At 7am this morning I walked my 11 year old to the bus, en route to begin her first day at (public) middle school. I made the decision with mixed feelings over the summer. I have already had mixed reviews from other homeschool moms and public school moms.
Homeschool moms say " oh really, are you sure?" and public school moms say " oh, good."
Only one homeschool mom has been totally supportive. By that I mean no negative comments on the decision I made.
This is the time of the year my fellow homeschool moms are preparing their school room and curriculum and public school moms are happy their kids are returning to school schedules.
It basically breaks down like this - if you homeschool you are for homeschooling, and if you don't, you are against it. Also, within the homeschool culture the divide breaks along the reasons on why a family chooses to homeschool.
The majority of homeschooling families do so because of religion. So within the homeschool culture there is somewhat of a divide between secular and nonsecular. Homeschool groups which are nonsecular are in far greater numbers and therefore set the complexion of what homeschooling is to the mainstream.
Most people assume if you are a homeschool family then the choice was religion-based and visions of compounds and cults influence their reaction. In fact there are many families who choose to homeschool for non-religious reasons. Many make the decision because a child has learning disabilities. Or some make the choice because they think the public system involves too much conformity. Others simple want more control over what their children will be learning.
As in most anything, the reason why families make the choice varies. But regardless of the reason, there is a stigma attached to homeschooling.
...to be continued.
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