Here we go! At last, the blogging begins...

So, I am a second generation homeschooler. That means that back in the early days of homeschooling (1980s) my parents were one of those wackos who never even put their children in government school.
Why didn't they?
They were both raised in government schools, pretty much everyone they knew or were related to were. But, why was that? Why was government school where basically every child was being educated during their lifetime and their parent's lifetimes?
The short answer, there were no other choices. Suddenly, people started believing that there should be other options.
Many of you may not know that homeschooling was the founding form of education in this country. In fact, in the early 1800s, you had to already be able to read, write and do basic math to even be ALLOWED in public schools. Gee, folks...where did they get that learnin' from? Home.
That's right. Home. They were taught by mama and papa, usually using nothing but the family Bible and a Webster's dictionary.
Imagine if homeschool conventions just sold those two books? No other options. No aisles and aisles of curriculum to immerse yourself in...just the Bible and a dictionary. Kinda makes you feel humbled, doesn't it? I know I do.

So, how come they did a better job with so much less?

That's a great question.
There is a whole philosophical, historical rabbit trail I would love to hop down, but I am going to control myself and stick to the point.
The home did it best...so what changed?
Because the home was doing it better, those who had a completely different worldview knew they had to get rid of homeschooling and private schools.
(Yes, private schools abounded throughout the early 1800s. And, they did a better job than the public schools. A common private to public school ratio in the big cities was about 103 to 4. Yeah, you read that right. There were around 25 private schools to every 1 public school.
And, in this same time period, 93% of all 7 year old boys and girls could read proficiently before ever setting foot in a school setting of any kind...man...we have really messed up.)
So, what did the proponents of this other worldview do? They gained positions of power, used deceit and got both homeschooling and private schools made illegal...
Say what???
You mean to say in the good ole' U S of A that homeschooling and private schools were actually made illegal?
Gosh, you betcha!

Private schools remained illegal until the 1920s when a group of nuns took their case to the Supreme Court and were able to get a favorable ruling. Catholic private schools began to abound and other religions soon followed suit. (Although, I have to say, the Catholics always seem to build the most ominous, yet awe-inspiring buildings for whatever they are doing.)

What happened to homeschooling?

Homeschooling remained illegal. If you go back and watch the first episode of the Addam's Family from the 1960s, it is about homeschooling. Imagine that. A truancy officer shows up to find out why the two children have never been in school. It is a pretty interesting episode, you should check it out.
From the same time period, a Bewitched episode aired where she did not want to put her daughter (who had uncontrolled witchcraft abilities) into school. Again, here, a truancy officer shows up and asks Samantha (the lead character) what proof she has that she is qualified to teach her child at home. Samantha responds that she has her daughter's birth certificate showing that she is her mother and that is qualification enough.
Boom...
Apparently, there were some societal undertones going on here. I mean what are the odds of two shows from the 1960s having homeschool-themed episodes when supposedly homeschooling didn't even exist yet?
My mind just explodes watching these shows.

Jumping back to my crazy parents (or at least that's what other people and both sides of my grandparents thought), why did they do it?
Because they believed in the God of the Bible. It was really that simple. They believed that their children were given to them by God and that God Himself had given them the responsibility to train up their own children. Putting them in a school system that hates the God of the Bible was just unthinkable.
And, they were not alone. I mean, there were not a lot of them...but they were not alone.

The first homeschool revolution begins.

By the late 1970s, many parents had had enough. Books like How Children Learn (1967) and Why Johnny Can't Read (1955) were being published and soaked up by parents who knew something just wasn't right in the school system. Why Johnny Can't Read was a bestseller for 37 weeks!
This was during the time your grandparents were having children! Something was wrong with America's education system and the word was getting around.
Eventually, this small group of concerned (mostly Christian) parents grew into a large enough movement that there was a mass exodus from the public schools beginning in the late 1970s and on into the 1980s.
It was big enough to gain the notice of every state's legislature. They frantically began making anti-homeschooling laws and imprisoning parents who defied state mandates.
(Yes, you read that right, parents went to jail for homeschooling!)

