Mimi Rothschild - Home School Support & Home Education News

By Mimi Rothschild

There are many different perceptions of homeschoolers whirling around in people’s heads. One is of a right-wing survivalist family-troop stocking up canned food in the basement while waiting for the apocalypse. The women all wear practical dresses and the men brandish shotguns.

Another is an image of wild-eyed bohemians who subsist solely on soy products and desire to get out from under the system. They avoid social security numbers, paying taxes, and name their children after celestial bodies.

It’s funny, as ridiculous as these stereotypes are, they completely overlook a steadily growing segment of the homeschooling population. When I mentioned the above stereotypes, did you picture any minority families? Probably not. Historically, homeschooling has been practiced predominantly by whites. Fortunately, that’s changing rapidly. Websites like The African American Homeschoolers Network and The Black Christian Homeschoolers Association have risen to meet the growing demand for online resources.

As this article in the San Francisco Chronicle points out, an increasing number of black families are pulling out of public schools.

“Although homeschoolers often are stereotyped as white and evangelical Christians, in 2003 about 9 percent of homeschooled students were black, and 77 percent were white, compared with a total student population nationwide that was 16 percent black and 62 percent white.”

There are several reasons for this mass exodus. Some families are unfortunately limited to under-funded schools in violent neighborhoods. Some left because they were turned off by the lack of expectations placed upon their children. Sadly, some public schools seem to view young blacks, especially young men, as lost causes. As a result, they can be get shuffled through high school and out the door with little effort made towards equipping them for real life situations. Furthermore, black students are three times as likely to require special education than white students, according to this article. Homeschooling allows parents to get their kids back on track.

Another common reason is the current lack of black history taught in the public school. Awareness of the rich African-American heritage can be vital for young black students. This knowledge teaches them that they have more to contribute to our country than slavery.

I, for one, am thrilled to see more diversity within the homeschooling world and welcome them with open arms. Blacks fought hard to achieve integration in public schools. It must be a tough mental decision to pull out after their parents fought so hard to win. Kudos to the brave parents who have recognized that the public school isn’t what it used to be. Please pray for our black brothers and sisters, that they might all realize the joys of home education.