Earlier this week, Washington Post continued its series of articles on homeschooling with a piece on the growth of homeschooling in America. Dixie Dillon Lane, a historian of homeschooling who is completing a book on this topic, is writing a Current feature essay in response to run soon, and we are looking forward to her thoughts.
In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more about the world of Christian homeschooling specifically, here is a roundup of essays on this topic by homeschooling parents at Current, The Arena, and several other publications. They are grouped thematically, with the longest (first) grouping presenting some perspectives from the trenches, before turning to the common (in news coverage) questions about homeschooling and abuse, and concluding with a few pieces on outcomes. We hope that these essays present perspectives that coverage by journalists without any personal experience with homeschooling simply cannot offer—those of homeschooling families that find joy in this process—while covering the beauty, wonder, excitement, and yes, also challenges that are involved in the process of homeschooling.
Perspectives From the Trenches
Dixie Dillon Lane: Reconsidering Homeschooling, Part I: Growth and Benefits
Post pandemic, educating children at home is suddenly mainstream.
Dixie Dillon Lane: Reconsidering Homeschooling, Part II: Challenges and Solutions
The task of educating children at home may not be as tall as you think.
Dixie Dillon Lane: In Schooling as in Life, More Than Enough is Too Much
Dixie Dillon Lane: When Teaching Children History, Embrace Imagination
Ivana D. Greco: Homeschooling Boys
Study after study keeps showing that boys learn differently from girls. Because boys need to move a lot more, they often struggle with the traditional expectation of, well, sitting at a desk all day. Ivana Greco reflects on these challenges and offers solutions for homeschooling boys.
Ivana D. Greco: Teaching Little Kids Who Don’t Learn Well at Desks
This is a follow-up to Homeschooling Boys and well worth reading in its own right.
Gina Loehr: Dear Google, You Are Not Homeschool
Nadya Williams: One Homeschool Year: A Local Story in Four Seasons
Some reflections on one year of homeschooling—the good, the crazy, the exhausting, the joyful. And a lot of writing on the walls.
Nadya Williams: Unschooling: Homeschooling Gone Wilder
Nadya Williams: Putting the “home” back in homeschooling policy
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Homeschooling and Abuse Allegations
Dixie Dillon Lane: Is homeschooling abusive?
My concern is this: when these articles and series’ use stories of abusive families to claim that homeschooling either causes abuse or puts children at greater risk of abuse than other schooling methods, they are usually making assertions based on anecdote and hearsay, not arguments based on extensive evidence.
Nadya Williams: Homeschooling and Red Herrings
The abuse stories in the news are true and awful. But it is a mistake to take these stories to conclude that they reflect the state of homeschooling in America. Rather, too many news stories have been using isolated incidents as red herrings to draw conclusions they have wanted to draw all along.
Patrick J. Wolf, Matthew H. Lee, and Angela R. Watson: Harvard Law Professor’s Attack on Homeschooling is a Flawed Failure. And Terribly Timed, Too.
This piece explains the problems with Elizabeth Bartholet’s argument that homeschooling is inherently abusive and ought to be illegal.
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Outcomes of Homeschooling: Some Reflections and Glimpses
Jon D. Schaff: Who’s to blame?
The vast majority of homeschooled kids I have met are kind, thoughtful, mature, remarkably well-spoken and personable. I don’t know how they score on standardized tests or if they will grow up to be highly financially successful. But they seem to be happy, pleasant, caring people. And for that, I know who to blame.
Nadya Williams: History at Home: Historians and Homeschooling
In this interview at the Anxious Bench, historians Lisa Diller, Jonathan Den Hartog, Amanda McCrina, and Daniel Williams tell of their experiences being homeschooled and/or homeschooling their own children.
Nadya Williams: Colleges with the highest percentage of homeschoolers
“It is not random that such a high percentage of the student population at certain small colleges was homeschooled. Rather, students who grew up focusing on growing the whole person—including spiritual growth—are looking for colleges where they can continue to grow as thinkers and persons, and where they can learn to love God more deeply as part of their academic study.”