September 30, 2020

Are You Already a Homeschooler?

A Texas mom who decided to homeschool as a result of the pandemic said that a friend told her “you’re already a homeschool mom.”

I’ve had similar conversations over the years with other stressed-out parents of children in traditional schools.

This question often comes up in media interviews: how is homeschooling different from online classes in public schools? I would summarize that in one statement: Less stress!

Over and over last spring, we heard that parents found the online classes public schools offered to be technologically challenged.

They were also unreasonable because children were expected to sit in front of a computer screen for six hours a day.

Public schools are funded based on how many students are in class. Students have to be taught for a number hours per day and days per year. Therefore, online public school classes track those requirements.

But in homeschooling, families can focus on results and mastery, not time spent learning in a subject!

I’ve often told families that were spending hours every evening on homework after a long day of classes that they were already homeschooling—they just weren’t getting the benefits.

Homeschool families get to set their own schedules, choose their own curricula and be in control of their family’s time.

They do what works best for them and they get to make adjustments when necessary. The family is in control!

Homeschooling works academically for students, and it’s often an amazing experience for the whole family, resulting in close relationships and well-rounded, mature young people.

You can homeschool! We can help!

September 16, 2020

COVID-19: Good Things From Bad

As we move into September, stories of families choosing to homeschool when they never thought they would are everywhere.

Celebrities are posting pictures with their children and touting the joys of homeschooling their children. Parents are talking about how these uncertain times have led to changes (like homeschooling) that are benefiting their families.

After recounting to Texas Monthly her story of finally deciding to homeschool her children, one mom said, “I think of myself pre-quarantine and if somebody would have told me I’d be homeschooling my kids and baking my own bread and gardening as much as I am, I’d be like, ‘You are crazy.’ We look like a totally different family, but in all good ways.”

It is amazing to see how many families have been positively impacted by these negative and uncertain times that led them to homeschool.

Of course, many of these families may decide to place their children back into public school in a few months or next year when the fear of the virus has abated.

Texas Monthly quotes another mom who may have spoken for many others when she said, “I like to be in control. Choosing homeschool for us was one way to have way less anxiety about school.”

That is a good thing. Parents having freedom to make choices and decisions for their children is one of the things that has made this time a little less scary and uncertain.

While the Harvard Law professor I talked about recently has real concerns about the rise in homeschooling and is urging state’s to restrict homeschooling, most families think it is a real blessing.

At THSC we plan to continue to do everything we can to not only make it easier for families to homeschool, but to defend that freedom against those who wish to take it away.

September 2, 2020

Harvard Professor Concerned About Rise of Homeschooling

The Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Bartholet who argued that homeschooling should be “presumptively banned” (her way of saying you’re not allowed to homeschool your own children unless the government approves) just doesn’t trust parents.

She has made that clear several times.

It’s ironic that the “summit” that was sponsored by Harvard Law School Child Advocacy Program to discuss how to restrict homeschooling was canceled due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, also due to COVID-19, virtually all the children in the U.S. were being taught at home.

Still Calling for Government Regulation

Professor James Dwyer believes that children belong to the state and that parents only have as much authority over their children as the government allows.

Dwyer and Bartholet are now concerned about the potential dramatic increase in homeschooling.

These academics have not changed their positions on the critical issue of the rights of families to raise their children as they see fit.

No, they are very concerned that more people will be homeschooling and that, in their opinion, there is too much freedom for these families to homeschool their children without oversight from a government official.

“Some May be Resistant to Any New Regulation of Homeschooling”

However, in the course of the article, Bartholet says:

“I agree that there could very well be some increase [in homeschooling]. Some parents have discovered that public schools are worse than they thought, and have been surprised at how little their kids have been learning.”

She expresses a hope that with a dramatic increase in the number of children homeschooling there will be a push by officials to increase regulation.

She closes with this statement:

“But it is also possible that some people who are homeschooling for the first time as a result of COVID think they’ve been doing way better than the public schools, are not used to being regulated in ways that hamper their freedom, and may therefore be resistant to any new regulation of homeschooling.” (emphasis added)

That, my friends, is what we call in Texas an understatement!

This mindset that parents are a danger to their children and the government must limit what parents can do in teaching their children to protect them is too prominent in our culture.

THSC and its members will continue Keeping Texas Families Free to raise their children as they see fit!