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Another Look By Theresa Willingham Delivered July 25, 2004 at Spirit of Life Unitarian Universalists Odessa, FL I take the title of my service today from a paper of the same name written by then seminary student (and now Minister of Religious Education in Arlington), Linda Olson Peebles, when she was at the Meade/Lombard Theological School in 1995. And I’ve drawn as well from a number of other articles and reports, including one of my own which I authored for the Journal of Religious Humanism last summer, all of which appear on our UU Homeschoolers website. When Ms. Peebles wrote her paper 9 years ago, she observed that there were 500,000 homeschoolers in the US. While reliable figures are hard to come by, the National Center for Education Statistics puts the number of homeschoolers today at around 850,000. Most agree it’s actually somewhere between 1 and 2 million. If you’ve read the most recent issue of the World, you actually already know most of what I want to say to you. But while I’ve been among you here at Spirit of Life for more than four years now, and most of you know our family homeschools – as do at least three other member families here – I really cherish this opportunity to stand before you today to talk with you pointedly about a lifestyle that’s often misunderstood, and to perhaps shed some light and clarity on the many, often erroneous, political and philosophical assumptions often made about homeschooling. First a little corrective history: The home education movement was NOT started by religious conservatives, who often claim the practice as their own, but by liberal education reformers with a very different philosophy at the heart of their efforts. I’ve written a short synopsis of that history in an article for the Journal of Religious Humanism that ran last summer, and from which the following history hails: “Homeschooling is first and foremost a humanistic endeavor, conceived of by early education reformers in the 1960s who were very different from today's charismatic homeschool celebrities, and with no motive other than that of decentralized, uninstitutionalized learning. It is, at its source and as humanism has been called, an ideology of modernity. .. The focus of 1970s education reform leaders was not orthodoxy and obedience, but freedom of thought and learning. “Early reformers, principally Ivan Illich who was one of homeschooling legend John Holt's main inspirations, repeatedly argued that no true education can take place in an environment of conformity and regimentation.” In one of my favorite Illich quotes, Illich said, To equate equal educational opportunity with obligatory schooling "is to confuse salvation with the church." Ivan Illich was a multitalented Viennese scholar who earned his doctorate in history at the University of Salzburg before coming to the U.S. Before his death a couple of years ago, Illich’s work ran the gamut from theology to politics, but social justice was at the heart of his convictions. "The first article of a bill of rights for a modern, humanist society would correspond to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution," Illich declared, "'The State shall make no law with respect to the establishment of education.' There shall be no ritual obligatory for all." “It was Illich's book, "Deschooling Society," that laid the groundwork for homeschooling in America. In this collection of essays, Illich set forth the premise that "the institutionalization of values leads inevitably to physical pollution, social polarization and psychological impotence: three dimensions in a process of global degradation and modernized misery." However grand the American vision of "education for all," and however noble the contemporary educational battle cry, "Leave no child behind!” Illich pointed out in his first essay in the book, Why We Must Disestablish School, that "the mere existence of school discourages and disables the poor from taking control of their own learning. All over the world, the school has an anti-educational effect on society: school is recognized as the institution that specializes in education. The failures of school are taken by most people as a proof that education is a very costly, very complex, always arcane and frequently almost impossible task." It was statements like these that triggered the imagination and interest of other education reformers and helped turn sights toward homeschooling as a viable option: "Most learning happens casually," Illich wrote. "And even most intentional learning is not the result of programmed instruction. Normal children learn their first language casually, although faster if their parents pay attention to them." There is some need for drill and pointed instruction, Illich agreed, but it had to be balanced by interest and focus. Other reformers took up the cry. In two books, Compulsory Miseducation" and "Growing Up Absurd,” written at around the same time as Illich's work, author and political theorist Paul Goodman, pointed out that public education was a waste of youth. Education, he said, should be a community effort and not an institutional one. John Holt, almost universally acclaimed as one of homeschooling’s most influential founders, took this thinking even further. He spoke with Ivan Illich at length about his theories and was particularly intrigued with Illich's conviction that schools polarized societies. Originally, Holt’s interests lay in pure public education reform, and he called for new ways of looking at learning and education. By 1972, however, in his book "Freedom and Beyond," Holt had decided his initial thought of bringing greater freedom into the classroom environment was not the answer to America's growing educational ills. "People, even children, are educated much more by the whole society around them and the general quality of life in it than they are by what happens in schools. The dream of many school people, that schools can be places where virtue is