The Longmont Daily has an interesting article on homeschooling. ABCs of inhouse education takes a brief look at some of the different reasons people homeschool. The words of one of the homeschoolers interviewed stood out to me. Christine Vigorita removed her daughter from school in the sixth grade because of medical reasons and began helping her with the school work while waiting for a suitable tutor.
“I always thought people home-schooled just for religious reasons, but I didn’t know until I began to home-school about all these secular reasons,” she said. “And once I started going over her work with her at home, I thought, ‘I could do this.’”
In just a few words, Vigorita addresses the two largest hurdles people face in choosing to homeschool: stereotypes and the belief that “I could never do that.” Here, I am interested in the stereotypes.
Homeschooling is for Christians.
There are a number of stereotypes against homeschoolers, but one of the most pervasive is that we all do so for religious reasons, specifically for Christian reasons. The opening paragraph of the article comes as little surprise and likely explains a lot of the hostility I perceive among some secular blogs in their attempt to separate themselves from Christian homeschooling.
When people learn that Kathleen Ford of Erie home-schools her 6-year-old son, the question that follows, she said, is usually “What church do you go to?”
This stereotype, however, does not just affect secular homeschoolers who must repeatedly explain that they have other reasons for homeschooling. That is because the stereotype goes deeper than just “homeschoolers are Christian.”
Homeschooling is for fundamentalists.
We are not your garden variety of Christian who attends church and prays at meals. We are whacked out fundamentalists seeking to form our own “madrassa.” When the rhetoric begins, a secular homeschooler has an easy way out. “We are not all Christian,” they may answer. Some seem to strengthen the stereotype in their attempts to separate themselves from it. But not all Christians are like that. Even those of us who homeschool.
I am conservative and traditional enough in my views that I am used to being referred to and dismissed as a fundamentalist. In so far as “fundamentalism” refers to adhering to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, I do not object to the label. The problem is that “fundamentalists” such as Fred Phelps and others who receive a great deal of media attention for their various antics add a good deal on to the faith and often ignore the fundamentals. Many have been openly corrected by evangelical churches and their “teachings” are not accepted.
This stereotype, like most stereotypes, is not rooted in some silent danger among American churches. It is rooted in the ignorance of those who hold the stereotype. And ignorance breeds fear which gives birth to attempts to control and destroy.
When I say I homeschool for “religious reasons…”
I will tell those who ask that I homeschool that I do so “for religious reasons.” The fact remains that it is a convenient shorthand for my beliefs about education and what I am attempting to accomplish in my homeschool. In the circles I am involved in, it is a generally understood and accepted reason. Outside these circles, however, it becomes more complicated. When Vigorita says, “…I didn’t know until I began to home-school about all these secular reasons,” she misses something important. “All these secular reasons” are exactly why most Christians who choose to home educate do so. We are concerned about academics, school environment, family time and our children’s unique talents, challenges and needs. There is nothing specifically “secular” about the reasons listed in the article, nor about most of the reasons I see secular homeschoolers give for homeschooling. Wanting what is best for our children is neither a Christian nor a secular issue.
It is a parenting issue that I would think most of us could understand.
[tags]homeschooling, home school, home education, fundamentalism[/tags]
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“And ignorance breeds fear which gives birth to attempts to control and destroy.”
Well said. And the stereotypw is connected with ignorance. I posted a survey a couple of months ago which really demonstrates that the reality of homeschool demographics are pretty far removed from the stereotype.
http://refincher.wordpress.com/2007/08/12/stereotypes-and-reality/
Thank you, Rebecca. I enjoyed the survey you posted…I don’t know how I missed it the first time around. I get tired of being pushed into a box I do not belong in and really isn’t representative of homeschoolers anyway. Some of these critics have so little understanding of either homeschooling or Christianity it is difficult to really discuss anything of that nature with them.
But that may be subject for another post.
Absolutely. Our first reasons were all secular–it was only as we grew in the Lord that we added Christian reasons to those.
