Why We Homeschool

Nonconformists. Wackos. Extremists. Fanatics.

Homeschooling parents get called a lot of names in the media and occasionally to their faces. The above are just some of the few that are printable in a family environment.

As amazed as some people can be that anybody would attempt homeschooling, I'm equally amazed at how few people realize that homeschooling was the norm in this country probably until about the beginning of the 20th century.

Remember those Founding Fathers who set up this formerly great country of ours? Homeschooled, nearly all of them.

Of course, I suspect parents back then generally felt more qualified to teach their children. By all accounts, even a simple farmer in Colonial times not only was literate, but was well-versed in history and probably could have debated circles around many of our modern politicians.

There is a long list of reasons why parents abandon our modern schools in favor of the burden of homeschooling. Most of them boil down to the central failure of our public school system to actually teach children fundamental skills and the schools' abandonment of common American history and culture in favor of "diversity" and special-interest indoctrination.

I don't know if my child can ever reach the intellectual heights of a John Adams or Thomas Jefferson, but I do want him to love his country, and I want him to be able to think logically and clearly (a rare ability these days), and I want him to understand his culture and what makes America special.

I've seen hopeful signs. After years of exclusive homeschooling, my child's taking a couple of classes at the local public school. He wanted to try his hand at a more structured environment (and get to use a real laboratory). By his and his teachers' accounts, on most days, he blows the non-homeschoolers out of the water.

He's still at the age where he parrots a lot of my opinions, but he's started asking his own questions and formulating his own ideas about things, and that's something for a parent to be proud of, too.

But it's a lot of work, this homeschooling. It's early mornings, long struggles with difficult homework, responsibility for challenging a budding mind. Sometimes it means sacrificing work or social opportunities to help forge your child's future.

Ultimately, the main reason any parent chooses to homeschool is because he loves his kids. And if that's extreme, well then, call us extremists.