An Overview of Homeschooling for the Christian Retailer
Long before public or private school education was an option in the United States (or any country for that matter), parents taught their children at home. They used what tools they had at hand – the family Bible, stories or legends passed down through the generations, a book borrowed from a distant neighbor, math problems scratched in the dirt or on ledgers, etc. Sons learned their father’s trade and daughters learned to cook and take care of the home from their mothers. Sometimes a child wanted to do something different and wise parents encouraged their children to pursue their dreams - music, art, writing, medicine, or something outside the realm of the parents’ knowledge, but the parents were the ones who made it possible by instilling a love of learning during the child’s early years.
In the mid-1800s, cities and states began passing compulsory attendance laws and public education was created in the United States. While this definitely had it’s positive aspects, one of the downsides in regards to public education is that parents began sending their children to school and somewhere along the way they forgot that parents were intended to be children’s primary teachers. Society also forgot this and so one hundred years later when some parents wanted to teach their children at home, suddenly it was a huge issue whether or not this should be allowed to happen. People forgot that public school education was really what was “new†and parents have been teaching their children for centuries. (Yes, even ancient societies like Greece had tutors and even “schools,†but they were nothing like the institutionalized schools we see today.)
Eventually, after about several years of fighting in the courts for parental rights to teach their children at home, parents in all fifty states won this right, but there are varying degrees of regulation and oversight. Some of you live in states that require extensive paperwork and some of you live in states where there is none. There is a huge range of homeschool laws in the United States. Regardless of what you think about these laws (whether they should be more or less restrictive), when it comes to serving your customers, the best thing you can do is be aware of the laws and be supportive of the freedom to homeschool.
Once more parents began teaching their children at home and in the late 80s and 90s, the population of homeschool families began to grow. By the beginning of this millennium, there were over 1 million homeschooled children in the United States and today estimates bring that number closer to 3 million.
Why is the population of homeschoolers growing so rapidly and how could this affect you?
First off, I talk with hundreds of homeschoolers each month and I hear every reason under the sun that people make the decision to homeschool. I hear everything from, “I don’t want my child to ride the bus†and “They don’t serve lunch early enough†to “I don’t want my child exposed to the secular worldview present in schools today†and “There is too much religion in schools today.†Honestly, I hear people from all points on the spectrum who have decided to homeschool for any and every reason you can imagine. While I may not agree with all the reasons, my job is to provide support and encouragement to those families, give them my honest opinion if there is a problem, and help them find the resources they need to succeed if they are committed to the task.
I would say that as a retailer, your role is much the same as mine. Try to be knowledgeable of the resources homeschoolers will need and you will know in which direction to point them if they need help. Keep the products and supplies that homeschoolers need to be successful in their educational endeavors. Be honest with families. If you are a Christian retailer, let them know that you not sell products that contradict your faith (if that is the case). Recently I spoke with a mom who is an atheist. She wanted to join my homeschool group and while the leadership is Christian, anyone is welcome to join. I told her very bluntly that she and the children were more than welcome to attend, but that we taught with a Biblical worldview. She said this was fine since she would be interested in learning more about our faith anyway. Sometimes Christ can use you in ways you would never imagine if you are forthright with people when the opportunity arises.
Thirty years ago, many families made the decision to teach their children at home because they were distressed with the growing trend toward secular humanism in public schools. The majority of these families were evangelical Christians. Today, I would estimate that only about 50-60% of new homeschool families are in this group. The remaining 40-50% of new homeschoolers are part of the growing number of people in our society who participate in New Age religions or who have a preference for no religious teaching at all.
This means that while the homeschool market continues to grow, many of the families who are choosing to teach their children at home would not purchase their materials at a Christian retail store for fear of the “religious†perspective. Now I think it’s just as important, if not more so, to minister to these families as it is to minister to Christian homeschool families. If you host a homeschool seminar, as suggested in my other article, and you are already aware of the fact that you have a high concentration of non-Christians where your store is located, then you might want to consider hosting the seminar at a local community center or other location where you can take a few sample materials and business cards for your store, but where non-Christians won’t feel intimidated by the store itself. If you can get them interested in some of the products you carry and you introduce prospective homeschoolers to your store in another environment, you might be able to win a customer and at the same time get a foot in the door for future ministry with that person.
There are also some homeschool products that have a non-biased perspective. When you are dealing with families who prefer not to teach from a Biblical worldview, you do not have to reduce your own standards by selling products contrary to what you believe, but there are many products on the market that are simply non-biased either way. If your store is located in an area where there may be many non-Christian homeschoolers, make sure you maintain some stock of these materials and hopefully they will also pick up some Biblically-based material from time to time as well.
As I’ve stated many times, homeschoolers come in all shapes and sizes. You will find homeschool families with every imaginable economic background, ethnicity, educational background, etc. They may have one child or twelve. Some families re-create the school classroom at home and others allow the children to be in charge of their own education. Many homeschool families are Bible-believing Christians and others are offended at the suggestion of God.
Hopefully this very abbreviated history of homeschooling will give you a little more perspective that you may have been lacking. Homeschool families are different in so many ways, but there is one similarity I’ve found among all the homeschool families I’ve met. They have a sincere desire to help their children become the best people they can be. I am sure you share similar goals with these families so help them see this the next time they visit your store!
Sonya Haskins is an author, homeschool mom, and homeschool advocate. She lives with her husband and five children in Northeast Tennessee, where she joyfully teaches her young ones at home. You are welcome to contact her via e-mail at sonya@sonyahaskins.com .