Home schooling, that is.
That's not news, of course, to those of us who do home school. (And I do use the word "fanatics" with tongue firmly in cheek.) But myths, stereotypes, and silly notions persist. So this lengthy piece in the Winter 2009 issue Education Next is another welcome addition to the growing body of work, both popular and academic, about the demographics of today's home schoolers, which are far more diverse than many people realize:
Survey research has revealed a heterogeneous population of home schoolers and higher rates of minority home schooling than expected. Economist Guillermo Montes’s analysis of data from the massive 2001 National Household Education Survey found that 70 percent of respondents cited a nonreligious reason as the top motivator in their decision to home school. Home schoolers whose motivations are primarily religious have certainly not gone away, but they are now joined by those whose reasons range from concerns about special education to bad experiences with teachers or school bullies to time-consuming outside activities to worries over peanut allergies (see Figure 1).
Growth in home schooling can be spotted among other ethnic and religious groups as well. Native Americans in Virginia and North Carolina have founded home-school organizations in an effort to escape assimilationist public schools and preserve their traditional values. Hawaiian natives have found home schooling to be the solution to the gulf between tribal ways and public education. Jews, especially those who follow the Orthodox tradition, have been home schooling in much greater numbers in recent years. While Roman Catholic families have long had a presence in the home-schooling world with such institutions as the Virginia-based Seton Home Study School (founded in 1980), recent years have seen an explosion in Catholic home schooling and resources. Islamic home schooling has also grown rapidly, especially since 9/11, largely because “the public school system is not accommodating to Muslims,” in the words of Fatima Saleem, founder of the Palmetto Muslim Homeschool Resource Network.
Read the entire piece.
A couple of related Ignatius Press books:
• Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: Guide to Catholic Home Education | Laura M. Berquist
• Catholic Education: Homeward Bound: A Useful Guide to Catholic Home Schooling | Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson
I've been a public high school teacher for over twenty years and can attest that home schooled kids do quite well when they do enroll in public schools. These kids are involved in other activities and have a wide circle of friends. There is a wide range of home schooling curricula from which to choose. The arguments against home schooling tend to be made from ignorance or are based on some unique incident. I'll go one step further and suggest that Christian kids ought not to be in public schools. Their faith is marginalized more and more with each passing year and one could assume that's part of the plan.
Posted by: A Mauldin | Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 07:51 PM
My family's experiences with home schoolers has been quite positive. We live in an extremely secular, very liberal "classic college town" which also happens to have a thriving home school community. If our limited personal view counts for anything, home schooling demographics and worldviews vary greatly.
Posted by: MarkAA | Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 07:07 AM
What to me is so heartening about this is that it crosses religious, political and racial boundaries. These are Americans making good use of their freedom and at the same time helping to break the public school monopoly. It gives hope that the entire next generation will not be indoctrinated.
At the same time it makes one wonder about the Catholic schools when Catholics also need to home-school their children. However, it does conform to the principles of the Church insofar as the parents are the primary educators and catechists of their children.
It points out as well how people can find a way, even in the toughest of circumstances and schedules, to do what is best for their children. Kudos to Catholic lay people like Laura M. Berquist, Kimberly Hahn and Mary Hasson for producing orthodox materials for Catholic parents who may not be able to design such things for themselves.
I hope perhaps that the Church leaders at the diocesan and parish levels will take the initiative and be facilitators, taking the leading edge and becoming flexible with Catholic families because the primary goal is the proper education of the children, rather than the maintenance of systems and institutions.
Posted by: LJ | Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 11:19 AM
Thank you for this information on home schooling. I have also been a public school teacher for twenty years. I was badgered out of one school, where I'd taught for ten years. Then, I was fired for incompetence from a north St. Louis, suburban school after just three months. I had one student who was home schooled part of the time. She was a good student, participated well in class, and was courteous to everyone. I had thirty students in a class - too many to teach. I have the impression that the large, government schools are just processing students. Don't get me wrong, some good students graduate from these schools, but the majority - good kids and average students - coast through the system, having a good time. They aren't at fault because they are too young to know any better. I think we Catholics are at fault because we have let our education system collapse, or nearly collapse. Cristo Rey schools are doing a good job, but they need to get their costs down and their class sizes down. Ten to fifteen students per class should be the limit. Catholic educators should lead the way: remember, the Benedictines have had excellent schools for 1,500 years. Keep us all informed on Catholic schooling!
Posted by: Dan Deeny | Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 04:08 PM