Trying to catch up with some of my favorite blogs and came across this from Spunky, which I thought deserved excerpting here (I strongly advise clicking over and reading her entire post):
SpunkyHomeSchool: The Online Charter Homeschool Myth
“For the record, I don’t care what curriculum Dan or anyone else chooses to homeschool their children. It’s your right as a parent to pick whatever you feel is appropriate. But not all who call themselves homeschoolers ARE homeschoolers. Some are public schoolers at home. Let’s not get sloppy and allow the term “homeschooling” to become generic for anyone who just decides that the public school building is not to their liking but the curriculum and state control are just fine by them. I’m not saying the term “homeschooling” should only be reserved for those who teach the Spunky approved way, but that the term should not be so broad as to include those that homeschool the state approved way either. Terminology is important.”
My only quibble – and it’s a small one – is that many homeschoolers do homeschool the state approved way when they follow their state’s homeschooling laws and regulations. But I know that’s not what Spunky is referring to.
Our old friend Daryl Cobranchi picked up Spunky’s post too, and I had a flash of deja vu as I read his words in the post Still Not Homeschooling: “Basically homeschooling equates to a choice to opt out of the system. We ask only that the newcomers, who are attempting to re-define the word, respect our choice to attempt to keep the original definition. IOW, find your own damn word!”
Old-timers will recall my somewhat famously posting that last line a few years ago in the middle of a long and heated discussion of one of the then-widely popular lists or forums. It raised a lot of hackles at the time. With any luck, Daryl’s use of the phrase will have a more beneficial effect.
Helen
mark
david