I think that describes a lot of us, Heather. : )
What a wonderful post.
I consider myself a Christian, but identify myself as a secular homeschooler. It just takes too long to explain that some Christians that homeschool believe in evolution (and teach it), can respect religious differences ect.
But you are so right the one thing homeschoolers have in common is we all believe homeschooling is the best educational alternative for our children.
I began homoeschooling for religious reasons. Simply put, we could not afford to send the kids to a private school and me continue to be at home, which we both wanted to keep me at home.
So we looked into homeschooling. And to be honest, at the time I thought all homeschoolers were either:
1. Fundie froot-loop Christians who were scared of public schools
2.People like me who wanted private school but couldn’t afford it
3. Wiccans who wanted to teach their kids to cast spells.
Okay that sounds harsh, but it is HONEST. I’ve since learned better. In fact, most of the reasons we continue to homeschool have nothing to do with religion AT ALL! Now I continue to homeschool because we like the freedom and flexibility it affords us. I could probably afford private school now but we don’t want to do it anymore—we truly like being with our kids 24/7 (okay 99% of the time).
I’m also concerned about this stereotype because more and more I see the fundamentalists becoming the mouthpiece for the homeschool community at large. For example, many in the hs’ing community revere and respect Doug Phillips & Vision Forum. I personally, think it is a cult. I do NOT want Vision Forum speaking for me, as a Christian homeschooler.
In the end, we each do what we think is best for our families. We need to respect that and move on.
What you describe is typical of any of the “fundamentalists.” They all thrive on whatever attention they can get and they all act as if they are speaking directly for the Lord. And I put that in quotes because I object to the terminology. They really are not “fumdamentalists” because they do not adhere to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, but rather add to it.
They have a mouthpiece among some in the Christian community but I have never met any of them in person, regardless of the number of get togethers and field trips I have attended. I don’t believe that even these groups are as numerous as they appear…they are just active and they gain a lot of attention. And most of them are not really even “dangerous” in the way that outsiders perceive them. They can be spiritually dangerous, but not generally physically.
I have no idea if I am making myself at all clear. I hope that made some sort of sense.
Dana, I was basically kicked out of a local hs’ing group because I’m not fertile enough. They were all heavily into the VF lifestyle, down to the quiverful thinking. Which is fine. But for me, a mom who has a 50% chance of having a dead baby every time I get pregnant due to our genetic disease, I don’t and didn’t fit in.
Because I *only* have 3 kids, my “friends” perceived this as a lack of faith. Upon further investigation, they found out I liked music like TobyMac, and I let my little girls watch Hannah Montanna and other such “crimes.”
So, I pretty much was not invited back.
While this is not physically dangerous, it is very emotional, painful thing and for a new or young homeschooler, it can totally kill their spirit. Not to mention the feeling of “you can’t add up, so don’t even try anymore.”
I just don’t want everyone out there to think they have to fit the deeply conservative, fundamental, dresses-only, quiverful, no-tv-allowed type model of the “typical” Christian homeschooler.
Like it or not, when someone utters the words “Christian homeschooler” they often conjure up such an image.
You run with more interesting people than I do, Lindsey. : ) I have never met any one in person who home churches, wishes to restore any sort of patriarchy or has even heard of most of what goes on in these discussions. I attend a conservative, bible-believing church but all of these issues were completely foreign to me when I began having these discussions online.
I know that identifying myself as a Christian homeschooler conjures up these images…it is why I posted on this. But it is not representative of what evangelical Christianity teaches and is in fact contrary to much of it.
You stated,
While this is not physically dangerous, it is very emotional, painful thing and for a new or young homeschooler, it can totally kill their spirit. Not to mention the feeling of “you can’t add up, so don’t even try anymore.”
and I couldn’t agree more. The reason I tried to draw a distinction is because this is predominantly an issue of the church. We lack decent bible teaching and therefore there are a lot of people out there who are spiritually starving. Like a pastor I listened to once said, the problem with the spread of cults and dangerous beliefs through many populations is people are basically drowning and will cling to anything that promises a way out.
