What is your opinion on HS groups that require a statement of faith

[Miss Sherry]

I totally understand where you are coming from, and felt the exact same way...until last year. I helped to run a very active homeschool group here on base. The group was started as a Christian group and required a Statement of Faith. Shortly before I came on board to help run it, it was decided that we wanted to reach out to all the homeschoolers and the SOF was done away with.

 

It worked wonderfully for a few years...and then all heck broke loose! We went through a year of turmoil as the non-Christians tried to force us to change the fact that it is a Christian group. In that year we lost a lot of people because they did not want to have to deal with the drama. It was very ugly. It ended up splitting both the group and friendships.

 

I was very naive...I never thought that women who I considered friends would conduct themselves the way they did. I am still not crazy about a SOF for every member (I prefer more of a signed statement, acknowledging that they understand that it IS a Christian group, and that they will not try to interfere with that.)...but after our experience, I totally support a groups right to use whatever means they feel are necessary, to ensure the original vision for the group, stays intact.

Yes, I have heard that some all inclusive groups do tend to have a lot of friction and drama in them and there is not the peace and quiet of the SOF groups I have been to. I do like peaceful social environments. That's why I have liked some of the groups I have been to over the years and am not considering making a long drive to find an all inclusive secular group. But we have met plenty of various types of people outside of homeschooling so a label telling me because I like SOF groups I am narrow or do not include others is simply not going to stick or get any attention from me. It just is not true.

[Homemama2]

They have field trips, soccer, nature preserve visits. I don't know if they have coop stuff, but wouldn't a "respect your fellow members and their beliefs" be sufficient? I mean, couldn't they say something like "we're a Christian group but welcome all people"--wouldn't that cover the same bases?

 

I guess where I think the 'problem' comes in, is when the kids are in co-op classes. I'm a young earth creationist who believes there is only one way to God. I'm sure there are plenty of people on these boards who completely disagree with this....would those people want me to teach their child's science class at co-op? With my bias that would no doubt come through in my teaching? I doubt it. Even if they were my best friend IRL. I can see why the SOF might hurt people's feelings...but I think that is probably not the intention at all (in most cases ;)). It's more of letting people know what will and will not be taught at classes. At least that how I always felt/thought about it. But then I've never joined a co-op so maybe I'm wrong. ;)

[mommyrooch]

:iagree: Gets kinda old, doesn't it?

 

Here is my take on the whole SOF thing. Jesus=love. Period. How in the world am I supposed to show that love to others if I won't even let them talk to me? How am I showing that love, which btw Jesus emphasized (in my Bible at least, but I may be using the "wrong" Bible),if I am essentially telling others "Your beliefs, though they may be Christian, are not Christian enough for me." Jesus did not tell us "Go out into the world and carve out for yourselves an exclusive group if like-minded people and be legalistic. And make sure there are no Catholics or Orthodox families. Oh, just for good measure, make sure no one in your group believes in an old earth, because that is really why I came to die." I am pretty sure he said "Go into the world and teach the Gospel."

 

I absolutely could not have said this better myself if I had tried.

 

Amen! Amen! Amen!

[SonshineLearner]

CC (Classical Conversations) doesn't exclude people from joining, they just choose to hire tutors who can agree with a basic Christian creed. I know that there are families from a ton of different backgrounds that are part of CC.

 

:-)

[coffeefreak]

I couldn't answer the poll because I'll join one with or without a statement of faith, but I don't think it's necessary, and I don't prefer exclusive groups over inclusive groups or visa versa.

 

How's that for being confusing:D

 

Blessings!

Dorinda

[dangermom]

 

Yes, I have heard that some all inclusive groups do tend to have a lot of friction and drama in them and there is not the peace and quiet of the SOF groups I have been to.

I've heard of some serious drama in exclusive groups as well. I think drama probably happens sometimes no matter what you do--some folks just have to have it.

[Renee in NC]

CC (Classical Conversations) doesn't exclude people from joining, they just choose to hire tutors who can agree with a basic Christian creed. I know that there are families from a ton of different backgrounds that are part of CC.

 

:-)

 

Thanks for posting this. I was toying with the idea of CC for next year, but to afford it I would have had to tutor. However, this made me go read the Faith Statement on their website (which I hadn't noticed). As a Catholic, I cannot agree with the statement, so I can't be a tutor. Thanks for saving me from investing any more time in it.

 

:leaving:

[TKDmom]

Several groups that I've looked into in my area require you to sign a statement in which you agree that the Bible is the "only, infallible word of God". I just can't, in good conscience, sign that. I have no problem signing something agreeing that my child will uphold certain standards. But I don't see why my belief in the Bible should affect my child's ability to take an art class with other kids. I consider myself Christian, but I'm LDS, and they probably wouldn't consider me Christian, because I don't conform to their particular brand of Christianity. Over time, I've come to the conclusion that I probably don't want to associate with those people anyway. ;)

[MSNative]

I'm curious. Is it the religious aspect of the SoF or the compulsory nature of the SoF? When I joined an AP group, they were quite open and adamant about their AP version of a SOF. It was quite clear that if you didn't agree with AP philosophies, you probably wouldn't find what you were looking for there. Anyway, it seemed normal to me that parents who share a similar philosophy would want to get together and discuss parenting. Isn't it normal for any other group - homeschooling or not?

