A point of view was brought to my attention that I had not considered before concerning socialization and homeschooling. An older gentleman, once a public school teacher, was concerned that minority children who were homeschooled may experience culture shock once they enter college. The gentlemen I refer to is an African American man who raised two children. He sent his children to private school up until such time he felt they needed more exposure to other children of the same color. He was concerned that a black child would never fully be accepted by white society. If that is the case then a child brought up in a mostly white culture would not understand how to socialize with other children of his own culture. His solution was to pull his children out of private school around junior high and high school and send them to a public school where the population of minorities was greater. He felt that his children needed this exposure since they lived in a mostly white upper class neighborhood and had attended a private school.
The man I speak of has the same concerns when it comes to homeschooling. While homeschooling is on the rise in the black community many black families who have made the decision express a feeling of isolation. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, there is an estimated 220,000 black children being homeschooled out of the nearly two million being homeschooled in the country. The number of black children being homeschooled in 1999 was estimated at 84,000 by the same department. While that is quite the rise it still leaves black homeschooled students as making up only 10 percent of the total 15 percent of homeschoolers who are also a minority. In an article by Renee C. Lee, Leaving the Learning at Home, she quotes Joyce Burges, of Baker, La., and founder of the National Black Home Educators. Joyce Burges said blacks, like everyone else, want a good education for their children, but they’re realizing that “we’ve been hoodwinked and bamboozled” by the public school system.
The opinion expressed by Joyce Burges is shared by the gentlemen I mentioned earlier. However, his concern is the social aspect and not the academic aspect of homeschooling. He is fully aware that homeschooling can bring wonderful opportunities in education to children. His concern is only for minority children as he feels a white child will not face the same challenges as minority children. If a child will not be accepted fully by those he is surrounded by and does not know how to relate to those he will be accepted by he will be left lost and confused. The backlash will cause greater harm than going to a public school. At least this is the point of view that was recently brought to my attention.
Where do you stand? I will let you know where I stand in part 2.