I consider myself a fairly liberal thinker. I gave up the notion of pursuing a career in the military after my second year stint in college ROTC when I finally reconciled with a senior cadet's assessment of me as a quibbler. My dad once said I was a maverick but please don't assume that my sentiments are in anyway similar to Senator John McCain. When my son, Colter, asked me today if I followed the recipe for the canned peach preserves that I slaved on for the past few days, I unrepentantly said no–and it was still damn good, wasn't it?
Looking back, I admit that I rarely followed the rank and file, never drew within the lines and always pushed the limits of my insanity. So to find myself encouraging online home schooling would appear out of character for me. Never mind that I have always been proud of my food pantry and that I once voted republican in support of Bush No1 along with numerous mistakes I've made along the way.
But homeschooling?
I think that I mentioned something along the lines of stark raving mad. If you had asked me what I knew of homeschooling ten years ago, an image of women in home-made long dresses would have come to mind. My knowledge has broadened since then but I still regard homeschooling as a realm for über-dedicated mothers who had more time in their hands than I barely had in one finger. Plus, I don't subscribe to conservative notions of cloistered education. So it was as much a surprise to me as it was to everyone else.
It was buyers remorse from the moment I filled out the paperwork to enroll the kids into Idaho Virtual Academy. Technically, it is a state-chartered online public school. Still, in my head it was home + kids = homeschool so I schlepped through the process, unwilling to believe that I really did what I had done. Despite my misgivings, I wanted to give it an honest try so I told my inner nag to shut the hell up. I joined online parent forums that seemed interesting and "followed" everyone like a virtual stalker. I bounced from one conversation to another–eavesdropping in search of other sites that could give me more insight into the school, the curriculum and the homeschoolers themselves.
What I learned re-adjusted my perceptions. On one hand, I don't doubt that there are those who fit the homeschool stereotype replete with their own dogmas, anti-establishment beliefs, and other even baser, if not criminal, motives. Yet on the other, this was as diverse a group as I have found anywhere with a striking variety of circumstances that brought them together.
Some parents sacrifice careers to homeschool, while others balance their kids' needs with work and even their own schooling. Add to that the admirable number of single parents along with families who walk this path to accommodate special needs. Heretofore, my knowledge of learning disabilities were limited to ADD, OCD and TAS because of my son. Suddenly, I had a wider vocabulary base consisting of acronyms–a veritable word salad of letters that makes texting look like child's play. Differences aside, they hold that common goal to provide their children a more individualized, arguably better, education and it would appear that I have joined the ranks of these very determined people. Daily, in parent chat rooms and Facebook, I hear their calls for support and people respond. We come together and share ideas for success and commiserate through the melt-downs, the resistance, the enormous amount of time it takes to finish a school day. It comes with a great reward but it is hard work. As the cliché goes, this is not for the feint-hearted.
Recently, I found myself wearing the other shoe, the strange object of curiosity to another. A conversation with a Frenchwoman lead to the subject of homeschooling. In retrospect, I realize now that, like many in her country, she shared that view of homeschool as a social anomaly. Only a very small segment of the population opt out of the highly centralized education system in France. Though it holds legal status, homeschooling is heavily regulated and families often face greater restrictions in the government's attempts to guard against cults.
"Do you also teach Annika the same social values of your community?" the Frenchwoman asked.
That question threw me off guard and it made me wonder. Did she really think I was one of those crazy people? Was that how others saw me now? That I suddenly checked out from reality and went around the bend? In the back of my head, I could think of a number of people who may see this as a potential for intervention. It probably didn't help my image that I have been fast and furiously canning in the last week.
But I have to get over that. I did what I had done for the benefit of my kids. Homeschooling is increasingly becoming a little more mainstream in the US. Twice this month, two K12 virtual academies were featured in local and national news. Such positive exposure should help increase awareness and dispel the insidious effects of long-standing stereotypes and misinformation.
Lately, I have been careful to refrain against what Tom Brokaw, in a recent interview, spoke of as great sweeping judgements. There is a tendency to over-generalize and over-simplify. I am not a stupid democrat any more than a republican is an idiot. Mexicans are no more lazy as all Muslims are terrorists. And despite the occasional skeletons in our closets (and everybody has one), homeschoolers are no more "crazy" than the rest of us who share the same dreams and aspirations, faults and fears that make up the never-ending character of our human condition.
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