Time was, the conventional wisdom held that homeschoolers did it for religious reasons. Avoiding teachers glorifying Biblically banned practices like homosexuality and other woke shibboleths. Part of living the Benedict Option.
Some still do so, but recent research finds that many newer converts to homeschooling favor it for a wider range of reasons, including but not limited to “it’s nice to have our kids at home.” Clearly the Covid-19 interruption encouraged parents to try homeschooling their already-at-home kids, and found it “do-able” or even preferable.
Schools dumbing down the curriculum to enable everyone to ‘pass’ is certainly a factor motivating some homeschooling parents. Particularly those who actually insist their children learn to read, write and do arithmetic. And to learn reasons to believe our country is a good place of which to be proud.
According to the poll, which was conducted by the [Washington] Post and the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, three-quarters of homeschooling parents said that they chose to homeschool due to "concern about the school environment." Around two-thirds also agreed that providing "moral instruction" as well as "dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools" also motivated their departure from traditional schooling.
According to research from the Urban Institute, homeschooling increased by 30 percent between the 2019–20 and 2021–22 school years. Nationally, over 5 percent of school-age children are now estimated to be homeschooled.
Prior to the pandemic, about 70 percent of homeschoolers were white. Now, that number has decreased to just under 50 percent, driven primarily—according to the Post's poll—by a rise in Hispanic families choosing to homeschool.
Many public schools have been ruined by teachers unions and by DEI crusaders who demand lower (or “no”) standards so equal percentages of blacks and whites graduate and/or get diplomas. Hat tip to the other DrC for the link.
