As Home Schooling Surges, the Evangelical Share Drops

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I THINK WHATEVER BEST SUITS EACH FAMILY. IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT IS THE SITUATION LIKE? MAYBE IT IS BETTER TO HOMESCHOOL IF YOUR CHILD HAS CERTAIN ISSUES THAT DOES NOT NEED TO BE CRITICISED OR BULLIED ABOUT. WHEN CHILDREN ARE A LITTLLE OLDER AND CAN HANDLE THEMSELVES OR BUILD ENOUGH SELF CONFIDENCE TO KNOW WHAT MATTERS, THEN THEY CAN SET OUT FOR CURRICULUMS OUTSIDE OF THE HOME AND NOT ONLY WILL THE CHILD FEEL SECURE, BUT THE PARENT CAN BE AT EASE. IT MIGHT NOT BE FOR EVERYONE, BUT THEN AGAIN, WHAT IS?

LOLETHA of GA 1:23AM October 23, 2010

My wife was home schooled for the most part. We met in college and she graduated with a 3.9 while I only had a 3.3
We plan on homeschooling our children (both still in diapers) for several reasons. The first is the Albuquerque Public School system is horrible. The second is that my wife was in 3rd grade before the school finally realized she couldn't read and put her in special classes for a few months (she ended up as an English major) we don't want to worry about our kids being ignored and overlooked in public schools. The last reason could be called moral I suppose, neither of us is very religious (I'm an athiest) but we do have strong beliefs when it comes to some issues.

Michael Simpson of NM 6:21AM November 25, 2009

The grotesque, horrible kidnap of the ll year old girl, and the way the freaky family was able to keep her in a built-up area makes me wonder what things happen in the name of home schooling. Does Antioch have a licensing system that might have been notified, if anyone took the trouble to ask about a tent being used for a home for such a long time? Does existence of home schooling let that pathological couple get away with their crimes? Americans take too lightly the fact that poorly schooled people move later on, taking with them their inferior education. Some comments here say the children are gifted. If they are, public schools do have advanced classes. It may seem like infringement of civil liberties, but if we had an ID system of implants, some "missing children" could be found before they become corpses.

aura dawn veirs of CA 9:27PM October 27, 2009

LWD makes an accurate comment, about "making sure children never become better educated than parents." All faiths preserve the domineering pattern of patriarchal elders knowing better than anyone else. To coop a woman up most of the day at home with her kids--what is that? It's the perfect acting out of the Scriptural "role of women,"--kirche, kinder, kuchen..church, kids, kitchen. There's mom, with the table holding breakfast, lessons, lunch, lessons, dinner. With breaks to visit tax-provided public libraries, parks & cultural centers. My home city is a college town, filled with tax-provided amenities. I have 14 books on home-schooling. They all tell parents to take advantage of these secular assets, even though their taxes are not on the tax appraiser's book for taxation. By depriving children of wide range of learning companions, parents create the kind of divided population our Pledge used to memorialize, "One Nation, Indivisible, with liberty & Justice for all." Now, the kids learn to expect to be "divided, kept apart from" the ungodly and those of other faiths. John Lennon was right..Imagine a world without religion. Much better.

aura dawn veirs of CA 9:16PM October 27, 2009

Has anyone considered what a blessing this is for pedophiles and people who abuse children?
I am surprised that there are no safeguards put in place to search for dysfunctional households.
I have no argument for or against the principle of home schooling so long as good, independent and responsible people are its product, but I wish there were some way of inspecting these kids independently, just to be sure that they are not being mistreated and that they are learning.
Unscrupulous people can take advantage of this situation and lives ruined. There should be some followup by school authorities.

Joan Dalton of AL 11:37AM July 25, 2009

I home schooled my daughter not just for religious/moral reasons but to be free-thinking, creative, responsible patriots. No one can pass on family values like parents can. My child's education first focused on the principles of building character, then came academics. Once a person knows who they are and the purpose they exist; the passion for learning is flamed, and they run with it. My daughter was taught how to learn so that when she graduates twelve years of "required" learning, she will continue to grow, and acquire new knowledge her whole life. To all you homeschoolers: keep up the good work!!

Julie Shirshac of CA 8:18PM April 24, 2009

Having had three children in public schools where they learned very little, we chose to keep them home and teach them ourselves following Susan Wise Bauer's method of classical education (see "The Well Trained Mind"). My wife has a teacher's degree and I have a master's degree in theology (and no, we're not "evangelical" in the current usage of the term). But we have found that by using our local library and following Bauer's curriculum model we are able to give our children a great classical education for a quarter of the amount it would cost to send them to a classical private school. So in these days where everything economical seems shaky, I would add that an extra, but by no means the only, benefit of homeschooling is that your kids can get a great classical education for a fraction of the cost.

amare classical homeschoolers of TX 9:37AM January 28, 2009

As homeschooling parents who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the only support network we know of around us (a "home educators' 'fellowship'" which is decidedly Evangelical/Fundamentalist in orientation), we are searching for other home schooling families who do NOT fit that mold. We are Christians, but we are mainline Protestant and moderate in our politics, not right-wing Evangelicals. To make matters more difficult, we live in the South (Louisiana to be precise). Any suggestions you may have for an organizations or support network we might contact would be greatly appreciated.

John Allen Bankson of LA 1:04PM January 20, 2009

I agree with several comments to this article. We can choose moral reasons for homeschooling but we shouldn't be lumped into Christianity, or one particular branch of Christianity because of that answer. People of all faiths could check that box including atheists or agnostics. I didn't choose homeschooling for religious reasons but I do attend a place of worship. I want my gifted kids to be able to study different subjects at different rates easily, and not have to "qualify" as gifted from year to year. I think they equally deserve the method of teaching that serves their special needs.
Express yourself as an Inclusive Homeschooler
http://www.redbubble.com/search/Inclusive%20homeschooler

Amy of MA 10:23PM January 17, 2009

I know plenty of homeschoolers, myself included, who would cite "moral instruction" as one of the main reasons, though we are not affiliated with any religion and are not evangelical. I want my children to grow up interacting with people outside their age-defined peer group, spending the bulk of their time learning freely, and giving service to the community at large. I want to pass on my values which include frugality, giving to others, restoring the health of the natural environment, growing food, nurturing curiosity, exercising compassion, and taking responsibility for the consequences of one's own actions. Those values and ways of life are not what I find reflected in the school system. We are not religious, but given the limited set of options presented, we would have checked the "religion and morals" box.

Joy of OR 5:44PM January 17, 2009