Ashland, Missouri

I envision an ad campaign conducted by we on the Right demonstrating the beauty of a mother home schooling her child(ren). The ad would end with the mother lovingly, yet solemnly telling why she is home schooling her child(ren) and how is has changed their lives for the better.

Imagine the uproar over such an ad. Then imagine other mothers who get their info from TV anyway begin to seriously contemplate home schooling their own children.

Burning the Left: The higher the flames rise, the more I like it.

btt

For our family, it was more of an economic decision - we couldn't justify having my wife work just to pay for private school.

It strikes me that homeschooling moms ARE the real feminists; the others are phoneys. Hsing moms are doing what is right for them and for their family, not following what society tell them they are supposed to do. Homeschooling moms are the ones free from oppression, not those who blindly trudge off to work daily because that what society expects.

FP

we have 3 kids, two of which went all the way through the public school system. The youngest is just entering High School and we made the decision (at her request) to home school her.

There were several reasons. One is time. Instruction in the class room takes up approx 1/2 hour for every hour in class. The other 1/2 hour is consumed by roll taking, discipline, in-class assignments and just wasting time. Her point in asking us to home school her was that she could learn the same information on her own in less time, and that would free more time to learn even more.

The second reason is that our local high school does not have a course for reading the great books. If a child grows up without reading the books that provided the ideas for the growth and expansion of western civilization, the child is not educated. Furthermore, my daughter wants to learn some languages that are not taught in the local high school, Latin, Italian, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Chinese, etc. A tall order, but doable for a motivated student.

The third reason is the culture. Not that we want to shelter our daughter from the peer-pressure and drugs and drinking. We didn't shelter the first two kids from that, and they stayed away from it on their own. Our youngest daughter has not been in a bubble thus far either. But we are of the view that a child can learn more when he/she doesn't have to be on the guard while studying. There is a certain freedom to learn when the culture does not work against it.

Home schooling is not for everyone. It takes a lot of discipline, planning, organization AND learning on the part of the parent. Just because a parent has a college degree, that doesn't mean they are qualified to teach every subject!

For anyone thinking about Home Schooling, the best advice is to form a mission statement and a purpose statement. Do not home school because of something you wish to avoid. Decide to Home school for the purpose of accomplishing something.

If feminism wishes to enter the 21st century, it had better embrace the hardworking homeschooling mom. And it had better do it fast.

Feminists will embrace hardworking homeschooling moms the way they embraced hardworking stay-at-home moms.

That is to say- never.

Not that we want to shelter our daughter from the peer-pressure and drugs and drinking.

Ironically, this is a big factor in our decision to homeschool. The teenage years are the most vulnerable to peer influence, the window where they have the least wisdom combined with a greater ability to actually indulge in bad behavior. It is after high school, when they get on with their lives that the maturity slowly sets in. This is why I don't fear that sheltering my kids will result in shell shock when they actually run into the "bad stuff", or overindulgence when they get the freedom to do so. The desire to fit in or go with the crowd will be greatly diminished simply because they are young adults rather than immature teens.

If feminism wishes to enter the 21st century, it had better embrace the hardworking homeschooling mom. And it had better do it fast.

Why would feminism embrace that which is destructive to its very existence?  Unless they wish, of course, to use embrace and destroy techniques...

I LOVE that idea! Isn't there some nice conservative foundation out there that would like to underwrite this valuable project? Run it during Oprah, I say!

I have to say this, and don't take it wrong -- I despise the whole concept of "creating mission statements". It just smells to me too much like what people who like meetings enjoy making other people do at meetings. One of the many reasons I homeschool is to avoid "meetingthink" and I believe it is better to know your own reasons and describe them to others on a need-to-know basis. I guess I am really saying I don't like the term.

Homeschool dad bump.

The family profile in the article pegs my family to a T -- including a truly feminist wife, who puts the faux feminists at NOW to shame.

NTWK -- Absolutely fascinating article!!!! Thank you SO very much for flagging me! I truly appreciate it, No Truce With Kings. And, I am very glad you and I are at peace, after our VERY lively debate -- though no "truce" was actually necessary.! Thanks again.

All the best to you and yours,

summer :)

If feminism wishes to enter the 21st century, it had better embrace the hardworking homeschooling mom. And it had better do it fast.

Okay, this is the last paragraph and it made me think that the author hadn't read her own work.

I truly doubt whether homeschooling moms want to be "embraced" by feminists. Isn't the very reason they are homeschooling moms, because they have rejected feminism?

Liberatarian Liz, I would say: No. I have a friend who homeschools, but, some might call her a feminist if they did NOT know she homeschools; while others would say she is NOT a feminist because she DOES homeschool. Labels? WHo cares, IMO. But, that's merely MY opinion. The major point this article made to me is that homeschooling IS a growing movement in this country, and since the Dems OPPOSE it, watch out, because my friends on the LEFT are now REFUSING to vote DEM in elections because this ONE issue IS their entire lives. It's a political hot button, but no one seems to have really understood this yet. And, homeschooling is BIG in Florida -- by the LEFT -- and -- the RIGHT. BOTH.

But -- again -- only ONE side of the aisel SUPPORTS homeschooling: the RIGHT. The Dim Dem leaders are ASLEEP On this one, and it WILL cost them votes. That's a fact. :)

aisel = aisle

My daughter and I were just discussing the fact that most of the women we know who have kept their last name when marrying are home school moms. I find that very interesting.

That is *so* true!

I'm a former NOW feminist. Gasp! When I was involved in the cult it was, in hindsight, a hateful flock of hens bickering over the existence of men. Now it has mushroomed into a horrid cesspool of sludge worse than ever.

Now I'm a Christian, homeschooling, hubby loving, lady. I prefer to be at home with my daughter..and I prefer to have supper on the table when my hubby comes home from work. What a 180, huh?

I have true freedom in my role as a woman, wife, and mother. I feel no oppression as a woman. My husband respects me and treats me tenderly. I'm blessed.

**homeschooling is BIG in Florida -- by the LEFT -- and -- the RIGHT. BOTH.**

Same here in California.