Why This Simone Biles Homeschool Success Meme is Disrespectful to Homeschool Alumni (and Simone Biles)

Editorial Note: The following is reprinted with permission from Libby Anne’s blog Love Joy Feminism. It was originally published on Patheos on August 15, 2016. Edited by Wende Benner, HA Editorial Staff Meme features picture of Simone Biles with this text: But how will homeschooled kids ever compete in the real world?  Pretty well, I guess. Speaking as a homeschool alumna, this meme is disrespectful

Why HSLDA is Wrong about Romeike v. Holder

“When HSLDA goes bonkers over the Department of Justice’s assertion that homeschooling is not a fundamental human right, they are really complaining that the Department of Justice doesn’t think homeschooling is protected by international law. The Department of Justice’s assertion has nothing whatsoever to do with an analysis of rights protected under American law.”

Sibling v. Sibling — Giving the Child the Rod: Libby Anne’s Story

“What did I, at ten, twelve, or fourteen, know? What did I understand? I had never seen anything different from what my parents taught and modeled at home. My parents handed me the rod and told me to spank. And I regret it with all my heart. And now, all I can say is I am so so sorry.”

The Twelve Tribes, Child Abuse, and Michael Farris

“The Twelve Tribes sect, founded in Tennessee in the 1970s, boasts 2,000 to 3,000 members and has faced child abuse complaints and the removal of their children in the past. In Germany, they have run up against both the country’s ban on spanking and its ban on homeschooling… Last week Germany authorities removed the children.”

A Few Leave, But Others Stay

“I don’t spend as much time in my old hangouts as Lana, so I don’t feel quite as much of the tension that she feels, but I’d like to echo what she says about not assuming that the thriving ex-conservative-homeschooler blogosphere means there’s some sort of mass exodus going on. Sure, there’s an exodus — but in my experience most stay.”

Then Why Didn’t You Tell Us That, Mom?

“Once homeschool parents enter the Christian homeschool subculture, if they don’t vocally and openly condemn, question, or contradict what that subculture teaches, their children will assume that the ideas and ideals of that subculture are approved—something they should listen to, take seriously, and imbibe. I’ve talked to more than my fair share of homeschool graduates who grew up in this culture and took to heart things they later found out their parents never even realized they were learning.”

Can’t You Say Anything Good About Homeschooling?: Libby Anne

“I’ve been fairly critical of homeschooling in a good number of blog posts over the past two years. One thing I’ve been asked a number of times is whether, looking back, there was anything about my homeschooling experience that was positive…So here it is, my attempt to write about the positives side of my homeschool experience. But I’m going to warn you up front that I don’t think this is going to go all that smoothly.”

Learning Together: Emily

“I thrived in self-directed, participatory learning. I’m reading Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed this week and I missed out on what he terms the banking model of education, where the student is an empty account into which the expert teacher makes deposits (till high school and college, at least). In contrast, my mom always talked about how we all learned together.”

I Was Born With A Severe Immune Disease: Attackfish

“For years, my family and I had battled bullies and an administration dead set against helping me end the torment I was enduring. I had switched schools, moved, and done everything I could to blend in and keep my head down. I was out of options and out of hope. I remember this tremendous sense of relief at the idea of leaving school, and once I had, I felt truly safe for the first time in years.”

From Bullying to As You Like It: Skjaere

“I was home schooled full time in eighth grade, and part time in ninth and tenth. Up until that time, I had been enrolled in our local public schools, where my dad was a teacher. I’d been having problems with bullying at my middle school (both by my peers and by teachers, WTF?!), and when my mother asked me if I wanted to try home schooling, I jumped at the chance. It sounded almost too good to be true.”