question about the history of homeschooling

[cookderosa]

I celebrated 20 years as a homeschooler this past year. For those interested in data, you can find it- there are studies that track outcomes. If you want neutral, you can visit our government's data page. They report findings in many areas. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a part of the U.S. Department of Education

Anyone homeschooling more than 5 minutes knows that if you're going to do a good job, it's a lot of work. I'm not a homeschooling apologist, so I'll leave that to someone else- but the mythology that surrounds homeschooling is thick, and wrapping it in strong conviction doesn't make it "more true," so for people using this thread to help gather information, I'll mirror Dfrecore's suggestion to look it up- google has the answers to all the basic questions, including legal requirements of each state. (*while California is not a "no regulation" state, on a scale of 1-4, they are a 2 which is "low regulation" state. I live in a state classified as a 3 "moderate regulation" and the requirements are completely easy to follow with minimal effort.)

To address the issue of child abuse, if you suspect child abuse - report it. Period. I'd also encourage parents to pay attention to the kids who are in public school, private school, etc. Where you go to school doesn't mean squat. Have you read A Child Called It? Abuse is abuse. HSLDA | Child Abuse

For Mr CLEP3705's questions
"I never heard about homeschooling until the mid-1980s."

John Holt was the grandfather (he was on Phil Donahue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLWPpln0rQ) but Raymond and Dorthy Moore were the first big-time vocal promoters of homeschooling that people grabbed onto. I read Better Late than Early before I had kids- late 80's, but they had an earlier book I think. Better Late than Early was huge- absolutely a blockbuster in the homeschooling world, and this was when there was no internet- so if you wanted information you had to connect through support groups and magazines. Since so little information was available, homeschooling was pretty homogenized at that time. You were either very religious or a far out hippy. Edit to add: that is no longer the case. In addition, what homeschooling "is" in 2016 is not what it "was" in the 80's. You just can't compare. It's also a mistake to generalize, so I won't.

"Did the laws change? In Texas in the 1960s and 1970s, I grew up thinking it was illegal in all cases not to send your kids off to school."

I pulled the Texas laws since I don't know them by heart (lol) but I do have a Homeschooling for College Credit Texas group so I know that it's a fantastic state to homeschool in. (they are a "1" on the regulation scale, which means no regulation). It violates my membership agreement to post the pdf document here, so I'll summarize the benchmark dates for Texas:
1915 - homeschooling recognized as a private school, allowed as an option when compulsory education was enacted. Public school oversight allowed.
1991- public school oversight ruled discriminatory and abolished.
1994- affirmed again and an official position was written regarding homeschooling in Texas. In short, there are no regulations or oversight beyond compulsory attendance including protection while enrolling in college (the parent issued diploma is valid).


EDIT to add: I just took a moment to read the requirements for California (a "2") vs my state North Carolina (a "3") and I think HSLDA got it wrong- it does have a lot of hoops (assuming you choose homeschool at home).