On the Shoulders of Giants

We have enjoyed our years as homeschoolers.  People we run into in the community have really changed their tune over the last ten years.  When we first started homeschooling, the general public was pretty pessimistic about it, quite critical and quite likely to question us and to even quiz the kids about their knowledge.  These days, over ten years later, for the most part when we meet people out in the world at large, we are welcomed!  The homeschooling community has improved its image a great deal.  People nowadays generally reply with "That's great!  I think we would have enjoyed homeschooling."

There are many reasons for these changes in the public view of homeschooling.  So many more people homeschool now.  I've read many different statistics and I believe few of them.  (*wink)  My guess is that about 5% of children in our country are now homeschooled.  Homeschool stereotypes have improved, for the most part, in the media.  I have even seen times when homeschoolers were considered pretty cool in a show, rather than weird.  The types of people who homeschool have moved from the isolated, Christian families and the families with "disabled" children or super-brainy children to your average, middle-class kids.

I mention that first because there are so many improvements in how homeschoolers are viewed, and it is nice to not have to "prove" ourselves anymore.  We who homeschool now are standing on the shoulders of the giants of the previous generations of homeschoolers.  For me, I had Nancy Clavenna as one of the coolest homeschool moms upon which to build my homeschooling persona and my own homeschooling self.

This blog post is in honor of the many homeschooling and parents out there who have fought the good fight, making homeschooling possible for us today and giving us the power to continue the growth and change! 

Nancy Clavenna and her daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Ben

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If you enjoyed this post you may like to try:
Note to My  Former Self
or this one:
My Boy