Homeschooling 101

Lesson 1: Before You Begin

Who Homeschools?

Considering that there are an estimated 2 million (or more) home schooled children in the United States, “Who doesn’t homeschool?” might be a more appropriate question. What does a typical home-schooling family look like? Statistically speaking, it is likely to be white (only 6 percent of homeschooling families are minorities) and observantly Christian, with married parents and three or more kids. The parents are likely to be better educated than the adult population at large, and the family will be comfortably middle-class—though either Mom (in nine out of ten homeschooling families) or Dad foregoes a second family income to stay at home. Mom and Dad will probably vote Republican.

In my experience, I have found that homeschoolers are a diverse segment of the population and are racially, ethnically, and philosophically different. Some use textbooks, and sit at the kitchen table. Some use real books as their curriculum. For many, learning does not happen at a predetermined time, in a predetermined place. They are Jewish, Christian, Pagan, Buddhist, Evangelical, Catholic, Agnostic, Atheist and everything in between. They have one child, three children, six children or more. They are rich, poor, middle class and the working poor. They are farmers, executives, nurses, gas station attendants, doctors, laborers, ministers and… teachers. Moms, dads, grandma and grandpa, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters are all homeschoolers. Mostly, they are just responsible, concerned, caring people who want their child to be in the most nurturing environment conducive to learning.

In a TIME magazine cover story, it was noted that more children are homeschooled than are involved in such higher-profile reforms as vouchers and charter schools combined. If the estimates are correct, there are more homeschoolers than students enrolled in the public schools of ten states: Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

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