The Benjamin Buttons of Homeschooling

We’re like Benjamin Buttons, starting our lives as mini-adults only to grow down into large children.

It’s Not Just the Religious Homeschoolers: Alianne’s Story

“Our mother and father epitomized the braggadocio of homeschool parenting.”

An Average Homeschooler: Part Four, Junior High

“Junior high is mostly when I started understanding how much pressure I was under. I realized that one of the reasons why homeschooling is considered superior to all other forms of education is that homeschoolers are ‘better-educated’ and ‘smarter.’ We test better. We’re better-read… And, in junior high, I became one of them. Suddenly, it was my job to convince everyone that I was fantastic.”

The Space To Be Human: Jayni’s Story

“It was very clear to me that I was an outsider. But by the end of the conference my mother was sold: her kids needed to do this NCFCA thing. And by the end of the conference I was hesitantly intrigued by debate: my mother would support me verbally fighting with people? Awesome.”

Let’s Talk About Tim Tebow For A Minute

“I cringe when I see how the homeschooling and conservative Christian world talk about Tebow. With the way they’ve built him up, he really can’t win. I don’t know how he can possibly be himself when the hopes of every homeschooler, or at least every religious homeschooler, are riding on his shoulders.”

Crosspost: Homeschooling’s Unwilling Boosters?

“At my graduation, the unwritten expectation of my homeschool community was that I would speak about how my experience was superior to that of my peers. This expectation exists for most homeschool graduations I’ve been to—parents expect their children to stand as apologists for their homeschool experience.”

Crosspost: That Was Certainly Not Something I Expected To Be Controversial

“‘Don’t put homeschool kids on the spot to defend their education,’ pretty simple, right? I figured that maybe a few people would see it and think twice before quizzing the homeschool kids they come across and some kids could be spared the general weird awkwardness of those encounters. So yeah, turns out that I’m a bad judge of what’s controversial.”

Crosspost: The One Thing You Should Never Ask A Homeschool Kid

“Seriously, people would ask a little elementary schooler to explain the legality of their education. No six year old should ever have to cite statutes for any reason, but I spent a good chunk of my early school years explaining the legal status of homeschooling to adults who wouldn’t stop asking questions.”

Why You Need To Know About David Barton

“This is why, as a veteran of homeschooling and private Christian education, I had to reteach myself history. It’d how I made it to graduate school without ever sitting through a basic lesson in evolutionary theory. If that disturbs you, I urge you to educate yourself about David Barton and his version of America.”

A Tool In Someone Else’s Culture War: Philosophical Perspectives’s Story, Part Two

“We’ve been parroting a Republican platform and the great things about homeschooling since we were toddlers. Any negative or critical commentary was marked as ‘rebellious,’ and unacceptable, especially when it was directed at homeschooling itself. The options were, repent, or get out.”