Every parent I have ever talked to that homeschools has very strong religious reasons for homeschooling.......

Question

Every parent I have ever talked to that homeschools has very strong religious reasons for homeschooling. Does almost everyone that homeschools do so for religious reasons or have I just met all the ones that do :) ?

Answer 1

Must  be your circle of friends.  People homeschool for many reasons.

Answer 2

You've probably just had the luck of running into the religious ones over and over.

I have been homeschooling my daughter for 4 yrs now and we started purely for medical reasons. While we do have some bible lessons and such, I do not push her and let her decide about certain things on her own.

Answer 3

My family is very religious/conservative, but that is not why we homeschooled.  We homeschooled because my parents wanted us to have the best education possible and they wanted us to love learning.  Obviously since we are religious, we were taugh tthings differently than if we had gone to a non-religious public school, but even then my parents would have taught us different values/morals at home than we would have learned at school.  

Yes, I do know homeschoole families whose kids are very sheltered, but I also know homeschoole families have what I would call out of control/wild kids.  It simply depends on each individual family.

Answer 4

Not anymore.

Hi, I'm an atheist and I homeschool. I run on online group for secular homeschoolers which has over 170 members.

Answer 5

I homeschool for academic reasons.  I am not religious.  I do enjoy the opportunity to expose him to religious and cultural diversity, teach respect for others, and encourage him to develop his own beliefs.

Answer 6

You must not have talked to too many then. While religion is a fairly common reason for homeschooling, a vast number of families do it for academic reasons. I'm homeschooled because the public schools completely failed to challenge me academically and no longer stimulated me socially. As a homeschooler, I now perform up to two grade levels ahead of my public schools peers and lead an active, independent social life, interacting confidently on a daily basis with people of ALL age groups and levels of intellect.  I can finish the equivelent of a public school day in half the time, and still have time to volunteer at a local elementary school, Special Equestrians program, senior center, and public library, attend guitar lessons, fencing practice, braille lessons, O&M, Transition Club (a program for blind teenagers), Advisory Comitty meetings at the library, poetry readings at the library, playing chess at the library, hanging out in the park, going to the movies, going to the mall, going on feild trips to museums, parks, science centers, theater productions, wildlife preserves, etc, hanging out in the neighborhood with public school friends or other homeschoolers, having extended visits with my boyfriend (he lives a bit far away, so when I visit him I pack up school and take it with me, and we travel a lot), visiting my friends in college, and attending camps, programs, conventions, and seminars that I would otherwise have to miss because I'd be in school. I love the freedom to really lead a stimulating life.

Answer 7

I homeschooled because my kids were being threatened at school to the point my son gained weight thinking it would protect him some how from bullies.. while my daughter had a knife pulled on her in the school bathroom and was getting depressed.

Granted I added religious education to their curriculum because I could, but they also took classes outside of the home at church also acted in little theater and participated in seascouting.

Answer 8

No not all do it for religious reasons, I do it for a whole different reason. I am an actress so I cant have the regular school hrs that public or private schools have so i do an online school called k12 and it works great.

Answer 9

I do not believe in God, but I homeschool my child because the Chicago Public Schools are awful.  They START multiplication in 4th grade.  Please, I know every single parent who has homeschooled can say his/her child has known this before age 8 or 9.  My child is a quick learner, I would not like if she had to wait for the whole class of 31 kids to understand what 2 x 2 meant before she moved on.

Answer 10

That's a great question... I know a few people that homeschooled for the sake of homeschooling and weren't religious at all.

I bought a book on the topic, sort of saying the same things you are... homeschoolers and anti-homeschoolers both seem to be horribly biased in the justification for why their chosen method is best.

If you're considering it, try hard to research both sides and make the best choice possible for the children.

Answer 11

We began homeschool purely for academic and health reasons.

Answer 12

I happen to know just about an equal amount of both.  Both have support groups for parents who homeschool, too.  I believe, if you are interested, you should be able to find the best fit for yourself and your child(ren).  One of the nicest things I observed about both groups was that on some days one of the parents would teach all the kids in a particular subject, giving the other parents a break.  They took turns.

Answer 13

I think you must have just got 'lucky' because none that I know are religious unless they're very, VERY secretive about it ;-)

Answer 14

No, it just appears that way.

While we are "religious", that is a very minor part of why we HS.  Actually we HS one child and the other child is in public school.  We do what's best for each.

You've probably just met a lot of "people of faith" who homeschool.  Back in the 80's when modern HS'ing was taking root, most of the families were Christian.  Most curriculum available was Christian.  But a lot has changed in the HS'ing community, in the HS'ing curricula market, and with the public/private schools parents do not choose for their children.

It's not hard to say "many people who HS are religious" because a majority of the U.S. population is "religious", but there are many pagan, agnostic, etc. HS'ers.  There are many Christian families like me who HS, but not expressly for that reason.

Our number one reason for HS'ing is for advanced academics and individualized pacing for our profoundly gifted son.  No brick & mortar school will work for him except maybe the gifted schools that cost $20K+ per year.  I'd rather spend $3K per year HS'ing him.

Answer 15

Depends on where you live.  In my area, parents homeschool for a variety of reasons...religious, dissatisfaction with the school system, child's needs that aren't being met by the school, desire for family togetherness, etc.

Even if all parents homeschooled for religious reasons, we should still protect their rights to do so.  If we take away their rights, then the government will shut down religious schools, single gender schools, any school that the state doesn't like...and on and on. Either everyone has rights, or no one has rights.

Answer 16

I don't homeschool for religious reasons.   We do it for academic, social, family, safety and moral reasons.    I have noticed that the majority of homeschoolers are religious, but I believe that they are also share my concerns as well, and that is why they homeschool.

Answer 17

I think you've just met all the ones who do. I know hundreds of homeschoolers, and they generally represent the population as far as race, political bent and religion. I'd say it's about half Christians, and several Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, a LOT of agnostics and atheists.

And keep in mind, that people who are religious probably don't ONLY homeschool for religious reasons, it's just one of several. I'm a Christian, and no part of my religion played a role in choosing to homeschool.

Answer 18

Even though we're Christian, it's not our main reason for homeschooling.  I do it because it's the best thing for my family.  My kids are safe, warm, fed, cared for, stimulated, confident, polite, compassionate, loving and one to two grade levels ahead.  They are not scared, bullied, intimidated, confused, left behind, peer pressured or bored.  Our family dynamic has improved 100% since we started homeschooling.  The school schedule and system no longer govern our life.  Our family life no longer revolves around it.  Education is now a pleasant, interesting, exciting part of our family.  I have no interest in sheltering my kids from the world.  If anything, they see more of the world, and more people, than when they were in school.  My kids love it, but I love it, too.  I think that's important.  If your heart is not in it, it won't work.