I’ve been writing about homeschooling since 1983. That is, I’ve been writing about it professionally since then; my writings about families and children and learning – everything that comprises what we’ve come to know as homeschooling – go much, much farther back. I did a quick search of my name the other day and came up with almost 3,500 results, including several articles and essays I’d totally forgotten! Someday I’ll share some of those writings (or you can do your own Internet search for my name), but for now this blog is only about my writings as an editor and publisher of the magazine which supports this website.
My perspective has changed over the course of more than twenty years, and the homeschooling movement has undergone many significant changes. But I can go back to our earliest issues, my first writings about families learning together, and most of what I wrote way back then is still relevant, still worth reading. I like to think that’s a sign of a good writer, but maybe it’s just a sign that some things never change.
So do you see parallels between the homeschooling being done today and the way homeschooling was practiced 20 years ago? I’m sure some basic things are the same, but it seems like there would be more differences than similarities. It seems like just the basic attitude about homeschooling is so much different now, with people seeing it pretty much as just another education option, whereas 20 years ago it was unheard of, an aberration, and illegal in many places. And now charter schools are changing the way homeschooling is perceived by the general public – corrupting isn’t too strong a word in my estimation. So, if you don’t mind explaining a little, what has remained the same?
Good question, Terry. The most important parallel between homeschooling today and homeschooling 20 years ago is probably just that people want to provide this opportunity for their children. Times have changed, and the social and political dynamics that affect families and education and what drives policymakers and all the rest have certainly changed, but the basic love and concern parents feel for their children has remained steady, and I think that, more than any other factor, is what really supports the growth of the homeschool movement.
And that’s what the bulk of my writing referenced above has been about, which is why it has remained relevant to a large degree.