preserved and passed on in a world otherwise empty of it, now seems to me a sad and dangerous illusion. It might have worked in the Middle Ages; it can't work in a world of cars, jets, TV, and the mass media...." By 1977, Holt was won over to the idea of home education. In August of that year, he published the first issue of Growing Without Schooling (GWS), considered the world's first homeschooling magazine. Like Illich, Holt felt strongly that "certification" did not equal ability to teach. He felt that any interested adult could teach any interested child. "Trained teachers, “he wrote, "are not trained in teaching, but in classroom management, i.e., in controlling, manipulating, measuring, and classifying large numbers of children. These may be useful skills for schools, or people working in schools. But they have nothing whatever to do with teaching -- helping others to learn things." He further developed his ideas into the concept of "unschooling," by which he meant that learning at home should not be considered merely a duplication of the public school environment at home, which the phrase "homeschooling" seemed to conjure. Holt felt that "learning by living" provided the best education. With the hallmark thought of "learning as living," Holt and other education reform luminaries changed the emphasis from overhauling the public education process to something much more intimate, suggests writer Patrick Farenga. They were talking, said Farenga, “about changing social relationships between children and adults, work and school." "Teaching and learning outside of school does not have to resemble teaching and learning in school. Cultural experience can be the basis for learning at home and in one's community throughout one's compulsory school years. People can successfully do things differently than schools." So the facts of the matter are, quite simply, that liberal home educators, like Unitarian Universalist homeschoolers, are a more accurate reflection of the original design of the early education reform efforts that became known as homeschooling. And commensurately, our lifestyle of “learning by living” is completely compatible with, and complimentary to, our liberal democratic faith. One of the things that triggered the recent article about home education in the World, was the spate of responses the World received in response to an offhand comment in an article about families that the magazine ran in a previous issue. The comment that caught UU homeschoolers attention was a rather disparaging dismissal of us by interviewee Bill Doherty as the subset of families “feeding their kids macrobiotic diets and letting them sleep in the family bed and homeschooling them for the wrong reasons.” Choosing to ignore the arrogance of deigning to know what the “right reasons” are for any individual’s personal choices , I replied to the World at that time,” As part of a denomination that values individual differences and needs, how does Mr. Doherty reconcile his own narrow views regarding those of us who *don’t* have any trouble being liberal, and devoted to and interested in our families? Especially when, contrary to Mr. Whitford’s assertions, we’re not all that “rare” to begin with. “ When I wrote that letter to the editor in the spring, there were not quite 300 homeschoolers on our national UU email list. By the time the Don Skinner decided he wanted to feature us, we were approaching 400. Since the article came out a few weeks ago, our membership has passed 450. UU Homeschoolers are quite clearly neither rare, nor doing what we do for the wrong reasons at all. As a matter of fact, there are seven really good reasons that we do what we do. Reason #1: First and foremost, as UU homeschoolers, we value the inherent worth and dignity in each person. It’s been said that there are no learning disabilities in the home school, and in large measure, that’s true. In our homeschool group alone, there are children with Cerebral Palsy, autism, dyslexia and what would be called ADHD in the public school system. At home, they’re mostly just kids who learn differently, or who live differently. Similarly, our children come to see differences are ordinary and fully human. Few groups of children play as openly and with as little regard to age, gender or ethnicity as do the homeschool children I’ve known. Wrote Peebles, regarding this UU principle, “John Dewey had a sincere faith in the worth and capacity of all individuals. As he developed his theories of education - of how children really learn, and of the "hidden" curriculum (what we teach children by how we teach them) - Dewey's respect for people was primary. He saw in each child both potential and resources which needed to be nurtured appropriately, beginning with the child where he or she was. Dewey also had great faith in the teacher, the adult who could "be capable of seeing the world as both a child and an adult saw it." “John Dewey's ideas, formulated a century ago, have had difficulty in being realized in the public school institution as he had dreamed. Various private and "alternative" schools around the country have claimed to use Dewey's educational philosophy. But it is in the philosophy and practice of Unitarian Universalist religious education that we can most clearly see some of his ideas come to life.” And it is this UU philosophy and practice that fits so neatly into our lives as homeschoolers. “As UU homeschoolers, we’re free to encourage and inspire the creative geniuses of our children, and instill in them an equal appreciation of the creative genius of others.” Reason #2: As UU homeschoolers, we promise to uphold justice, equity, and compassion in human relations. “This principle, “ wrote Peebles, “ is closely related to the first principle addressing worth and dignity of persons and to the one following, concerning mutual acceptance and encouragement. When UU homeschooling parents talk about their commitment to the ideals of justice, equity, and compassion, they usually speak in