Homeschool 2020 Retrospective

These last 2 decades (and before) started with a pretty slim selection of homeschool material. It was certainly a growing market but most of the curriculum and programs were Christian publishers and not a huge amount of variety beyond the “school at home” model with textbooks and workbooks. I think “unit studies” was the main popular variation at the time.

There was little secular material and most people were usually “secularizing” christian programs to make it work for them.

As homeschooling became more known, more curriculum and programs were developed and many of those original ones are still available today with many updates and tweaks based on homeschooler feedback. Now there area a wide variety of religious and secular choices which is wonderful for all of us.

This period started with limited access to the internet and a fraction of the resources available to us today. I remember started with 60 minutes a MONTH of internet service and Id set a timer and try to search for information on the Mothering forum to start and then later on the Well Trained Mind forum which was a major source of homeschool information at the time.

Id have to make lists of things I wanted to search for to optimize my time.

Thankfully that changed relatively quickly to more time and then the homeschool world really started to expand for a lot of people who may have been isolated or just lost and not knowing what to do next. By the start of this decade in 2010 it was a whole new world of information.

Since 2010 more and more parents have come to homeschooling due to outside influences such as vaccine laws (as in California), school shootings, bullying, and sometimes oppressive or discriminatory school policies. While its frustrating and challenging to have to make a decision like this based on issues like this, so many parents have exercised their rights and taken a stand to show that these practices and issues are NOT acceptable and they will make other choices in the best interests of their children. 

Linked to this is the rise in on line programs for homeschoolers. Many parents may not feel qualified to teach their children or simply didn’t know what to do so if they had to bring them home to learn, they wanted resources to do it for them when possible. This is still a growing area in the homeschool world and there continues to be a need for quality on line programming but there is a lot out there now that is being utilized.

Another change Ive seen in the decade is a slow move from “labeled” homeschooling to a more eclectic one. For a while it was very popular to pick a style of homeschooling such as classical or Charlotte mason or waldorf, etc. I think this was often more from a standpoint of finding resources that worked together but it was also a way to find like minded people on line and in person that shared some of your education ideas.

These styles and groups certainly still exist but I’ve seen a shift to a more eclectic mindset and using whatever works for each child. There is no one “right” way as we all know but i think the acceptance of more variation has definitely happened.

Some of you may laugh as this but I think we have as a whole, become more opinionated! Opinions are fine, of course, but my gosh, the level of “my way” vs “your way” on FB groups and social media as become a bit out of control and crazy. I definitely agree that there has always been disagreement about issues on social media but the level of disrespect and vitriol has increased behind hidden screens and that is a sad and frustrating change. 

Another change is in the community at large. We have more resources available to us than ever before with community classes and field trips and partnerships with community organizations, libraries, businesses, community colleges, and even private schools in some cases. Our kids can take art, dance, science classes, lego engineering, and so many more opportunities in so many places. Obviously, some areas have more resources than others. But hopefully these models will continue to spread and sometimes it just takes a homeschool parent to approach a business to suggest a class or event for it to happen. So continue to reach out!

Finally, the best thing that has changed is that more kids than ever are getting an individualized education that fits their needs best. No more suffering in silence in a classroom or parents being told their child can’t be taught or not paying attention or whatever “not normal” thing that isn’t fitting in with a classroom model. The child just needed something different! I like to think we have more creative, happy, curious, and well rounded kids than ever due to homeschooling.

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