November-December 2009 Selected Content

Homeschooling Under Fire

This past fall many homeschool advocates noticed an increase in media challenges to homeschooling laws, regulations, and long-accepted practices, not only in many parts of the U.S., but around the world, in countries where homeschooling is also popular.

In Alaska's largest newspaper, the writer launched right into her point: "Alaska has the most lax home-schooling law in the country. No one even knows how many Alaska children stay home instead of attending a public or private school -- they aren't tracked or monitored."

Then she asked: "Should Alaska join the ranks of other states by tightening its home-schooling laws?" The article galvanized both homeschool advocates and opponents in Alaska, with almost 200 comments within the first 48 hours; that's ten pages of discussion!

In Connecticut, a writer likewise dove headlong into controversy: "When you begin to understand how the whole thing works - and many say it does - you get why home schooling parents get so angry when the world thinks of them as a bunch of religious fanatics who shelter their children in underground bunkers and never let them out into the light of day."

In the Washington Post, education columnist Jay Mathews called homeschooling "the sleeping giant of the American education system." He reported, "Some public school educators I know are uneasy... They don't know home-schooling families well. They worry those kids are being ill-served by well-meaning but inexperienced parents. There is potential for more battles over regulating home-schooling."

Many articles from England have reported homeschoolers protesting against tighter restrictions on homeschooling.

Researcher Milton Gaither noted South Korean Deok-Hee Seo's report: "Because of the "deep-seated authoritarian collectivism in South Korean culture" resistance movements like homeschooling have a very hard time succeeding. There is simply not enough social capital to sustain serious alternatives to the dominant culture"

Homeschooling is legal in many countries around the world, and those with the most prevalent home education movements outside the United States include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Some countries have highly regulated home education programs as an extension of the compulsory school system; others, such as Germany and Brazil, have outlawed it entirely. In other countries, while not restricted by law, homeschooling is not socially acceptable or considered undesirable and is virtually non-existent.

Still, homeschooling continues to grow ever more popular, all around the world.

© 2009, Helen Hegener