I am the youngest, but my older four siblings recall the days in the 1980s when they had to hide indoors during school hours so they wouldn't get reported to the truancy officers by their neighbors. (Although, my own grandmother reported them once. Hooray for family!)
Let me just remind you, as you picture my siblings (and thousands of other homeschool kids) hiding in their homes, unable to go outdoors, that they did not grow up in Nazis Germany or Communist China. They were here...in the USA. This happened, people, and it took a long time to get resolved.

Eventually, the federal government stepped in and said that homeschooling couldn't be made completely illegal, but left a wide berth for individual states to make up their own rules. As you can imagine, that was not always (still isn't) a pleasant scenario.
Organizations like Homeschool Legal Defense formed and put themselves between loving parents and diabolical politicians, judges, child welfare workers (Ha! That's ironic!), police officers, doctors and many, many others who sided against parents on this issue. Feels like a stacked deck, don't you think? Did I leave out any of the arms of the government?

Where are we now?

So, what happened? There is enough material for that to fill a three volume book. And, one day, I totally plan on writing them. But, for now, let me just let you know that homeschooling has entered its second revolution.
When I was a kid, pastors and other church members scoffed and derided my parent's choice in homeschooling. (Yep...yay for the church!)
People at grocery stores would ask my mom why I wasn't in school and give her scowls of disapproval for making her child into a weirdo by homeschooling. (For the record, I was the chattiest, most friendly unsocialized kid around. Guess socialization was a myth then too.)
Now, I go into the grocery store and I regularly talk to the cashier, bag boy and people behind me in line about homeschooling and like 99% of them are encouraging and super impressed!
Isn't culture funny?

This homeschool revolution is different.

What was originally a small group of (mostly) Christian parents concerned for their children's spiritual and academic health, has grown into a multifaceted movement.
While most homeschool curriculum remains Christian-based, the parents who are choosing homeschooling are more diverse than ever before.
Covid-19 accelerated what was already becoming a much larger movement than state and federal governments would like it to be.
Suddenly, when President Trump advised all state governors to shut down life as we know it, schools closed as well.
For nearly the first time in their parenting careers, parents were responsible for their children 24/7! And, to boot, they had to monitor or even take over their kid's education!
WHAT?
Many parents saw for the first time what their children were being taught and became very concerned. Often, it wasn't even specifically religious reasons, it was just crazy stuff they didn't agree with their child learning!
So many parents began contacting schools with their concerns, that teachers were being advised to stop the lesson and remotely shut down the assignment windows (on the student's computer) if a parent walked into the room!
Wow, can you imagine? Government schools do not want mom and dad seeing what their child is being taught? Yeah, that cannot be good.
Empowered by the fact that they were literally already doing school at home, many parents just decided to never re-enroll their students once schools oozed their doors open again.
Panic settled over school districts as state by state, county by county, student numbers dwindled. You do know they make their money off of those kids, right? Government schools are not benevolent. It is about the money.
Homeschooling exploded so forcefully in many unprepared districts around the country that the online application sections for county homeschool registrations crashed! Oh, boy, I would have loved to see the faces of those districts' truancy officers. 👮🏽‍♂️

What challenges will face this next generation of homeschoolers remains unclear. But, be thankful for all the blood, sweat and tears that made it possible for each and every one of us to be homeschooling our children right now, knowing we probably won't be arrested. Probably. I mean, you never know. 😂
Be vigilant and informed. Do not take this freedom for granted. That has happened before, and ended with jail sentences for many loving parents.
Stand up for your God-given rights as a parent and for the safety and well-being of your children.
Be a kind and respectful homeschool community bound by your common love of family and freedom.
We come from all walks of life, and that is an enriching component that deepens and expands our purpose.

And, to all homeschool new bloods out there, welcome! You are in a community that wants you to succeed and for your child to thrive. Family is forever, but your children are not young forever. Love the time you have them, cherish it and use it wisely. It will not be something you regret.

Just keep swimming' y'all,
Kari Erdly