active terms - in the ways they have chosen to live and behave, in the groups with which they affiliate, in the ways they choose to spend their time and money, and in how they treat members of their family and their wider community. They oftentimes see the careers they choose, their involvement in a Unitarian Universalist congregation, their decision to homeschool, their interest in social justice and environmental issues, and their politics as all integrated, part of a whole.” I know we feel this way. As homeschooling UUs, we’re free to live actively within our communities, to volunteer our time side by side with our children, modeling our interest and proactive engagement in the world around us. Everything happens in the context of daily living, and with the advantage of being able to discuss what we do and what we believe openly and comprehensively, our children not only hear about justice, equity and compassion in human relations, they experience it. Writes Peebles,” Unitarian Universalists who choose to homeschool their children are deeply motivated by the desire to create this quality of civility - in themselves and their children, and in how they interact with the world. This motivation compels them to choose leaving the schools which neither provides experience of the attributes of civility nor the time to engage in family and voluntary associations which do.” Reason #3: UU Homeschoolers covenant acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations. The practice of acceptance of one another in the daily context of our homeschooling lives helps us understand and apply this same principal in our church lives. Wrote Peebles,“Unitarian Universalist homeschoolers can find a lot of encouragement in their efforts to accept each other, their own children, and people in their community they hope to use as resources. The writings of Universalist religious education professor Angus McLean and of Sophia Lyon Fahs give support for the instinct to expect and honor diversity of learning patterns and faith journeys. Sophia Lyon Fahs pointed out, "If one thinks of religion primarily in terms of something created by each individual, the first question to be asked is not: What has religion to give child? It is rather: How may a child contribute to his (or her) own religious growth?...How is it possible for a child to build his (or her) own religion?" And she wrote, "We believe in taking the young child's own questions, at their own true and deep worth. Who am I? What is everything about? We recognize children's questions as their real childhood prayers - put into the language they know how to speak." “ As UU Homeschoolers we can expand this idea of children’s spiritual growth into their academic and philosophical growth as well. Reason #4: UU homeschoolers believe in a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. To us, this is what homeschooling is all about! Peebles interviewed one former UU homeschooler: “Katie, the UU homeschooler now at Smith College, affirms that "homeschooling provides ultimate freedom for learning and exploring. UUism liberates a person to explore in all ways. Homeschooling encourages the learner to be active, not passive, in the search. I directed my learning; it wasn't dictated to me. Now, I'm not dependent on anyone or on being told what to do. I like receiving other people's ideas and input, but I do not need to rely on any authority but my own." Sophia Lyon Fahs wrote: We are resolved to protect individual freedom of belief. This freedom must include the child as well as the parent. The freedom for which we stand is not freedom of belief as we please,... not freedom to evade responsibility, ...but freedom to be honest in speech and action, freedom to respect one's own integrity of thought and feeling, freedom to question, to investigate, to try, to understand life and the universe in which life abounds, freedom to search anywhere and everywhere to find the meaning of Being, freedom to experiment with new ways of living that seem better than the old.“Unitarian Universalist homeschoolers, living out such a resolve,” said Peebles,” report that their children exhibit a positive and active approach to problem-solving. They ask questions and have the confidence to seek answers, learning that solutions can be found from many sources. Homeschooling parents also tend to have a pro-active attitude towards finding answers. They don't accept the packaged or institutional response to a problem. They feel free to ask questions, to try to work with people who can help, and to pick and choose which public and private institutions to work with and how. They understand that it is their responsibility to seek out information and to offer creative responses.” “Unitarian Universalist homeschoolers have the deep belief that it is their responsibility to make their own and their children's lives meaningful. And through experience, common sense, and educational and psychological insight, they are also convinced that the search for what is true and meaningful is a search that must be allowed to occur as freely as possible. “ Reason #5 As UU Homeschoolers we believe in the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large. Pebbles wrote, “In my experience working in volunteer or cooperative organizations in the past twenty years, I have been struck by the notion that many people live their lives as if they don't understand democracy. Too often, people act as if they are passive consumers in the world. For them, the world and the organizations running it offer services and products. The consumer thinks living in a democracy means he can buy a product or not, but has no real relationship to it. The consumer is entitled to complain if he isn't served as he'd like - it's a free country, after all, and he's entitled. “This consumer attitude of the world is antithetical to how a homeschooler views education and to how the Unitarian Universalist Association views religious community. The democratic process means each person