In a moment I’m going to post the last of my entries for this calendar year. I’ve got a busy January coming up as well, so it may be February before I’m back. But when I do come back there will eventually be a major post that updates one from a few years ago, giving the complete data available from all of the states about homeschooling enrollment rates. Stay tuned!
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My book Homeschool: An American Historyis the first scholarly book-length treatment of its theme. It is available for purchase from Amazon.
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I will be very interested to see that. Have a great Christmas!
Year-end Messages
1. As a grandmother I worry for the future generation and continually find signs that our freedoms are being eroded and that families are being undermined in their rights and duties concerning their children. Thus, I am so grateful to have this blog, and its author Milton Gaither, doing such a good job in bringing forth research and views about the place of home education as a bulwark reinforcing our views about freedom and the family.
2. Milton promises an update on numbers regarding home education. As a Canadian active from the early days in the movement I hope Canadian figures can be found and reported. I have always thought of us North Americans as leaders in the home education movement.
3. Earlier this year, in reviewing a law student’s article on the topic, Milton titled his comments “Is Homeschooling Threatened?” I promised to provide some evidence on threats — perceived and real. I have not done this and will attempt to do this at some time. Meanwhile, we really need more people to put their shoulders to the wheel, be alert to threats, be prepared to counter them, and be loud in defense and protest. Remember the massive rallying efforts when California was threatened in 2008.
4. The best news of the year, in my view, is what’s happened in Jamaica this last month. Please look up the massive amount of news and commentary. Google: “Jamaica Prime Minister homeschooling”
In quick summary: The PM and his wife, the Holnesses, withdrew their children from public and private education to homeschool. The news went viral. Compounding this move was the fact that the PM was also Minister of Education! Unions and others felt this was a betrayal. Others praised their due diligence in pursuing their children’s best interests. Many homeschooling sites picked up the news in great excitement and in doing so, demonstrated the lingering need for affirmation, validation and strengthening of resolve in face of threats perceived and real.
One significant note came in when it was seen that a book by Linda Dobson passed on to the PM might have been the last trigger to convince the family. This reinforces the urgency for us to keep legislators and authorities aware of our small percentage (maybe 1%) who contribute greatly to education of the public and maintenance of civil society through home education. Some groups meet annually with their legislatures; others do various means to keep up the profile. I write letters to the editor and to blogs frequently about this option.
5. I love our freedoms and know we must stand up for them. A quote in one of our government reports in BC made the issues rather clear:
“The home schooling issue clearly contains within it some of the most fundamental tensions between competing ideals and values to be found in educational and social policy today. It involves the question of parental rights in schooling versus those of the state, questions about where the public good should supersede private interest, questions about who should be accountable for children’s education and well-being, and questions about the limits of individual choice and participation in schooling.” (Sullivan Report on the Royal Commission on Education 1987)
Hope you have been enjoying holidays. I can’t resist saying that “homeschooling” and “enrollments” don’t seem to be connected to me. I’d consider my kids, um, NOT enrolled.
I will look forward to your post, just have to poke you a little on your terminology, so I can remind you “We’re a family, not a school,” and our kids aren’t “enrolled”! I know, so picky : )
Enjoy your break.