Forbid Them Not (an Education)

Some years ago I spoke about this with Michael Farris, the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association. He said he recognized that the homeschool community had a child abuse problem that needed addressing, but that the solution should come from the family. It should be relatives who step in when homeschooling goes wrong, he said—perhaps an uncle or a grandfather—not the government. And indeed, I know of cases where a relative did step in and things improved as a result. However, children's parents control who they may or may not see, including relatives. Over the past several years, I've heard from numerous homeschool graduates from neglectful or abusive homes whose relatives tried to intervene only to have their contact with the children severed. This solution alone is not sufficient.

I've also heard homeschool parents argue that it should be the church that provides accountability, not the state. I absolutely agree that the church should intervene in situations where abuse or neglect are occurring; for this I would point readers to Boz Tchividjian's ministry, GRACE. But because church membership is voluntary, homeschool parents can always leave. Indeed, I've spoken with homeschool graduates whose parents left a church when its leadership became concerned or started asking questions. I've spoken with others whose parents chose to "home church" in order to avoid any form of external authority. And finally, there are cases where the church participates in or perpetuates the abuse.

Might state oversight limit homeschool parents' ability to provide their children with a religious education? It does not have to. I was homeschooled in a Christian home. My family had Bible reading every morning. We studied out of creationist science textbooks and used history curriculum from Christian publishers. The academic instruction I received was nonetheless thorough, and I scored well on the standardized test my parents had me take in sixth grade to gauge my progress. Religious instruction and academic excellence can go hand in hand.

When religious instruction is valued over and against academic excellence, immense damage can occur. I have seen this time and time again in working with homeschool graduates who experienced educational neglect. They often feel abandoned and betrayed not only by their parents but also by their churches. Sometimes this sense of abandonment and betrayal extends to the Church in general, a Church that has forgotten the words of Jesus in Matthew 18:6: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." To deny a child an education is one of the most devastating stumbling blocks I know.