Homeschooling in America Today - IslamOnline.net - Family

Homeschooling in America Today - IslamOnline.net - Family

Homeschooling in America Today

A Growing Trend

By Maryam Bachmeier

Psychologist, Counselor, Writer – U.S


More and more Muslim families are considering the option of homeschooling for their children. One of the main reasons mentioned is that homeschooling empowers families to model family and religious values. It is often less expensive and can make it easier for a mother to stay at home with her children. In this small article, there are attempts to offer a look into one mother's experiences as a homeschooler, and her daughter provides us with insight and her own personal experience as a homeschool student. We see why they found homeschooling to be the best choice for them and their family. To complement this peak into a family's personal experience, we also take a look at a powerful and well-known advocate for the homeschooling movement and her thoughts about why it is so popular.


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The first woman interviewed chose to remain anonymous, so we will call her Nadia. She explained that her initial reason for homeschooling was financial. She was in a situation where she had very limited financial resources, and one day, her car broke down. She felt she had no other option than to homeschool her daughter as getting her to and from school was going to be very difficult.



At first, Nadia thought it was going to be very hard. However, to her surprise and happiness, she found out that it was not that hard after all. In fact, she found that her children actually got along much better with each other, and there was not that much bickering. Her children were happier because they did not have to deal with the stressor of a "school hierarchy," in which often, the children pick on those who are in earlier grades, or who are more vulnerable.



Over time, Nadia found that it was easier to introduce her children into a variety of social situations. They were learning better social skills than they would at a public school, and Nadia felt homeschooling strengthened family connections and a sense of unity. When asked about the challenges of homeschooling, Nadia felt that the biggest challenge is finding resources. However, living in California, Nadia found the resources to be very easily obtained. Nadia felt that the way to success is to learn about your community and utilize your communities' resources.



In some states or counties, you might have to worry about the children's protective services if they are not a community that supports homeschooling. States that do not have many homeschoolers may suspect your child of being a truant and the parents of being neglectful. This attitude is fading, as more and more homeschool advocates work with their local communities to bring resources to the homeschool projects. Nadia's daughter, who also wanted to remain anonymous, will be called Yasmin.


Yasmin, who is 14 years old, reported that she liked her homeschool experience. She was allowed to create her own curriculum and was allowed to progress as far as she wants to in any given subject. In other words, she is not limited to her grade. Her brother graduated early and went on to college, and she wants to do the same.


Yasmin also gets more attention from her parents than she would if she were in a public school, because they are teaching her. She reported feeling more confident in social situations as well, and attributed this to being with her parents and experiencing a variety of social situations with them. She does not feel awkward when talking to adults since she is around them more, and she still gets to socialize with other Muslim children as her parents make the effort to connect with other homeschoolers who have the same goals. Yasmin especially likes not having to worry about peer pressure. She likes being a "good Muslim," and she is allowed to feel comfortable about being herself.


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In an interview with Kinza Academy founder and homeschool advocate Nabila Hanson, we found that homeschooling is becoming more and more popular among both Muslims and non-Muslims in the US. Sister Nabila was recently interviewed by Baltimore Muslim Examiner J. Samia Mair on June 15, 2009. In this Interview, Nabila commented that the popularity of homeschooling can be attributed to:

"A few people being brave enough to reclaim the right to educate their children, and in so doing produced educated, self-governed, and moral people that made other parents stop and ask, "What's going on here?"


She continued to say that another reason is the desire to protect the family's religious beliefs and to keep their children from becoming secularized by the public school. Also some families are:


"Concerned about the total failure of government schooling to produce educated citizens; and safety is also a huge concern now with children becoming the frequent victims of violent crimes and sexual abuse in public and private schools".



Nabila summarized the popularity among Muslims as follows:



"Amongst Muslims, I think the first concern is the child's deen and the second concern is the quality of education"


"From a religious perspective, I don't have to worry about my children's self-esteem being damaged or their deen being hurt because they are teased about their religion in school. I don't have to worry they are being taught things that contradict our religious belief, and I don't have to worry that I will lose them to peer pressure. Christian home-school studies have shown three out of four children who graduate from public school will no longer share the same faith or belief as their family. This is alarming.


"From a mother's perspective, every day I am amazed by my children. They are creative; they march to their own beat; they are eager to learn and interested in so many things, and they are self-motivated. I am often times astounded by the things they have taught themselves and teach each other in their free time.


"I would add that children need down-time, too. Because children educated at home are taught individually, they learn more quickly, and the school day is much shorter, permitting them time to explore their own interests and take part in family life. There is also no homework"!



With this said, and the many other homeschool stories that can be found among families both Muslim and non-Muslim, the benefits seem to clearly outweigh the risks. As homeschooling networks are being built and are becoming stronger, so are homeschooling resources becoming more available. Additionally, Sister Nadia mentioned that it is a good idea to find out the homeschool laws in your state; some states are friendlier toward homeschooling than others.



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