My Own Mind blog : LAFFING

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

LAFFING

I am still Homeschool Atheist Momma!

secular homeschoolSecular homeschool am I am atheist I don’t believe in God doubting god and religion Atheist parenting secular parenting freethinking parenting homeschool secular challenging children

Is anyone here familiar with The Celestial Teapot magazine?
http://celestialteapotmagazine.com/
I've been asked to write a parenting column and I just don't know enough about the mag and I'm looking for feedback. I have written a few posts for the website but I'm unfamiliar with the magazine
Thanks

Have you ever heard of Rich Lyon's podcase called Living After Faith? Rich is a minister turned atheist who has a huge atheist online community and podcast.

I discovered the LAF podcast when former minister Rich Lyons interviewed Seth Andrews from The Thinking Atheist podcast, my favorite podcast ever. Rich must have read a comment that I left on The Thinking Atheist Living After Faith podcast on homeschool because he came here to my blog.

He asked me this question:

I'm past the homeschooling age, as my daughter is in her third year of college. But, as an atheist, I am intrigued by the atheist homeschooling movement.

I was very familiar with homeschooling in the xtian circles when I was a pastor, but this is the first I've seen of it in the secular world. The xtians I knew who home schooled did so because they didn't want their kids "polluted" by worldly thinking, and the material and quality of education was not so good. I know a kid who didn't get her GED until she was 22-years-old, because of poor home schooling.

I'm interested in why you homeschool, whether you feel like your kids are getting a better education, and why.

Also, were you once a xtian, and did you start homeschooling when you were in a church?

I love what you're doing, and please understand my questions are not critical. I think there is a wonderful world of discovery for parents who are willing to take the time to find it with their kids. I think you may be on to something that is awesome!

After I took a moment to pick myself up from my fan girling, my response to Rich was:

Like most people in this country, the first I knew of the new homeschooling movement was the moms in denim, seeking to keep their children out of the majority. Seeking to keep the children's exposure limited to good, clean Christian things.

Then my best friend started homeschooling. She was a Christian at the time, though she is not one now. From her, I was able to see what secular homeschooling could look like and I loved it!

My own religious history came in phases. My parents were from different religious traditions (Catholic and Methodist) and enjoyed a great deal of stress from their respective families about this. I ASSume that is why our family did not go to church at all when I was a kid.

I, however, thought that GOOD PEOPLE went to church, so I often went to churches with family and friends.

Eventually, after my parents divorced, my dad started taking the four of us to Catholic church regularly. I was a very strong Catholic for about twenty years. But I had my doubts and, because I wasn't indoctrinated at an early age, I felt freedom to ask questions of stories and things that I thought were pretty obviously nonsense or that were conflicting. I did get enough of that good Catholic guilt to keep my struggling for a loooong time.

I STRUGGLED with that for about ten years on my own.

Finally, when my daughter was still a newborn, I remember the night clearly, I was reading the Bible and I realized, I don't believe any of this!!!!!!
It was a wonderful moment for me!

Anyway, so I was an atheist long before we began homeschooling.

I appreciate your questions anytime! I enjoyed hearing you on "The Thinking Atheist" podcast and I'm thrilled that you came to my blog!