Homeschooling is being chosen by more and more parents both nationwide and locally since the beginning of the Covid lockdowns in 2020. Faced with shuttered schools and small businesses, many parents found both time and incentive to explore schooling their children at home.
This trend may be the silver lining in the dark cloud created by both the virus and the governmental overreach that followed.
Because of varying states’ laws and reporting, the exact number of homeschool students in the United States is difficult to obtain. However, estimates done by the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) show that, while in recent years homeschooling has seen a steady 2% to 8% annual growth in the number of students, 2020 saw even more dramatic growth.
According to estimates by Brian D. Ray, PhD of the NHERI, the number of homeschool students rose from 2.5 million in the spring of 2019 to 3.7 million in the 2020-2021 school year. Google Trends shows search interest peaking the topic of Homeschooling during March and July of 2020 and again in August 2021.
Local homeschool communities also saw dramatic growth in the months before the start of the 2021 school year, according to Danielle Galmukoff, a member of the Port Townsend Classical Conversations homeschooling community. The group plans to expand in Jefferson County with a new community in Quilcene starting in the fall of 2022.
The Port Townsend community is currently composed of approximately 40 families and 75 students. Galmukoff explained that the Classical Conversations non-profit focuses on a classical Christian education and provides curriculum guidance and support with programs for all grade levels.
In addition, each week the Classical Conversations homeschool group gets together for a community day. On these days children of the same age are taught the new curriculum and memory work for the week and have a chance to learn with their peers. Though Christian based, Galmukoff notes that the community is open to all, and many non-Christians have joined and benefited.
Galmukoff and her husband were both homeschooled, yet were reluctant to homeschool their daughter when she reached school age. “I just didn’t have my priorities straight,” Galmukoff said. “I didn’t need to work, but I felt a desire to work because it was the narrative that women should work and have a career of their own.”
After marriage she started her own hair salon business in Port Townsend and was successful. She didn’t want to give that up, but her view changed later as her daughter approached middle school and son approached school age. Both she and her husband decided to homeschool to give their children the biblical worldview they desired. They have now been homeschooling both their daughter and their son for four years.
Teaching and imparting a set of beliefs and values is one of the common reasons parents give for choosing to homeschool. According to the NHERI, other common reasons include wanting to:
- customize or individualize the curriculum and learning environment for each child;
- accomplish more academically than in schools;
- use pedagogical approaches other than those typical in institutional schools;
- enhance family relationships between children and parents and among siblings;
- provide guided and reasoned social interactions with youthful peers and adults;
- provide a safer environment for children and youth, because of physical violence, drugs and alcohol, psychological abuse, racism, and improper and unhealthy sexuality associated with institutional schools;
- find an alternative education approach when public or private institutional schools are closed due to acute health situations such as related to disease (e.g., Covid-19, Coronavirus);
- protect minority children from racism in public schools or lower expectations of children of color (e.g., black) (e.g., Fields-Smith, 2020; Mazama & Lundy, 2012).
Even though the decision was made, Galmukoff had doubts about her ability to homeschool her children. She wasn’t confident in her education. She doubted her patience. And she didn’t think she was good at teaching things. To those considering homeschooling and having similar concerns she recommends making a list of your doubts and talking them over with a parent who has homeschooling experience.
She overcame her doubts by joining a homeschool community. The support and experience of the other mothers in the community gave her the confidence to start.
“Now I help other moms, where four years ago I felt completely inadequate,” Galmukoff states. As for patience, she says it is a skill that you develop by practice.
Galmukoff says some of the benefits of home schooling she has experienced include: “Better family relationships. Before, when I was working and my daughter was in school, we were seeing the worst of each other. Before school we were rushed, and after school we were both often tired and cranky. Now if a child is feeling ill in the morning, I can spend time with them and not have to worry about finding a babysitter or calling in sick to work.”
She enjoys watching her children learn and grow, and now that she experiences that daily, she regrets all that she missed while working. About the narrative she felt was telling her that she needed a career, she now laughs and says: “Who told me this?”
“Homeschooling is a tough decision because it demands a lot of self-sacrifice, but it can be very beautiful,” Galmukoff states. It allows more individualized instruction, adapting to each child’s learning style. It allows more flexible learning schedules, taking breaks and eating or exercising when energy is low. And it allows the parents to truly understand their child’s abilities.
The first few months of homeschooling is a transition time for students who have previously attended public or private schools, according to Galmukoff. Parents should allow some time for “unschooling”: unlearning the programming of the highly structured school day.
Homeschooling allows for more productive and less rigid days. She states that her son in second grade spends about 2 hours per day on his schoolwork and her daughter in 9th grade spends 5 to 6 hours per day. Chores, walks, and other activities are also included in the day.
Galmukoff says that she is often asked about the socialization of her children. She jokes that: “Socialization is something you do with puppies, not children. With children, you encourage healthy relationships with people around you in your community”.
Homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular in the United States, making more resources available to help parents reach their goals for their children’s education. As local homeschool communities and support groups develop, it becomes a much more feasible option for parents looking to remove their children from mainstream institutions for a wide variety of reasons.
Homeschooling is changing the narrative around family life and education.
A few additional resources to learn more about Homeschooling:
A good place to learn about homeschooling in Washington State is on the Washington Homeschool Organization website. This website explains the laws and regulations around homeschooling in Washington State. It also lists homeschool support groups and Co-ops in the state.
Homeschooling on the Olympic Peninsula is a Facebook group that connects many different homeschool support groups on the Olympic Peninsula.
The National Home Education Research Institute, has a great deal of information and research on homeschooling.
The Epoch Times has a video series by Sam Sorbo on homeschooling.
John earned a degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of South Carolina. He spent two years volunteering in the Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa, teaching Math at the Lycée level. There he met his wife Jane, who was also a Peace Corps volunteer teaching Physics. Back in the U.S. he had a long career in software, including 10 years with Microsoft as a consultant working with Fortune 50 companies in Texas. Later returning to teaching, John opened one of the first Mathnasium franchises in Texas and had a rewarding experience over more than a dozen years teaching math to thousands of students, from addition facts through calculus. John and his wife retired to the Olympic Peninsula in 2018 to enjoy the unique and dramatic natural beauty here, and he hikes, backpacks and runs the trails as much as possible.
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