Related articles and links |  1 of 6

Nearly every spring for the past seven years, I have been one of thousands of pilgrims on a hajj to the cavernous Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The chap convention, sponsored by the Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania, is one of the largest homeschooling conventions in the country, with more than 8,000 people attending this year. Devotees from every spectrum of the home education community come together for seminars, shopping, and a bit of Christian "star" gazing. The convention is a microcosm of the Christian homeschool movement. And for the church, that movement has enormous implications.

For one thing, these Christian women have redefined their contribution to the kingdom of God. Their intensive discipleship of their children rests on the hope that the influence on the world will multiply exponentially. In some circles, staying home with kids is no longer enough to qualify a woman as a "good mother." Moms are both subtly and overtly pressured to be a new kind of super mom, a mirror image of a career-driven feminist. In other quarters, homeschoolers are still misunderstood and sometimes treated with derision.

In addition, with the advent of homeschooling, where parents send their children to school has become an even greater source of tension among Christians. Twice this year, Focus on the Family's James Dobson raised the stakes even higher, telling his huge audience that in light of California's pro-homosexual mandates, "I would not place my child in public schools in that state or any other that moves in this direction—if any other alternatives were available." Engaging the world isn't a good enough reason to remain a part of public education under those circumstances, according to Dobson: "It is our vulnerable children who will be sacrificed if we keep them in a godless environment."

Bob Briner had a different perspective. In his book Final Roar, published posthumously in 2000, he wrote concerning homeschooling: "When we practice flight and isolation from and abandonment of the public educational institutions, we fail America, and we fail in our Christian duties."

Whatever view one takes, the homeschooling movement can no longer be ignored. Patricia Lines, a former Department of Education researcher, has been reporting homeschooling trends since 1985. Lines estimated in 1985 that about 50,000 children were taught at home. Five years later, she reported the number had risen to somewhere between 250,000 and 350,000, and she anticipated that by 2000, up to 2 million children would be taught at home. That's 3 to 4 percent of America's school-age population.

The Florida Department of Education regularly surveys homeschooling parents about their motivation for opting out of traditional schools. Until 1994-95, most families cited religion as their primary reason for homeschooling. By 1995, 37 percent of Florida homeschoolers said that "dissatisfaction with the public school instructional program" was their primary motivator, while only 29.6 percent said religion was most important. In 1995-96, 42 percent of surveyed parents said they were dissatisfied with "the public school environment—especially safety, drugs, and adverse peer pressure."

Anticipation fills me every time I approach the historic brick Farm Show Complex crowned with intricate bas-relief sculptures of farm animals—even this year, my first in seven with no homeschooling children. As my friend Tracy Gibson and I entered the building, the lingering scent of manure greeted us. We joined the flow of convention-goers streaming into the shopping area. Then there we were, in a herd of vendors. There were Debra Bell's Homeschool Resource Center, Miller's Pad and Paper, Berean Bookshelf, Rod and Staff, and the Amish family selling ground wheat and natural foods, to name a few.

next page... |  1 of 6

share this page

September 9 2002, Vol. 46, No. 10