling families of a number of different races and ethnicities or combinations thereof. I know homeschoolers of modest means, and those who could easily afford private schools yet choose home education. I know families where the mom is the primary breadwinner and the dad is the primary teacher. I know moms who combine paid employment with homeschooling their children. I know single moms who continue to homeschool after being widowed or divorced. I know feminists who homeschool because they feel that traditional schools are tools of the patriarchy. I know "unschoolers", "relaxed" homeschoolers, Waldorf, Montessori, Enki, Charlotte Mason, Classical, Thomas Jefferson, Principle, "school-at-home", and eclectic homeschoolers.

One of the first things my DH said to me when I first brought up homeschooling our DD was: "Homeschooling? Isn't that for superfundamentalist Protestants and hippies?"

While that may have been mostly true when we were growing up, it is definitely NOT true today.

2 comments:

Bliss said...

thanks for this heads-up Crimson Wife. i'll hop on over and add my 2 cents. ;-)

Katie said...

I am loving your blog. I got to it by searching for a good blog where a family homeschools but are also pluralists...I am totally loving and agreeing with your thoughts! Thanks for sharing yourself, so I don't feel totally alone out here - not being the superfundametalist protestant hippy that most people believe I must be! Would you mind if I added your blog onto my homeschooling blog that I keep, for my own reference?

sparrowsschoolhouse.blogspot.com

Thanks!