As I continue to work through the whole god-guns-government culture being tied to home education (and vice versa) I found this cultural commentary:
Egalitarianism and Homeschooling- [1]
One Member’s Personal Story by Karen Till [2]
. . .The homeschool community is a culture, religion—to some a cult—in itself. I loved many aspects but certain things were hard to understand. For example, many people thought women should dress very modestly and with head coverings. Definitely the more “earthy†you were the better: grind your own grain, natural foods, bake your own bread.
Many also believed that couples should let God plan their family – and I mean no interference on your part—because it showed you had more faith. Moms should stay at home while dads provided for the family. All of these were what proved you were a godly woman. Of course, you needed to do this all with great delight and in an organized fashion.
I began to have difficulty with this culture as our children got older and their gender roles began to be more defined. . .I started to feel pressure about how my kids behaved and what they wore. We were not a family that believed that girls must wear dresses, but many of our friends did.
Then the whole courtship idea started bouncing around. . . Courtship in many ways seemed like a patriarchal concept.
The pressure got more and more intense and I resisted. I began to question and see flaws in this thinking. . .
I still believe in homeschooling, although I do not fit in with most in the community. I have discontinued much of my contact with the other women because it is too difficult. . . I felt like I couldn’t, and didn’t want to, measure up to their expectations of what kind of a woman I should be.
Our church has become a safe place for me and I love the changes and growth the community has made. I would say we are an emerging church and that concept thrills me as much as the equality issue does.
I love that the sides of the box have been blown off. My journey is so much more than I ever dreamed . . .
Most people in the homeschool community are traditional and patriarchal and I was embarrassed to be lumped together with them. I do believe that egalitarian views and homeschooling can co-exist. However it is not the norm. If you know people that are homeschooling please do not write them off . . .While some home educators are definitely closed to the idea of equality and freedom from subordination, you never know—God can get our attention in unexpected ways.
Things have evolved in our journey in this issue—for me I continue to learn and love all that I am finding out about biblical equality.
(thanks to A Dem Fine Woman [3] for the connection)
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