has the right to speak and be heard. It also means each person has the responsibility to help shape the experience and the organization.” Understanding, and actively living in, our democratic society is a vital part of our homeschooling lives. My kids have come to the voting booth with me since before they could walk. They’ve written letters to congress, look at issues critically and with an eye to understanding, and know that with freedom comes responsibility. They’ve played out active democratic ideals in playgrounds and in academic work, at home and out in society at large. “Unitarian Universalists who have decided to homeschool their children,” wrote Peebles,” are doing so as a way of living out an ideal of democracy which includes protecting rights of the vulnerable and actively assuming responsibility. It is lived out in their own families, as a process followed to honor each member's conscience and participation. And it is lived out in the larger community as they take upon themselves the responsibility to be active in improving the quality of life for themselves, their children, and their community. One UU homeschooling parent told Peebles, "I could not in good conscience allow my children to be incarcerated by the schools." She was following one of the earliest guiding principles of our faith tradition. William Ellery Channing, the formative Unitarian theologian of the early nineteenth century, wrote: Conscience, the sense of right, the power of perceiving moral distinctions, the power of discerning between justice and injustice, excellence and baseness, is the highest faculty given us by God, the whole foundation of our responsibility, and our sole capacity for religion. ...God, in giving us conscience, has implanted a principle within us which forbids us to prostrate ourselves before mere power, or to offer praise where we do not discover worth.Reason #6. UU Homeschoolers believe in the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. Peebles wrote about this principle, “Unitarian Universalist homeschoolers have as their goal not only living out their ideals in the present, but helping ensure that their children have the best chance possible to grow to be happy, caring, and contributing members of the world in the future.” Volunteerism and community involvement have always been at the heart of our homeschooling. Law mandates student volunteerism now – but our conscience and UU convictions have always driven our sense of commitment to our community, to serve and to give back in gratitude for what our community gives us, with an eye to our fortunate place in the world. Rather than being holiday volunteers, our family has made volunteering and social service an ongoing personal mandate. “Homeschoolers, “ wrote Peebles, “whether they are liberal or conservative politically, doubt the ability of an institutional school system to truly meet the needs of the individual child. This American individualism takes a new twist when we try to apply it to Unitarian Universalists who are backing away from schools and moving towards living out their faith in their principles of honoring the individual and the community. They feel compelled to help the world by changing those things they can change. “ And reason #7. UU Homeschoolers respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. This is a particularly personal and heartfelt reason for homeschooling for our family, and the reason that repeated concerns about the “socialization” of our children have always baffled me, because we’re so involved in the world around us. It’s hard to find families more deeply connected to the interdependent web of life than liberal homeschoolers, who often live in diverse extended families, who are integral and active members of their communities, who are civically outspoken, conscience driven, curious and ever-learning. “It's interesting,” wrote Peebles, “ that after a long discussion about all the ways her reasons for homeschooling tie in with worth and dignity, democracy, free and open search for truth, a homeschooling mother in the Mt. Vernon Unitarian Church finally said, "I homeschool mostly because I believe that it's important to live out the affirmation that we are part of the interdependent web." All of her other reasons contribute to the seventh principle in her mind. She wants her sons to see how their lives are in relationship - with many kinds of people who do many different things; with the earth and the weather and growing things and animals; with their own minds and with creativity; and with the inventions of technology and society. She believes that her boys will learn this best by being engaged with the world as much as she can facilitate and they are curious about. For her, that happens by freeing up their time and space to allow them to move in and out of many environments. “ Homeschooling allows us live deeply, meaningfully and consciously within the web, fully realizing our places in it, and the value of those places in it. I’ll let you in on a little piece of trivia about the UU World article. It didn’t originally end on the dismal note that it does in the magazine. Here’s the original ending: “Coleen Murphy, coordinator of religious education at the First UU Church of New Orleans, La., is a second-generation homeschooler. She was homeschooled starting at age 10. “In school I was told a number of things I knew were not true: that adults were always right, that I was weird, that I was ugly, that I was going to hell. I spent a lot of time in school worrying. And arguing. “I hope for both of my children,” said Coleen, “that theirs will be a very different journey, that they will be able to avoid spending much of their formative years learning to line up and facing the choice between fitting in or speaking out. Through unschooling I am seeking a future for them that is less about worry over performing well and being liked and more about developing as healthy, happy, kind, curious individuals.” What more could a UU ask? |
