It’s part of a trend of home schoolers becoming involved in activities that would have once seemed the antithesis of learning in a private, family-based environment. What began with home educated students making their presence felt in scholastic sports leagues and youth orchestras has spread to cultural institutions.

“Part of what’s happening is that home schooling now is, or is really close to being, mainstream,” said Brian D. Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute. “If you’re a museum, a theater, a library, a team or a community chorus, you’re going to hear, ‘We’re here. Is there some way we can be part of what you do?’ ” Read more...

Cindy Stevens, mother of 3, and Lisa Jewett, mother of 5, have taught their children all that they know — well, not exactly everything. But, the two women aren’t just mothers. They are teachers. Stevens and Jewett teach their kids at home, taking on everything from choosing the curriculum, writing lesson plans and grading exams.

“It’s funny because I used to be anti-homeschool,” Jewett said. “I thought people like me were nuts.” Read more...

Cindy Stevens' three children study at the kitchen table, but it's also where they get their daily lessons about math, science, history — you name it — from their mother.

Their day starts at 7:30 a.m. and is usually done by 2 p.m. The family does this five days a week.

The Stevens family is one of a few families in the Austin area that homeschool their children. Stevens said she became concerned about her children's behavior while her two oldest children, Olivia, 12, and Nathan, 11, were in preschool. A conversation with an elderly woman who homeschooled her grandchild offered Stevens a view that led her to homeschool her children. Read more...

The decision on the family's political asylum could still be overturned if the US government appeals the ruling. But Mike Donnelly, the attorney for the Home School Legal Defense Association, said he hopes Tuesday's ruling will influence public opinion in Germany -- which is part of the reason his group offered to represent the Romeikes, he said. Read more...

Sadly, about the only people reporting on these incidents seem to be Christian groups and homeschooling networks on the Internet. Groups like the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). As mentioned above, the AP has a story that has made its way around the wires, too, but there doesn’t seem to be much independent coverage of this by the Old Media.

This seems odd since it is quite an interesting story where it concerns international relations. The HSLDA says that this ruling is “embarrassing for Germany.” That may be but the rest of the media is silent. Read more...

PURCELLVILLE, VA- A German couple who fled to Tennessee so they could home school their children has been granted political asylum by an immigration judge in Memphis. (See earlier story)

The decision clears the way for Uwe Romeike his wife and five children to stay in Morristown, Tennessee, where they have been living since 2008.

German law requires children to attend public or private schools, and parents can face fines or prison time if they don't comply. Romeike, an evangelical Christian, said he believes Germany's curriculum is "against Christian values." Read more...

It’s the middle of the school year. Unfortunately, there’s been one more bullying incident on the bus. The principal says his hands are tied, and maybe you’d consider driving your child to school (10 miles away). During those desperate times, you’ve considered homeschooling. Double DeckerAfter all, this double decker looks more appealing than that yellow one. Read more...

I continue to be amazed at the public displays of rank anti-religious ignorance by members of the “educated class.” This time it’s in an article entitled “The Harms of Homeschooling” by one Robin L. West (h/t to Izzy Lyman), from a recent issue of Philosophy & Public Policy, published by the University of Maryland. The name of the publication led me to expect something academic, but the article is basically a bigoted screed against the supposed religious extremism of the “hard core” of the homeschooling community. It’s chock-full of dispassionate academic prose like this (describing homeschoolers): Read more...

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- On a rainy Friday afternoon in October, junior quarterback Stevie Douglas emerged from a well-traveled minivan that had begun its journey in Clinton, La. Teammates Ronald Brown, Rennel Hammond, Mike-el Arvie and Jeremy Arvie emerged from a white van bearing the logo of the New Life Tabernacle Church in Opelousas, La. From other vehicles came more players -- 21 in all -- and they toted their duffel bags into one of the leftover FEMA trailers that served as locker rooms for a tiny football stadium in the shadow of a graveyard.

Once inside, several players dipped into their bags and pulled out their helmets. Then they dipped back into their bags and pulled out screwdrivers to repair their helmets. The team doesn't have an equipment manager for the same reason they didn't come to Hattiesburg in a school bus. To use a school bus, the Patriots would have to play for a brick-and-mortar school.

The vast majority of the players are on this team homeschooled. Read more...

When 7-year-old Annabelle Kirkpatrick studies fractions and converting pints to quarts, she and her mom go into their kitchen and start cooking.

For a lesson on caterpillars, they browse around their backyard flower garden for a look at the little critters firsthand. After all, Annabelle is homeschooled, which means her parents' two-story house in Eustis is her classroom.

Angela Kirkpatrick decided last school year to homeschool her daughter, who became one of a flood of Florida children who suddenly left private and public schools to learn at home. Read more...