You Aren't A Good Citizen If You Homeschool!
One poster on the Dr. Phil Board adamantly maintained that homeschoolers were shutting the door on their communities and were bad citizens simple because they didn't use the public schools to educate their children. After all where else would our children meet ethically and religiously diverse people if they didn't attend public school?
The myth that all homeschoolers are WHITE FUNDAMENTALIST CHRISTIANS is alive and thriving. H$LDA is a huge reason this myth is alive and well, as they are often the only voice and face of homeschooling the public hears and sees. So I found the post Taking Charge - Let's Not Link Homeschooling to Partisan Politics - Larry and Susan Kaseman in Home Education Magazine timely.
First do you really have to associate with ethically and religiously diverse people to be a good citizen? to be well educated? to be well socialized? If so I am afraid the Founding Fathers may have failed the good citizenship test. After all multiculturalism is a relatively new educational fad. Not to mention there is no way the Founding Fathers attended public schools. Public Schools didn't exist yet. And even after public schools were established for many years they were segregated. At Principled Discovery Dana has this to say about Liberty and Learning, and what education meant to those who founded our nation.
Secondly homeschoolers are not as isolated and insular as many people think. My INCLUSIVE homeschool group (PEAK) is made up of religiously and ethically diverse (Wiccans, Pagans, Atheist, Free-Thinkers ect ) members. Homeschoolers also get out in their communities. we belong to civic associations, we utilize public libraries, our kids play on recreational sports leagues made up of public school, private school and homeschooled kids.
Main Entry: cit·i·zen·ship Pronunciation: 'si-t&-z&n-"shipFunction: noun1 : the status of being a citizen2 a : membership in a community (as a college) b : the quality of an individual's response to membership in a community.
As you can see for yourself attending a public school isn't a requirement. For many homeschoolers the church is the heart of their community, for others it may be a community center, civic association, public library or a mixture of places where they interact with their fellow citizens. But we all work to make our communities a better place
After Katrina hit the Gulf Coast I was really impressed with the way my community pulled together. Those who had electricity opened their homes to those who didn't so they could do laundry, make phone calls etc. Those who had food shared with those who didn't, those who had gasoline to operate their generators shared with those who didn't. When things got better those who had little or no damage helped those whose homes were badly damaged to clean up and rebuild. That's being a good citizen, and some of those helping were homeschool families. Homeschoolers are good citizens!
2 comments:
YOu are absolutely correct! What makes me laugh is that people who make these comments really do not even have the reality of public schools correct. There are always groups, with labels like band-os, science geeks, techie's, jocks, stoners, etc. Kids do not cross those social lines often, so the argument is mute. Mine, on the other hand, have strong bonds BECAUSE of homeschooling with Catholics, fundementalists, Hindus, Jews and others. They find the differences a fascinating aspect of their friends, and are less shelters than most public school kids in this respect!
Mother Crone you are so right. I love your new blog design it looks Great.
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