There is an interesting story developing in the Southern Baptist Convention. There is a group that has drawn up a resolution proposing an "exit strategy" for their youth to leave public schools and be homeschooled with the support of the convention.
Homeschooling is a growing trend, especially among "fundamentalist" families. Elizabeth Watkins, who formed the Southern Baptist Church and Home Education Association in 2004, says the purpose of homeschooling "is to impact our culture for Christ."
Here's another thought; maybe it's a way for parents to shelter their children and not be exposed to other ideas and lifestyles like, oh I don't know....homosexuality.
A student who is homeschooled doesn't have anyone teaching them views of the world that their parents don't subscribe to, which saves them from showing up at school board meetings or writing letters in protest.
When these kids grow up and are allowed to make their own choices in society, aren't the chances greatly reduced that they will be open to embracing or even understanding individuals from different cultures or who have different lifestyles? Denied interaction with a diverse group of their peers growing up, won't these young people be at a disadvantage when trying to succeed in a society with others that did have that exposure growing up?
Surprisingly, the SBC is not embracing this idea, but there will apparently be a big push from homeschool supporters at their next national convention. If they have their way, the narrowing of the American mind will continue.
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The element of the homeschooling community that wishes to lock their kids away and shield them from anything not explicitly authorized in their version of the Bible is a small minority. It's unfortunate that they get a disproportionate amount of press, but that is based mostly on money and politics.
ReplyDeleteMost homeschoolers are way more exposed to the real world than the average student. That sort of happens naturally when you are out in the world all day, and not locked in a sterile school room.
This "sheltering" problem isn't specific to home-schooling either. There are also a lot of fundamentalist private religious schools that improperly prepare their students for the real world. They instill narrow-minded, judgemental views which do not serve the child well within most mixed workplaces and life in general.
ReplyDeleteI was in one of those schools and I can attest to the fact that they only offer you a very limited view of the world. I (think)that I turned out OK, but only after several years of hard knocks & reeducation. Some others turned out OK, but many of the kids who graduated from my school ended up crashing and burning within a few years of graduating. Furthermore, I do agree with Cod in that there are a lot of home-schooled children who are well-adjusted, many even more so than publicly schooled children. It's a matter of how the education is administered.
There are some pretty big assumptions about homeschooling families here. We are just as diverse as families who use school - in many cases, moreso. I live in a society which is almost exclusively white, but our local homeschooling group has people who originated, or whose families originated, from every continent in the world. My society is almost exclusively Christian, but our hs group consists of Christians, Jews, atheists, Pagans, agnostics, Buddhists... outside our group, I know only one person who identifies herself as atheist. The society I inhabit is anything but GBLT-friendly, but through *homeschooling* - not through anything else - I have met families with two parents of the same sex, I have met people who are in the gender reassignment process. And of course my children don't *only* meet other homeschoolers, because they have far more time for the "real world", not being in a classroom all day.
ReplyDeleteMs Watkins is the founder of a Christian homeschooling group; it is unsurprising that her religious beliefs should form part of her reasons for homeschooling. She is no more representative of the general homeschooling population than a gay priest is representative of the gay community. And while I don't have statistics to hand, I've been involved with the homeschooling community for about six years and I would say that there are more people choosing to homeschool for non-religious reasons than for religious reasons.
Homeschoolers are a diverse bunch, just as GBLT people are. It's prejudicial to make unfounded assumptions about either group. Please don't.
It might be picking nits, but the SBC proposal is not to withdraw kids from the government schools in order to homeschool them. It is for the convention to more actively support families who CHOOSE to homeschool and for individual congregations to form private schools as an alternative to the public schools.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with everything COD and Deb W wrote.
Thanks for the enlightening comments. My post represented my personal experiences, but it is obvious they may not be representative of what others have seen. I've learned something here.
ReplyDeleteHayden,
Thanks for the kind words and I appreciate your point about the word "lifestyle." I used that word as an all-inclusive phrase since my general point went well beyond homosexuality, but I will try to avoid even that in the future.
I agree Jim. A large number of us homeschoolers who want to shelter our children from the evils of the world, such as ageism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and judging people by the outward appearence instead of their words and deeds.
ReplyDeleteIf my children were in the local school system, they would be learning to hate "fags". The GLBT people they would meet there (if they met any at all) would be fearful and hunted. I have relatives who work in the school system and I've heard their stories.
Instead, my children are learning that "gay" is just another slight difference in the form of the body which has nothing to do with the quality of the mind and soul inside.
My mother taught country school in 1918 in the hills of Kentucky. Those children who came from Christian, cultured homes prospered for the most part. For the most part the others worked in coal mines.
ReplyDeleteIt seems the best reason for home schooling is to pass on the family culture. Again, those who do, prosper for the most part.
I don't know how many know this, but when T.Jefferson was president he mandated the Holy Bible to be in every school room. So much for Jefferson and separation of church, school, and "state."
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