Homeschooling is Dynamic
One element of the dynamism of modern homeschooling is the extent to which these families engage in “sector switching.” New research from Johns Hopkins University reveals that 80–90 percent of adults who were ever homeschooled used another sector, including traditional public schools, at some point in their education. Over half of these adults were homeschooled for only one to three years. This means most homeschooled adults were predominantly educated in more conventional environments.
Similarly, the report presents evidence of “sector mixing” within homeschooling households—that is, parents choosing different types of schooling for different siblings. Twenty-six percent of households homeschooling at least one child have another child enrolled in a different sector. This statistic puts homeschooling families more in line with public charter school families and conventional private school families, who also mix education sectors for their kids. In contrast, the overwhelming majority of traditional public school families—92 percent—exclusively choose traditional public schools for their kids.
Sector switching and mixing are not the behaviors one would expect of ideologues trying to deprive their children “of any understanding of the views and values of the larger society,” as Bartholet alleges. In fact, it suggests these families are exposed to a wide range of views and practices. Despite false stereotypes, homeschoolers are not a separate category of people; they are public schoolers, charter schoolers, and private schoolers, just like the larger society.
Even among those exclusively homeschooling, families are availing themselves of an array of practices and opportunities, adapting to the learning needs of each child as new resources become available. For example, The Washington Post recently highlighted the prevalence of supports such as microschools, co-ops, and online courses used by homeschooling families.
Taken together, the switching, mixing, and adapting provide evidence of a side of homeschooling that its foes rarely mention: families making practical choices to meet the needs of a particular child in a particular moment.
