While I was away from this blog, an article by Robin West was found and quickly drew the attention of homeschoolers.

I have read Robin West’s piece and found it has no credibility in the big picture, much less the nuance of homeschooling’s history and issues. While unpacking her piece in detail might be a worthwhile mental exercise, at the same time it seems counter-productive.

My conclusion is that Ms. West is put off by evangelical politicians, and based on her lack of understanding for her subject, homeschooling is the target of her angst. Such are the pitfalls of tying homeschooling to a narrow ideology – the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) uniquely owns this responsibility.

While the piece lacks credibility, it does bring into clearer focus a long-held concern, and, as political power in the nation has shifted, we may see more of this kind of pushback. In the early years, before HSLDA placed themselves as a player at the federal level, members of the homeschooling community rushed to each other’s aid. I have faith that, if needed, we can get there again.

But looking back, what I do not understand is the “why” of the strategy HSLDA chose for protecting our freedoms to homeschool. In broad terms, the homeschooling community argued for our freedoms in terms of individual rights and responsibility while HSLDA’s actions pushed further and further towards protecting our freedoms by license – and I can only speculate on the “why.” Why justify homeschooling with standardized test scores, insert special treatment language into legislation, pursue risky court decisions, and argue for setting up homeschool institutions to oversee families?

History and logic are on the side of the argument that these steps inevitably lead to greater regulation. So, the most innocuous reason for the path chosen was to use homeschooling families for political gain. The alternatives are even less attractive.

Further Reading:
Homeschooling Freedoms At Risk
HR 6 and the Federalization of Homeschooling
Homeschooling Organization’s Lawsuit Threatens Homeschooling Freedoms
The Military-HSLDA Complex and Our Freedoms
HSLDA Study: Embarrassing and Dangerous
HSLDA’s “History” Erodes the Foundations of Our Freedom
Say No To The Federal Homeschooling Legislation
Let’s Not Link Homeschooling to Partisan Politics
Yes to Parental Rights, No to a Constitutional Amendment
A White Paper by Raymond S. Moore

Matt Friedeman’s column (“Even government envious of homeschooling success,” Aug. 30) praised the success of students who are homeschooled on academic tests, and went on to point out how much cheaper it is for parents to educate their children at home rather than in the public schools. Mr. Friedeman omitted some very important facts that destroy his arguments.

The headline was nonsensical. I have never known nor heard of any public school figure or other public official who was “envious” of homeschooling. At this time in our history, the attitude of nearly all of those officials is, “If that’s what they want to do, so be it.”

Mr. Boyd goes on to say, as Superintendent he was involved with homeschooling back in the day.

I am not an opponent of homeschooling. During the time that I was serving as state superintendent of education in Mississippi in the 1980s, I had meetings with representatives of the homeschooling association to discuss their concerns that they were going to be overregulated by the state. The Mississippi Legislature ended up passing a law universally recognized as among the least restrictive in this nation.

I would argue that “least restrictive” is in the eye of the beholder. Yet, we agree on his next point.

Mr. Friedeman bases his entire argument on research done by Dr. Brian Ray, whom he didn’t mention is affiliated with a national organization that promotes homeschooling.

The most outrageous claim that Mr. Friedeman makes is that “Government now wants to get its hands on the surest educational method in the nation (homeschooling).” He is taking a page right out of the current health care debate: trying to scare people by making untruthful claims about “government.”

I do not know where to start on this last paragraph. While there is a thread of truth in the quote, I do remember well the politics within the homeschool community in the which lead us to publish Homeschool Freedoms At Risk back in 1991.

In many ways the turmoil of our national politics today seems oh, so familiar. I would assume Mr. Boyd and I remember a much less heated time. What he describes today as “scare people by making untruthful claims”, by the early 90′s, I had come to describe as the politics of fear, hate and misunderstanding.

Interesting times indeed.