Free Republic

The growing legions of Americans turning to homeschooling after two years of on-again, off-again public education includes one group for whom the option is particularly challenging — first-generation immigrants. According to recent Census Bureau data, about a quarter of homeschoolers in America are Hispanic, and 18.2 percent of Hispanic families homeschool their children. That’s up markedly from even six years ago, when 3.5 percent of Hispanic families were educating their children themselves at home. First-generation immigrants, many of them with limited educational backgrounds themselves, make up a rapidly growing subset of that demographic. “A lot of these are what we...

As the debate over parental involvement in education continues, a new UN report suggests more regulation needs to be placed on those opting to homeschool their children.In the United Nations’ latest “Global education monitoring report” for “2021/2” titled “non-state actors in education: who chooses? who loses?” the global organization suggests that a stricter regulatory system needs to be implemented to ensure that there is uniformity in what children are taught, regardless of where or by whom they are educated.According to the UN report, the presence of “non-state actors” in education, which refers primarily to educators in the private schooling sector...

Four members of a French family fell to their deaths from a building in Switzerland shortly after police tried to execute a warrant at their home Thursday morning, authorities said. The fatal victims included a 40-year-old man, his 41-year-old wife, her twin sister and the couple’s 8-year-old daughter. The couple’s 15-year-old son was seriously injured, police said. All five plunged from their seven-story apartment building in Montreux around 7 a.m. after police knocked at their door to make an arrest in connection with the home-schooling of a child, police said. Swiss media reports indicated that the family jumped from the...

The number of homeschoolers in Florida has spiked in a dramatic way since the start of the pandemic.The state saw an overall 35.2% increase in the number of homeschoolers between 2019-2020 and 2020-2021, according to the Florida Department of Education.But the increases were even steeper in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.The counties both experienced over 60% increases in the number of children being homeschooled between the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years.Escambia among top 25 Florida counties for pedestrian accidents. This program may help.Now, some local parents who began homeschooling their children because of the spread of COVID-19 do not intend...

They are not just waging war in Ukraine. Parents around this country have started to unite and send a message to the rest of America-"We've had enough of Biden's America. We are mad as hell, and we're fighting back!" One of the major fronts for that battle is our schools! Parents are fighting mad at what is happening to their children. While Biden is trying to appease his far-left progressives, he's angered one of the largest and most powerful interest groups in this country-Parents! In fact, democrats seem to be doing everything they can to turn them into rabid conservatives....

In response to Purdue University moving to an optional face mask policy, an English professor complained the move would give people “more freedom.” Purdue announced on February 16 that beginning last Friday, face masks in indoor settings would be optional “except for instructional, research and health care settings, as well as where contractually required.” The campus currently has a five percent COVID positivity rate, according to the statement. Professor Robert Marzec, whose specialization is contemporary British and postcolonial literature, didn’t think much of the announcement. “I’m curious what folks think about today’s announcement concerning masks on our campus,” Marzec wrote...

"Values moms" are sick and tired of what the public schools are teaching their kids. A couple of days ago, I watched a Dick Morris video about the "values moms" moving to the GOP. In other words, we used to hear about "soccer moms" in the '90s and "security moms" after 9-11 — and now it's "values moms" sick and tired of what the public schools are teaching their kids. And the Democrats, and especially the teachers' unions, are losing big time. Why? Because they are reacting to the parents in the same way that P.M. Trudeau reacted to the...

"You might want to consider homeschooling now more than ever." A look at just how far we have allowed our freedoms to be ripped away and how it affects our children. Lockdowns, masks, forced virtual learning, extracurricular activities, and sports canceled; it is no surprise there has been a rise in homeschooling. Homeschooling has been a controversial issue for decades worldwide; however, after watching leftist politicians bring hot political topics such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) into the classroom, many parents have started considering taking their kids out of government-run schools; due to indoctrination or already have started homeschooling. The...

Parents across America were caught unprepared for the mass closure of government schools in 2020. Soon after, however, many decided they and their children had had enough of the status quo. Now at a crossroads, will they choose reform or repudiation?The wave of ill-advised school shutdowns last year compelled tens of thousands of parents to rethink their children’s education. When the classroom was virtually forced into their homes via Zoom, parents realized just how abysmal the curricula and tutelage were. Statistics on families fleeing to homeschooling must be worrying the education establishment.From 2012 to 2019, the homeschooling rate hovered around...

