Apr

2

Thoughts on Home Schooling

April 2, 2007 |

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Last week, I finished reading Randall Balmer’s Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical’s Lament. I agreed with so much of it and was encouraged to read about the progressive history of the evangelical movement and the emergent signs that at least some of our community may be starting to return to their progressive roots.

However, I had to take exception to Balmer’s characterization of home schooling in his chapter on Education. Admittedly, his main point in the chapter was to discuss the effect that public funding of private schools has on the integrity and efficacy of public schools. I found that point interesting and enlightening, as I haven’t followed that debate very closely. And though he does affirm the right of parents to make educational choices for their children, his overall opinion of home schooling seemed rather dour. He portrayed home schooling families as conservative Christians and fundamentalists who are home schooling out of a desire to shield their children from any beliefs that conflict with their own. He presented a rather Utopian picture of public school as this collegiate playground of ideas and cultures, where children come together on an equal level to learn from each other.

As a former elementary teacher, I just don’t think that’s a realistic view at all. As a former public school student myself, I didn’t experience anything even resembling that sort of give and take until I was a senior in high school. Certainly not at the elementary level. My parents chose to home school me from 5th through 8th grade, about a year after it became legal in Nebraska, not so much for religious reasons (though they are conservative Christians) but because I was miserable in the public school. I was a gifted child in a classroom where being gifted was reason for other kids to ostracize me, and my intellectual hunger was not being met by the paltry servings of a supplemental “challenge” program once a week. My parents were leery of grade acceleration, so home schooling seemed to provide the best way to meet my academic needs away from the pressure and scorn of other students. I’ve always been grateful to them for making the sacrifice to home school me–I benefited immensely from those years out of the classroom.

I now home school my children for nearly the same reason. My oldest daughter is extremely intelligent, but also struggles with sensory integration and sequencing learning disabilities that would not bode well for her in a regular classroom setting. At home, I can match the curriculum and the schedule to meet her very unique needs. I would never expect a classroom teacher to offer the sorts of accommodations that I do at home–it would be impossible.

It’s true that most of the first home school pioneers–the ones who fought for the legal right to home school and even underwent arrest and jail time in their efforts–were Christian fundamentalists. I don’t agree with a lot of their beliefs or political affiliation. But I am very grateful to them for the work they’ve done in securing the right to home school and in protecting it from people who misunderstand what home schooling is all about. Yes, some of them do have a “cave mentality” where they want to shield their children from outside influence. But not all.

If Balmer were to take a closer look into the home school community, he would find families home schooling for reasons as varied as the people doing the home schooling. A growing number of families with gifted or twice-exceptional (gifted with LD) are choosing home schooling because a regular classroom offers inadequate accommodations for our children’s needs. Families of many faiths and cultures choose to home school because they recognize that the home should be the primary place for religious and cultural education, and they don’t want these valuable and unique aspects of their culture to be lost in a generic American classroom.

I appreciate Balmer’s concern for public education. I share that concern. But I think it is unrealistic and unfair for him to seemingly suggest that families put the preservation of public schooling ahead of what is in the best interest of their own children. Maybe he wasn’t trying to imply this at all, but that is what I was getting from it.

Sometimes, home schooling is a real challenge for me as I try to also juggle my dual careers of writing and editing. But I am confident we have made the right decision for our daughters. I also must admit there is a certain joy in being the one to help my children learn and grow. I hope that when they are grown, they will look back on our home school years with as much appreciation and fondness as I do on mine. These are precious years.

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Amy on April 4, 2007 2:52 pm

    I just read Balmer’s book as well (you know this because I saw him speak with you!), and I had the same reservations about his views of public education. I agree that he has a rather Utopian view of public schools. In my experience as an educator, public schools seem to reflect the insularity of the communities they are in. They are certainly not the grand melting pot that Balmer seems to idealize them as. I receive a free publication for teacher called ‘Teaching Tolerance’ that regularly has articles lamenting the self-segregation of public school students based on ethnicity, religion, or even interests and talents.

    I was also bothered by his view of all parochial schools as having a cave mentality. You and I have both experienced a Protestant Christian school that did, but I am the product of Catholic schools and work in one where the focus is constantly turned outward on the world our kids will live and work and serve God in.

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