There have been several articles the past year about homeschoolers and extracurricular activities; here's my contribution to the stack. My personal theory is that for many folks, the face of "education" is not so much the classroom as it is the football game, band concert, or some other public event. Why that would be, I can't say -- maybe we all tend to gloss over the routine day-by-day life of school, in favor of the more exciting activities we remember, or the outside events we can share with our children.
How else can I interpret the response of near-relief I see when I talk about what homeschoolers do when they're not hitting the books? Apparently even some of our friends fear that we're hunkered down behind raised drawbridges, peering out at a confusing and frightening world through the embrasures of our little 3-bed 2-bath castles.
Sorry, we're not in right now; we'll be glad to call when we get back from basketball practice, band rehearsal, and debate class.
Homeschoolers Branching Out
Sports, music, and debate competitions among the extracurriculars
RALEIGH — The popular image of homeschooling is a mother and her children leaning over the kitchen table or gathered in the family room with their schoolbooks. This is not inaccurate for most families, but it is far from complete.
Studies show homeschooled students are involved in many after-school activities along with their public and private-school counterparts, such as scouting, 4-H, church groups, and sports leagues. Yet home educators also are building their own programs to provide more of the traditional high-school activities, such as varsity athletics, band, and academic clubs. …
(Carolina Journal Online, March 27; print edition, April 2006)
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