Most Americans and many of other nationalities have heard of Samuel Adams. He was regarded in the Pre-Revolutionary Period of American History as a Statesman, Political Philosopher and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a prominent politician in Colonial Massachusetts and a prolific writer in defense of the relationship between the British American Colonies and the British Parliament. This is a collection of many of his writings between January 1770 and March 1773. (summary by Wayne Cooke)

When you google “homeschoolers” most of the images that pop up show white, evangelical families. But there’s new evidence that the face of homeschooling is changing. Data from the 2020 Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey shows the number of Black families homeschooling has gone up five-fold in the last year, and it’s no different in Alabama. When Jennifer Duckworth and her husband started their family 10 years ago, homeschooling was something they were always curious about, but it wasn’t until her oldest son was ready to go to kindergarten that they decided to start. “My son, being a young Black...

Homeschooling numbers have increased over 300% in the last two years, according to federal government Census data. This spike does not include Americans engaged in virtual learning through a public or private school program due to COVID protocols. These are full-time homeschoolers. The United States Census Bureau has been tasked with collecting data through nationwide surveys for over 80 years. The data are intended for use by other government agencies and elected officials for policy decisions. This is the first time the Census Bureau has sought to identify the total number of homeschoolers in America. Previous surveys only marked children...

After hours of consideration, prayer, and discussion, you decided, “Yes. I’m going to do it. I’m going to homeschool my children.” If this is you, you’re not alone. American homeschooling households have more than doubled since 2020 . Why? For many parents, the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity to evaluate what America’s public schools have been teaching their children — and it’s terrifying.Radical sex education, LGBT ideologies, and critical race theory are some of the progressive ideas being pressed upon schoolchildren. After realizing what public schools are including in their curricula, many parents are refusing to sit back and let...

I have been getting more requests for advice on starting homeschooling. The first thing to do/consider is joining Home School Legal Defense Association - HSLDA. Here's a link to their website. https://hslda.org/ They provide state by state advice here regarding regulations. https://hslda.org/legal If anyone can help with finding homeschool support groups by state, that would be great.

This post came about because of concerns over the current "health crisis" and the heavy handed, jackbooted, response of the people in government who are getting away with murder. IF you are someone who disagrees with people who don't want vaccines and if you disagree with people who don't their kids or themselves smothered for another "2 weeks to stop the spread" - stay the hell out of this discussion. Period. Doing a search I found articles and comments about Homeschooling on the rise, etc. I KNOW FReepers have discussed their own varied experience with homeschooling. In the face of...

Faced with contentious changes within the public school sector—including the introduction of ethnic studies in some districts—some California parents are searching for alternative options. “I don’t want my daughter exposed to any type of sex education at any grade level, and I don’t want her introduced to any type of critical race theory at any grade level,” Denise Ramirez told The Epoch Times. Ramirez is a mother of three children, with two enrolled in the Tustin Unified School District and another recently enrolled in private school. With concerns mounting over critical race theory (CRT) being taught in classrooms—coupled with mask...

The number of home school applications submitted to the California Department of Education (DOE) soared during the 2020-2021 school year, state data indicates. There were 34,715 private school affidavits (PSAs) for five children or less submitted during the most recent curricular year. In California, homeschools are recognized as private schools, and homeschooling families are required to submit an affidavit to the DOE annually. The most recent homeschool figures are more than twice as high as they were during the 2018-2019 school year, when 14,548 PSAs were filed. There were 22,433 PSAs filed during the 2019-2020 school year. “People are just...

Home schooling grew by record numbers in North Carolina last school year and enrollment in private schools rose by the largest number in 24 years during the coronavirus pandemic.New state figures released Thursday show North Carolina’s estimated home-school population grew by more than 30,000 children during the 2020-21 school year — a 20.6% increase from the prior year. At the same time, the state’s private schools added 3,282 children for a 3.3% increase.The growth in homeschooling, private schools and charter schools during the COVID-19 pandemic came as the state’s traditional public schools saw a 5% drop in enrollment, falling by...

Speculation abounds over whether or not the pandemic-induced growth in homeschooling is temporary. While there are several signs indicating that parents won’t be sending their children back to public schools this fall, and homeschooling continues to be a popular choice, the question remains: for how long and to what extent?According to remarks by one prominent investor, this is just the beginning of a widespread shift away from conventional schooling models toward disruptive innovation in education–with homeschooling leading the way. “It certainly feels like we’re on the front end of a pretty dramatic homeschooling boom,” said Marc Andreessen, co-creator of the...

Since public schools are spectacularly successful leftist recruitment centers, weakening public attachment to them through lockdowns was a dangerous move for Democrats.Between May and October 2020, homeschooling more than doubled among U.S. households with school-age children, from 5.4 percent that spring to 11.1 percent that fall, according to new Census Bureau data. Black and Hispanic Americans were the most likely to switch to homeschooling, while white and Asian Americans were the least likely. This could be due to the fact that African-American children are the most likely to be financially locked into poor-quality school districts, or that black Americans have...