Much controversy surrounds the issue of the public school systems extending “help” to homeschoolers. I got stuck in the midst of this and it affected my family very personally, and very deeply. Most of you know we are currently NOT homeschooling. It’s a long story which I had published in 4 blog postings. I have combined them and saved them as a PDF document.

You can download the whole article, entitled “A Fox in the Henhouse: A First-Hand View of Parent Partnership Programs”. I have no doubt it will make waves, at the very least in my own city, where I know many people, and they are divided on this issue. My PPP friends will not be happy; my die-hard traditional homeschool friends are supportive but I felt as if some of them looked down their noses at me while we were involved in the PPP.

What is the missing element here? Why do families gravitate to these programs? The answers vary. Some are long-term homeschooling families where, for one reason or another, Mom is overwhelmed. She would LOVE for SOMEONE ELSE to teach the kids at least one subject. Others are brand-new homeschoolers, who may be starting out a kindergarten or first-grader, and heard their district “has a program for homeschoolers”.  They have no idea what the homeschool laws are in their state, and don’t realize there are far-reaching consequences to this choice. The missing element is support.

All homeschool moms need support, outside of their home. Ideally, that would come in the form of a local homeschool group, but can be as simple as one other homeschooling friend. One online support site I found just yesterday, which I can see is a HUGE blessing to many, is ThatMom. Check it out, and get a big boost of confidence in what you do every day.

I have sent my article to my state’s Christian homeschooling groups, and I am thinking about sending it to other groups as well, out of state, because I feel that this is such an important thing. I have never heard a homeschooling family who was involved in a public school program for a long period of time speak out against it. It’s time someone said something. Please feel free to download my article, and pass it on to your homeschool group, or your state group.

And when those “Virtual Academy” flyers come in your mailbox, call them and tell them to stop marketing to homeschoolers, and have your name taken off of their list. It’s just too tempting to “try out just one class”. Don’t do it.
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This post has been re-written. The first 4 comments below were on the original post. The topic is the same, but I had posted Part 1 of The Fox in the Henhouse article here originally. Just FYI!