Op-ed: How homeschool associations showcase US innovation, ‘social capital’ – and why we need them today

Having just returned from a homeschool conference this weekend, I’m experiencing all the emotions – elation from the past, exhaustion for the present … but also excitement for the future. 

Why? 

Each conference reminds me of the reasons why I homeschool – along with showcasing the secret sauce behind what George Washington called “the last great experiment, for promoting human happiness.” 

How? 

A vital ingredient in this sauce involves a tipping point of massive civic participation, engagement and unity – something historians have struggled to explain and define over the years. One recent term is “social capital,” which we’ll discuss later. 

For now, though, let’s explore the parallels between modern-day homeschooling and U.S. history – seemingly insurmountable obstacles and overwhelming opposition, yet extraordinary and unprecedented successes. 

How they started 

As an immigrant to the United States, I have always marveled at this country’s trajectory before, during and after the Declaration of Independence. 

T. H. Breen captures the enormity of the first president’s task in his essay, “Forging a New Nation.” 

“It was Washington’s genius to engage the people in a conversation about their shared future,” he explains, highlighting his record-setting visits to all original 13 states to meet “citizens of a very large republic.” 

“At a key moment in our country’s history when the very survival of the new system was in doubt, he took to the road to discover what was on the minds of the American people — and to share with them the immense promise of a republican form of government. … 

“They found themselves engaged in an exciting, unprecedented experiment in self-rule.” 

In the same way, the history of modern-day experiment also reflects this spirit of self-rule, innovation and grit as parents seek to provide the best education for their children. 

Both yesteryear’s Founders and today’s homeschool pioneers faced significant opposition for their stances – albeit to far different degrees. 

Signers of the Declaration of Independence refused to defect despite immense personal cost, ranging from loss of property to torture, battle wounds and even death. Michael Carbone’s op-ed in the Warwick Beacon does an excellent job describing these sacrifices. 

Meanwhile, homeschool pioneers suffered only (!) to the extent of court prosecutions, threats of jail time and forcible removal of their children on charges of truancy. 

Just two examples include Homeschool Idaho’s webpage on 30 years fighting for homeschool freedoms, or the tragic 1983 case against the Sawyer family in Kansas. 

However, both groups pushed through to eventual victory. Modern Americans are still living in a constitutional federal republic, and homeschooling has been legally recognized in every state. 

How it’s going 

As patriots often warn us, though, freedom is never free. 

“We must periodically reawaken the purity of those who govern with fresh new blood, fresh ideas, but above all, those with the best intentions for this country to continue under each person’s individual freedoms,” Carbone wrote in his op-ed regarding the Declaration of Independence signers. 

“This is why we honor these men, and all those who have stood against tyranny … why we should proudly fly our flag … and ALWAYS stand during the National Anthem in honor, respect, and memory of the 56.” 

Likewise, homeschoolers need to stand vigilant against encroachments on their freedoms. 

A sobering and disturbingly recent example involves Illinois. As previously reported by The Lion, House Bill 2827 – the Homeschool Act – places significant legal and administrative burdens on homeschoolers.  

If passed, it would give school districts the power to establish ad-hoc courts for sentencing parents who failed to follow all the regulations. 

Despite more than 42,000 witness slips filed to testify on the bill – with just 1,000 in favor and 41,000 against – and in-person protests from hundreds of homeschoolers, the bill may soon pass into law. 

How can homeschoolers fight against such odds? 

The answer lies – as it always has – in something seemingly insignificant yet incredibly powerful: social capital. 

What is social capital? 

Sociologist Robert Putnam popularized this term in his 1995 essay “Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital.” 

In it, he lamented how the nation’s social organizational features – such as interpersonal networks and trust – have declined over the years, leading to a lack of civic engagement. 

Putnam wasn’t the first to note this key characteristic in U.S. society. The Marquis de Tocqueville also wondered at the way “Americans of all ages constantly unite,” according to his book Democracy in America – first published in 1835. 

“Writing for a French audience, Tocqueville argued that citizens in a democracy rely on associations to bring them into shared concerns with their neighbors and to empower them with a voice to influence public opinion,” the Library of Congress explained in an exhibition on Tocqueville. 

“Association-making, he claimed, was the ‘mother science’ in a democratic society, the piece of social know-how that makes a democracy flourish.” 

I’ve enjoyed a front-row seat to this association-making through the homeschool movement. 

Just as then-President Washington took time to visit residents in all 13 states, I’ve seen modest and unassuming volunteers in area associations make similar sacrifices. 

Almost all of them work other jobs – sometimes full-time ones – and take no pay for their service to the homeschooling community. 

They come from diverse sociopolitical and ethnic backgrounds, juggling homeschool commitments with work and other life demands. 

They often disagree with one another. Yet somehow, they stay unified enough to continue “associating” toward an overarching goal: to help the next generation thrive educationally. 

Envisioning the future 

President Washington’s journeys throughout the fledgling nation “fundamentally changed how the people perceived their relationship with the new federal government,” Breen argues. “It is a legacy that endures to this day.” 

In the same way, homeschool associations deserve much of the credit for laying the educational freedoms we now enjoy. Many of them repeatedly lobbied and petitioned state lawmakers to legalize homeschooling in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Unfortunately, these associations have waned in attendance over the years as homeschooling has become more mainstream. 

Unlike the compulsory government-funded educational system, they aren’t guaranteed to receive taxpayer support. They are voluntary organizations, mostly nonprofits, who must cajole or charm donors into supporting their outreach. 

Nevertheless, their capacity to build diverse coalitions of support among broad swaths of American society is needed now more than ever. 

If you’re a homeschooler, I urge you to look up your state or regional homeschool association today – or start one, if it doesn’t yet exist. 

We’re still exploring the secret sauce behind the American Dream to this day, and we don’t have all the answers. 

However, all of us can recognize the sacrificial greatness of people such as Washington, who “accepted the presidency — an act that postponed a much desired retirement to Mount Vernon — to preserve the union,” according to Breen. 

“The study of Washington’s travels reminds us, now more than ever, of the enduring need for the American people to pull together to recover the original promise of the Revolution.” 

Indeed. 

Critics often accuse homeschoolers of isolating their children and eroding social capital – all while ignoring 40 years of research detailing homeschoolers’ higher rates of civic engagement and community participation than public-schoolers. 

Ironically, homeschool associations may hold the key to building the nation’s civic engagement back to 1830s-style levels. 

Perhaps we can once again marvel, as Tocqueville did, at the way American homeschoolers constantly unite – and help keep democracy flourishing.