Most of what I read of these groups is purely reactionary. Our culture says one thing. We do not like it so we react and define our religion as the opposite. Our culture says children are a burden on women and society. So we react and go back to Genesis 1:22 where it says, “Be fruitful and multiply.”
And determine from that that we are commanded by God to bear children and any who do not, whatever their reasons, are living in disobedience.
I don’t really want to get too theological here, but this is a theological issue and (I believe) a misunderstanding of some basic Christian principles. In the New Testament (1 Corinthians 7:9), it is made pretty clear that having a family at all is a sort of second choice option, seemingly for the more worldly among us. That does not “jive” with Genesis…unless you accept that we are under a new covenant. And that to “be fruitful and multiply” means to witness.
I am no theologian, but this seems to me to be a common problem among these groups.
As a church, we need better teaching. And we need to remember who our teacher really is. Because when we are fully trained, we will be like him or her or Him depending on which teacher we are following.
I completely getcha. I am an Episcopal homeschooler (a rare breed, I get a lot of odd looks).
Am I Christian? Yes.
Am I a homeschooler? Yes.
Am I homeschooling because of my religion? Maybe. Maybe not.
Why does it really matter?
Dana….
OUTSTANDING post! I’m a Christian who homeschools and while my reasons for homeschooling are related to my Christianity, my faith is NOT the primary reason that I homeschool. The emotional, academic, social AND spiritual well-being of my children are ALL at stake. I am simply not willing to put any of those factors at risk in the public school setting.
Thanks again for an excellent post!
Here in Nebraska, I have to file under either Rule 12 which says that “the requirements for approval and accreditation required by law and the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated by the State Board of Education interfere with the decisions of the parents or legal guardians in directing their child’s education.”
Or rule 13 which says that all that same stuff “violate sincerely held religious beliefs of the parents or legal guardians.”
Now why do we have two rules to do the same thing? And why do I have to decide whether my religious beliefs or my right to direct my child’s education is being usurped?
I am a Christian. And I have a child in Kindergarten.
Your comment that it is , “exactly why most Christians choose to home educate” is amusing to me.
It is my experience that *some* Christians I know choose to home educate, but the majority (in my small town)?
Put their kids in the public system.
Because we are all involved in their classes.
And if I kept my uber-social child at home?
Neither one of us would be happy.
My DH’s first response to my bringing up the subject of possibly HS was “isn’t that for superfundamentalist Protestants and hippies?” While those stereotypes may have been mostly true when we were growing up in the ’80’s, they are definitely not very accurate today. Most of the HS families I know don’t really fall into either category. Yet those outside the HS community still think of us that way. I get so frustrated when ignorant people make gross generalizations about HS based on what they *think* they know about one or two segments (which may or may not be accurate).
Angella, thank you for taking the time to comment, but I must confess that I don’t really understand what you are trying to say unless you misunderstood my statement.
I am speaking only of those Christians who choose to home educate, not of all Christians. Certainly the vast majority of Christians send their children to public school and others send them to private school. That isn’t at all what I am talking about.
I agree, Crimson Wife. Many are far too quick to judge on incomplete information.
And because I do not want to unnecessarily amuse anyone, I edited the entry slightly to make clear that I do indeed recognize that most Christians do not homeschool.
Dana,
Thanks so much for posting on this! I, too, get tired of people assuming that because I am a Christian, I’m homeschooling for religious reasons. I began homeschooling when I started looking into preschool for my 3 1/2-year-old daughter and discovered that she already knew everything our excellent Christian preschool taught in Kindergarten. At that point I decided I was not going to let her sit around and be bored (and most likely cause trouble) for two years while she waited for the other kids to catch up; I was going to do preschool at home so I could help satisfy her incredible desire for information. And as time has gone on, I’ve realized that homeschooling has so many advantages over regular school that I hope I’ll be able to continue to homeschool her through high school. What advantages? Let’s see: She can learn at her own pace, slowing down when she meets a challenge and speeding up when she already knows it; she can follow her interests in much more depth; she can and does make friends of any age, race, religious, social, or economic background; she can get as far ahead as she is able; she can use her time to learn broadly rather than sitting waiting for other kids to get their questions answered; she has a flexible schedule for travel, family emergencies, athletic events, etc.; she can maintain a solid, loving relationship with her sister and her parents without being made to feel “weird” because of it; if one curriculum isn’t a good fit for her we can try another; she can think more deeply than most sixth-graders do; and so many more reasons I can’t go into them all here.
