When people find out that I homeschool my kids, it is common for people to say to me “I could never homeschool”. One reason or another always follows this statement. Many of these same reasons nearly kept me from homeschooling. This series of articles explains the reasons that I almost did not homeschool my children. This particular article tells the story of the first time I considered homeschooling and then changed my mind.
We were living in New Orleans, which at the time was labeled THE worst school district in the nation. No one with two pennies to rub together put their kids in public school. The private schools, in my opinion were just glorified public schools with uniforms. The kids getting off the buses in those uniforms were pretty scary. So remembering that my husband had suggested homeschooling back when my son was born, I began thinking about it.
The year was 1999, and I had no idea where to start. I searched the internet, but these were pre-blog days so the number of websites that talked about homeschooling were much fewer than they are now. I finally came across a local homeshooling group’s contact information, and had a lovely conversation with the leader of such group. She invited me to City Park during the time when the kids got together to socialize. She said she would meet me and we could talk further.
We traded physical description information, and contact information and she promised to call me back before park day. She never did. I took my kids to park day anyway and while there were a couple of homeschoolers there, no one really seemed open to talk to me about it. They were all polite enough, and when I asked, several people said they homeschooled their kids, but I felt left out and isolated. I eventually found a private school I felt I could live with and enrolled my kids. It would be three more years before I considered homeschooling again.
So, if you ever wondered why I put so much effort into blogging and talking about homeschooling it is because I do not want anyone to ever feel turned away from homeschooling. I suspect my problems getting started homeschooling in New Orleans had more to do more with the city’s social issues and not the nature of homeschoolers in general (had I found a different group I gather things would have been different). I also know that in eight short years, and one flood later, the homeschooling is more widespread in the area and groups are more welcoming. Still it is my goal that no family should ever feel that they do not have somewhere to turn to find support to get started.
Related Article: On Being an African American Homeschooler
Read the homeschool glossaries to get started educating yourself on homeschooling.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?