Published: May 1, 1996

Letters

The picture David Hill paints of homeschoolers in your April issue [Homegrown Learning] has them either still living in the 1960s or teaching their children for religious reasons. When you stereotype, you reduce individuals to caricatures. This kind of reductionist thinking pervades the schools. People are either stupid, smart, or mediocre. Quick, label them; then you can dispense with them.

Homeschoolers are all different. It is nice when school districts accommodate home learning, but I have to wonder how much the "schooled" mentality of many prospective homeschooling parents makes them afraid of teaching their own. Many of us have not been inspired by our own educations but have bought the notion that only a state-certified teacher can teach properly. I felt unsure when we first embarked as homeschoolers. But, in time, I have found that life really is littered with teaching and learning situations, the ones that make a difference, the ones that help us make sense of our lives.

Barbara Alward

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