What I find especially irritating is those people who, after I explain all these reasons, ask me, “But are you a Christian?” And when I say yes, they pounce: “Aha! I KNEW you were homeschooling for religious reasons!” Now, do I think homeschooling provides religious benefits as well? Yes, I do. But the religious reasons are NOT the primary reasons I homeschool, and I resent the implication that just because I am an evangelical, conservative Christian I MUST therefore be homeschooling for religious reasons.
Thanks again for the thoughts!
Nice post, Dana. I am Christian, I do homeschool for religious reasons, but ALSO for a variety of secular reasons. The secular reasons are the ones that concern me the most. I know I could teach my children to love the Lord if they were in public school, but how would they learn how to think? Would they learn? Worse, what would they learn from their peers?!
Thank you everyone for contributing to the discussion! I have a question for anyone who happens to read this:
What do you understand by someone saying they homeschool for “religious reasons?”
What do you understand by someone saying they homeschool for “religious reasons?”
I understand that they feel the public schools have taken God out of the schools, the texts and the whole experience of education. I understand that they would like curriculum to be presented from a Christian view. I understand that they worry about the moral environment of the school atmosphere and the quality of character that surrounds their children.
Some of these reasons seem and are secular as well, but can and do stand alone as religious depending upon the qualities applied to them ie moral and character.
Dana, what a great discussion here. I think, in general (at least the folks I know, including myself) who say they homeschool for “religious reasons” are most concerned about worldview. They want their kids to have a Christian worldview, not a secular worldview. When their kids are confronted with social or political or cultural issues that may confuse them, they filter it through their Christian worldview and quite often will come up with a different conclusion than they otherwise would have. My religious reasons have to do with training my kids how to think and how to operate AS A BELIEVER in the world.
I agree with both of you. The reason I asked was because I cannot really compartmentalize my reasons for homeschooling so easily.
I homeschool for “religious reasons” which certainly has a lot to do with worldview and morality, etc. But it also has to do with all the other reasons listed. And I view those as a natural outgrowth of my religious views.
Deuteronomy says to teach our children as we rise up and as we sit down. Thus I view family time as very important and not a time to be given over to others if it can be helped.
We are taught that children are the heritage of the Lord and to train them up in the way they should go, thus I need to be perceptive of and responsive to their needs.
Family time, the child’s needs, academic issues are also “religious reasons” if your views on these issues are formed by your biblical convictions. That is not to say that secular homeschoolers cannot arrive at the same convictions based on other reasons, but it is why for me “religious reasons” is a sort of shorthand.
It encompasses a lot more than what the stereotype seems to hold for it.
What a great conversation! I appreciate it so much because of my disdain for divisiveness. Home educators can find common ground in the love we have for our children.
IVE READ AND READ BLOG THRU BLOG, AND NOT ONCE HAVE I SEEN ANYONE TALKING ABOUT HOMESCHOOLING THEY’RE KID BECAUSE OF A MEDICAL REASONS “BESIDES” ADHD OR ADD(not diss..any1) I WONDER? AM I THE ONLY ONE? MY 8 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER SUFFERS FROM LUPUS AND FIBROMYALGIA AND “THAT IS WHY I HOMESCHOOL HER” WISH THERE WERE MORE BLOGS OF THIS KIND…WILL TRY AND START ONE WHE SHE FEELS BETTER…
LUPY MOM