We owe them our rights.

It is interesting to read the speculation on why parents are homeschooling.  Many articles skirt the issue of our failing school systems, illiterate or low functioning adults, and the dangers of the school system.  Many still try to play homeschooling up as a religious movement.

However, the trend is shifting and it is shifting quickly.  More and more parents are pulling their children from the school system because they are tired of the failures, tired of the lack of control, tired of the fact that as a nation we have the lowest percentage (among developed nations) of individuals who earn college degrees, we rank 25^th out of 30 nations in math, 24^th in science and dead last in physics, tired of the violence, and tired of fighting with teachers to get their students the help they need.

One of my pet peeves, however, is the rancor that many homeschoolers have towards those who began the movement.  Rather than extending gratitude for the pioneers, many of whom faced jail sentences as they fought to take back their rights to homeschool their children, many write with disdain towards homeschoolers who choose to homeschool in order to teach Biblical principles and character to their children.

I suggest that as homeschoolers, we recognize that it was the religious movement that brought about our rights to homeschoolers.  It was their conviction that gave them the courage to fight and to face the persecution head on; it was their desire to raise children who would succeed both academically and as individuals that gave US the rights we now enjoy.

My Mom was such a pioneer.  When unable to find an acceptable Christian school option for our family, she decorated our garage into a classroom and began her own homeschooling adventure.  And a few years later, her vision for homeschooling became Bridgeway Academy.  Although the laws allowing homeschooling had already been passed by the time she and my father founded Bridgeway Academy, their vision to establish an academy that could help and support homeschoolers was brand new.  And their commitment to the freedom of homeschooling made it a unique model for future homeschool academies to follow.

So thank a pioneer and listen to their wisdom and insight.  They have run the race and their children are a testament to the success that homeschooling can be.

And enjoy your rights.  They did not come without a fight.