Why Is Homeschooling Considered a Conservative Issue?

[guestmama9911]

I've been looking at various homeschooling magazines and websites and have found that liberal politics are associated with public schooling and homeschooling is generally a Republican thing. Why is this? I'm quite liberal and see homeschooling as a natural extension of our alternative parenting choices. It's disconcerting to try to find homeschooling support and discover that most homeschoolers think my politics will destroy the country and take away their rights.

This seems odd especially since it is Bush's No Child Left Behnd policy that has really screwed up public schooling and robbed it of recess and the arts.

[LilyGrace]

A good portion of homeschoolers are conservative - well, a good portion of the vocal ones. It's stereotyped as more of a religious thing than a free-style thing, you know?

The only homeschooling mag I've found that I like is Secular Homeschooling. It fits us, instead of leaving us feeling like even the hs'ing community doesn't understand.

[Lillian J]

Originally Posted by alisaterry

I've been looking at various homeschooling magazines and websites and have found that liberal politics are associated with public schooling and homeschooling is generally a Republican thing. Why is this? I'm quite liberal and see homeschooling as a natural extension of our alternative parenting choices. It's disconcerting to try to find homeschooling support and discover that most homeschoolers think my politics will destroy the country and take away their rights.

This seems odd especially since it is Bush's No Child Left Behnd policy that has really screwed up public schooling and robbed it of recess and the arts.

I was surprised when I first ran across that too. But I think it pretty much boils down to liberals traditionally wanting to support the idea of everyone having access to a good, free education. So people hear that and get carried away with the threats they perceive in it . And sometimes liberals don't understand the nuances involved - they don't realize how some conservatives can see some of these things as potential threats to independence. I think it's mostly just a matter of communication. Lillian

[Dakota's Mom]

For us, homeschooling is a part of our left of center thinking. We don't want our son growing up with the conservative attitudes that public school proports. It's funny how for some public school is too conservative and for others not conservative enough. I agree with LillyGrace, that a lot of it is the religious attitudes involved as well. We are liberal thinking, free spirited treehugging pagan leftists.

Kathi

[guestmama9911]

I think most alarming is that many homeschoolers also demand the right to spank their children. The HSLDA looked really useful until I saw that they also fight any attempts to curb a parent's right to strike their child.

I appreciate the reference to an alternative homeschooling magazine. Thank you!

I think free school for everyone would be great if it didn't continually crush children's little spirits! We need more art, more music, more recess!!

[Cajunmomma]

I've been homeschooling for almost 17 years (my oldest will be 21 this week!), and when we started, ALL of the homeschoolers that we met were very very conservative and homeschooled for to keep their childen from contact with the secular world. I even tried to buy into that for a while so tht my kids would have friends, but it just didn't work over the long haul for me.

Those are the people who are most likely to go out and be interviewed, though. And they are certainly the ones who have created the image that people have of homeschoolers as a whole.

It's starting to change where I live, though, little by little, as the people who have some power in the area come to see homeschooling as an educational choice and not a religious one.

[jplain]

Careful not to equate liberal with Democrat. There are other types of liberals out there!
Libertarians are typically staunch supporters of homeschooling.

Edited to add: if I recall correctly, Home Education Magazine does not lean conservative.

[umbrella]

I always thought it was considered a conservative issue in the keeping the govt out of your personal business, sort of way. Not letting the government decide for all of us, what constitutes a proper education.

It is unfortunate that once you convince the general public that you should Offer a certain something to everyone because it's good and useful, that that often ends up becoming that you need to Require that of everyone, because without it, you're harming them. Even something like the Chicken Pox vaccine, you convince the public to make it available, and BAM, it's now a "requirement" in most places.

[lilyka]

i think it is just a matter of generalities and who is waving what flag. homeschooling causes have generally been fought on religous grounds. Liberals have traditionally supported public schools. I am sure there are plenty of conservatives who promote public schools but it is not a matter of political agenda for them.

[phathui5]

Libertarian here: What I've seen is that liberal leaning folks generally want more public services and programs and for the government to take care of people. Thus enters public schooling. Conservatives are more for the government doing less for people and people doing more on their own. Enter homeschooling.

[Handsomesmomma]

We need more art, more music, more recess!!

I think we could all benefit from more of these

I personally would never consider myself to be conservative. My dh is and we do have some very interesting conversations
I think that homeschooling and the right to chose not to vaccinate your children often times do fall under the conservative religious window because for years we were not given the option to make these choices for our children solely based on being their parents we had to evoke the support of our religion. We are religious and do use a Catholic curriculum but that is not the sole reason we have chosen to educate our children. For me it is more to protect my children from being rushed through the childhood at the speed of light, kwim? So I guess if that makes me a conservative for not wanting to rush them through their already hectic little lives than so be it!

[guestmama9911]

I just automatically equate homeschooling and alternative education with the Mothering crowd, and the Mothering crowd tends to be more liberal (not all of them, but in general we are a quirky bunch!).

I live in Utah and belong to an Attachment Parenting playgroup and we're split pretty evenly between liberal and conservative. Utah is overwhelmingly Republican and yet they voted down vouchers so I figured they were all about public schools. And yet homeschooling is very popular here so maybe it was all about the money? Don't know now. If vouchers were approved I could have sent my son to a private Montessori school. Now I am homeschooling instead because there is no way my child is going to spend one day in a public school.

And then these same people are against Universal HealthCare as a slippery slope to that evil socialism. So kids should have an education but not health care? Isn't health care more important for a little child? Does school matter if the child is sick?

Now I'm just babbling. I think my state voters confuse me. And homeschooling politics confuse me even more. I've tried to follow them but I don't get what the problem is. Maybe that's because deep down inside there is a conservative part of me that has a live and let live attitude.

[rumi]

There is Fear of Darwin homeschooling and there is freethinking homeschooling. each probably fears the other