Changing Landscape of Homeschooling

For a long time, homeschooling has been viewed as a strictly Christian practice, steering kids away from what some see as public school indoctrination. But Robert Bortins, the CEO of Classic Conversation, thinks that’s shifting.

“I believe it’s our responsibility to educate our children, so I find it encouraging that even non-Christians are getting into homeschooling,” Bortins explains. “However, this diversification leaves many of the early curriculum creators without a community to share their work with.”

He points out that these pioneers are selling their materials to larger organizations, which leads to a transformation of the original curriculum into something more secular. “It’s not that non-Christians are necessarily abandoning homeschooling; rather, they’re influencing it, and I worry that this might complicate things,” he notes.

Bortins gives an example: Saxon Math, originally developed by Christians, has been sold to Pearson, a big corporation. “The founder wants to retire, so he sells it. But Pearson isn’t on board with the same vision,” he adds. The result? A version of homeschooling that resembles the old curriculum but carries higher price tags.

As homeschooling grows, we should watch out for these changes. “If we aren’t vigilant, we might see trends that lead to negative outcomes in the homeschooling realm,” Bortins warns.

During a recent outing with his friend’s kids, he encountered a field trip run by secular evolutionists. “It was eye-opening for them, highlighting the need for more research into the diverse perspectives within homeschooling,” he explains. The experience raised questions about why individuals espousing these ideas are choosing to homeschool instead of sending their kids to public schools.

Concerns about these changing ideologies in homeschooling are echoed in discussions around the unconventional methods seen in Virginia. Some sessions have raised eyebrows—tackling topics like “All History is Strange History” and “Resolving Untried Experiences of Bias and Oppression.”

Bortins seems to grapple with a contradiction here: how can parents commit to a homeschooling path while encountering such complex ideas? The underlying trends might not feel reassuring, and it’s something that’s certainly caught his attention.