I recently wrote an article about when homeschooling becomes an issue in divorce. Basically, it is very common for one parent (usually the husband) to be supportive in homeschooling, and even possibly the initiator, until divorce. Then they decide that they are not behind it at all and what the kids in public school. Judges also tend to be biased against homeschooling assuming the children are over sheltered.
Homeschooling has never been successful if both parents do not agree. Homeschooling cannot be done in a bubble and against the will of one parent. I have to wonder that if in some of these cases, where one parent is surprised by a spouse being against homeschooling if that parent chose to ignore that the other parent always had reservations against it. I also wonder if, in some cases, the fact that the parents were not on the same page where kids were concerned is part of the reason they are divorcing.
One of the more recent cases of a court ruling against a homeschooling mom is found in the World Net Daily Website. In this case, the judge unfairly demanded the mother filed her objections on Sunday due to personal reasons involving his dog and handicapped her from any chance of fighting for her right to homeschool. The kicker here is that the kids were thriving in the homeschool environment and were several years advanced academically. It was clear that the mother was doing an excellent job. Still, the judge insisted that the kids be exposed to the “real world”. For more information about the case, check out the blog Homeschool Injustice. …More specifically, information on this case.
The only way to avoid such hardships in divorce involving homeschooling is to make sure both parents are on the same page. The mother cannot decide to homeschool and try to cajole the father into going along with it. The father cannot decide that the mother will teach the children without her whole-hearted buy in. The same goes for the opposite spouse. If both parents do not agree without reservation, homeschooling should be out of the question. The only exception to this rule is if one parent had full custody and is able to make all educational decisions in the case of single parents where the other parent is not in the picture.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
* Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary?