An opportunity for YOU to share your stories, in order that we might all learn to love more deeply.
We homeschool, but we aren't religious. The assumption is that every homeschooling family does so for religious purposes. We might be the minority, but non-religious people do homeschool too, and I for one, struggle with finding our identity in the homeschooling community. It's more difficult in a small town to "break into" a homeschool group, especially if you don't have the required "Statement of Faith". In a small town, the prospects for a secular homeschool group is limited.
I don't love my children any less, or care about their education any less just because we aren't religious. What I would truly appreciate in a homeschool group is diversity of beliefs. What better environment to expose my children to several worldviews? We don't need to fear the people behind different beliefs, and socializing with a diverse group of people isn't going to undo all the teaching and training we do at home.
Thanks for the opportunity to share my heart on this subject. It's close to my heart. :)
Anonymous
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We live near Kansas City and there are quite a few homeschool groups. Many are entirely religious and some are entirely secular, but there are also a few that are all-inclusive. I think it's wonderful that there are so many options for the homeschoolers around here. It's a pity that there aren't as many opportunities where you are. :-( I also think it's awesome that more families are homeschooling for any reason. Our family (we do homeschool for mainly religious reasons) doesn't participate in any homeschool group right now mainly because our kids are still so young that they both nap every day and it just isn't practical for us to try to be running around midday all the time. :-) Hang in there, Mama, you do what is best for your kids the best way you know how.
ReplyDeleteMy friend recently moved to rural South Dakota, where most of the homeschool groups are not only faith based, but are either Amish or Mennonite groups. My friend is mildly religious and the thing she struggles with is finding a group nearby that's accepting of their beliefs. They (along with quite a few less restrictive faith-based groups) fear that someone who doesn't share their beliefs will expose their children to "worldly" things (like, you know...zippers). How far does a family go to protect their children? Do we exclude others and make them feel unwelcome in the name of keeping our kids unexposed? Do we segregate & isolate our kids or ourselves? For how long? It's all a matter of personal choice, but it's a good thing to think about. I personally want my child to learn to get along with people of many different faiths at a young age. I'm thankful he's in an educational setting that provides that. (For the sake of peeps who aren't Cynthia, we send our child to a Waldorf school--which is like homeschooling for people who don't want to homeschool. Also, I was homeschooled for 2 years in Jr. High in a faith-based homeschool group.) Anyway, best wishes, and know you're not alone.
ReplyDeleteWhen we homeschooled, we were dismayed at the number of families that appeared to be homeschooling out of fear of what the evil school system would do to their kids. We found that the more overtly religious the families were, the more fearful they were. Our primary motivation for homeschooling was to give out kids an excellent education. That was also the main reason for placing them in public school when they got older. We no longer felt we could do better.
ReplyDeleteI'm loving the responses for this homeschooling family!
ReplyDeleteThanks for being awesome, readers. In my opinion, each of you should submit a post. :)
I guess I never realized this was such an issue! We haven't been too involved with homeschool groups until just recently and it is a faith-based one we are a part of now. The groups we were around before, I honestly didn't know if they were faith based or not. I do not keep my kids at home in FEAR of what others might say/do/be around them....ok, maybe sometimes, a little. But there are many factors for us, one of which is family based faith influence learning for our kids. I am not opposed to them being around those with different beliefs. In fact I feel my faith compels me to let them! If they are going to be faced with a new idea, a different world view, I want to be there to see it and hear it and talk about it too. So I say diversity is welcome :)
ReplyDeleteI may be a bit out of place in commenting here as I did not homeschool nor have I looked for a homeschool group. I do wonder, though, if you are struggling to find a homeschool group - might there not be others who are also struggling? Perhaps you could see about starting a group. It would be awesome, in my opinion, if several different homeschool groups could get together at one time, too - and this could also come out of starting another homeschool group.
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