Do Homeschoolers Have Something to Hide?
Do you homeschool because you have something to hide?
I actually saw those word printed on the screen in front of me. Someone on social media was asking if we (homeschoolers in general) homeschool our children because we have something to hide.
If we do it because we don’t want other people to know what goes on in our homes.
If we do it because we don’t want others to know how we treat our children.
A few days ago, homeschoolers in California won a great victory! AB 2756 was defeated in the Assembly Education Committee after hundreds of homeschoolers gave hours of testimony against the bill. Originally, AB 2756 would have required that homeschooling families in California submit to involuntary home inspections. Later it was revised so that it didn’t require home visits but would still list the name and address of every homeschooling family in California.
The reason for the bill was a serious case of child abuse in a homeschooling family, although there is absolutely no proof at all that child abuse is more prevalent in homeschooling families as compared to any other families. In fact, this study suggests just the opposite–that abuse occurs less often in homeschooling families than in other families.
So why didn’t homeschooling families submit to these involuntary inspections or at least to the list of homeschooling families? For many families, it had to do with the fear that those measures are moving California families one step closer to government intrusion into their homeschools. There isn’t any reason for the government to need that information unless they plan to interfere with the homeschooling families, so homeschooling families rightfully opposed the bill.
As far as the fear that homeschooling families have something to hide, the fact is that homeschooling families don’t need closer supervision than other families, and the government doesn’t have the right to inspect other families without proof that the children are being abused or neglected. After all, the government doesn’t randomly inspect (or keep a list of) homes in which babies and preschoolers live. It doesn’t randomly inspect (or keep a list of) homes in which elderly people or disabled people live. Why should the government have the right to do this simply because of the way a family chooses to educate the children in that family? It simply makes no sense.
So the answer is no. Homeschooling families don’t homeschool because we have something to hide. We homeschool because we want to spend time with our children. Or because we know that homeschooling is a great way to educate our children and give them academic advantages that other students don’t have. Or because we want to have a flexible schedule or to be able to travel or for a thousand other good reasons.
What are your reasons for homeschooling?
I missed that that bill was up. How ridiculous! I am thankful to not be living in CA anymore.