 

 

FWIW - I agree that there is value in meeting and sharing ideas with people who hold diff. views. I also see why I might want to make sure I know what slant is going to be taught to my kids in my co-op.

Edited March 5, 2010 by MSNative

[TracyR]

I am a Christian but no I would not sign a statement of faith. Like others I do not believe in excluding others. A homeschool co-op should be about learning and having fun. Not bringing up other people's faiths. I would think it would be boring not to have some diversity in the group.

[lionfamily1999]

I am a Christian but no I would not sign a statement of faith. Like others I do not believe in excluding others. A homeschool co-op should be about learning and having fun. Not bringing up other people's faiths. I would think it would be boring not to have some diversity in the group.

That's where, I think, the misunderstanding (?) or division (?) lay.

 

For people that center their life around their faith, there is no bringing it up, it's just there. For those people, they would want and need a place where they would not have to 'hide their light under a bushel' or pretend to be something their not. Why not have a place where you can be completely at ease, knowing that those around you and your children are much the same, or at the very least happy to pretend to be so?

 

That's not to say that people with different beliefs expect others to behave like themselves. However if you're someone for whom answers to all of life's questions are Biblical, then you could find it very uncomfortable to either have to keep your mouth shut, or else answer differently than how you normally would.

Edited March 5, 2010 by lionfamily1999
punctuation mistake

[funschooler5]

I'm kind of puzzled by the need for exclusive Christian homeschooling groups in the first place. In my experience, the vast majority of homeschoolers (in my area at least) are Christian. From reading this and other homeschooling boards, I'd say that's generally true across the U.S. It seems like (theoretically) you'd get plenty of social interaction with those of your same beliefs through church and gathering with other homeschoolers.

 

We are an atheist family. We don't go to church (obviously) and the only homeschooling organization in our area is a Christian one with a SOF. The SOF is not required in order to join, and we actually have joined, but we don't really participate in any activities because they are all based around religious themes. There is a casual online group that gets together for various sporadic park days and field trips, and we participate a few times a year, but it's not really often enough for my kids to create any close friendships. Everyone is very nice in the group, we just don't see everyone often enough. I admit, we do get lonely. My kids are usually involved a class or two at the public schools, but those also don't happen often enough for them to generate meaningful friendships.

 

I've mentioned to DH several times that I wish there was some type of atheist/agnostic "church", just a gathering place where we could meet like-minded people on a regular basis. It's lonely enough being homeschoolers, but being non-Christian homeschoolers can make you feel pretty isolated. In our area, at least.

[Pixie]

I guess where I think the 'problem' comes in, is when the kids are in co-op classes. I'm a young earth creationist who believes there is only one way to God. I'm sure there are plenty of people on these boards who completely disagree with this....would those people want me to teach their child's science class at co-op? With my bias that would no doubt come through in my teaching? I doubt it. Even if they were my best friend IRL. I can see why the SOF might hurt people's feelings...but I think that is probably not the intention at all (in most cases ;)). It's more of letting people know what will and will not be taught at classes. At least that how I always felt/thought about it. But then I've never joined a co-op so maybe I'm wrong. ;)

 

I would tend to understand more the SOF for a co-op but the funny thing is where we are located we can join the Christian co-op without signing a SOF whereas the homeschool group requires a SOF. We did join the co-op but can't join the other group even so lots of people are members of both organizations.

[Heidi]

I'm kind of puzzled by the need for exclusive Christian homeschooling groups in the first place. In my experience, the vast majority of homeschoolers (in my area at least) are Christian. From reading this and other homeschooling boards, I'd say that's generally true across the U.S. It seems like (theoretically) you'd get plenty of social interaction with those of your same beliefs through church and gathering with other homeschoolers.

 

We are an atheist family. We don't go to church (obviously) and the only homeschooling organization in our area is a Christian one with a SOF. The SOF is not required in order to join, and we actually have joined, but we don't really participate in any activities because they are all based around religious themes. There is a casual online group that gets together for various sporadic park days and field trips, and we participate a few times a year, but it's not really often enough for my kids to create any close friendships. Everyone is very nice in the group, we just don't see everyone often enough. I admit, we do get lonely. My kids are usually involved a class or two at the public schools, but those also don't happen often enough for them to generate meaningful friendships.

 

I've mentioned to DH several times that I wish there was some type of atheist/agnostic "church", just a gathering place where we could meet like-minded people on a regular basis. It's lonely enough being homeschoolers, but being non-Christian homeschoolers can make you feel pretty isolated. In our area, at least.

 

:iagree: We are Christian, but we believe that there is more scripture available than just the Bible (ie. The Book of Mormon), which is usually part of the statement of faith. It's like high school all over again :glare: I understand the desire to be with people that hold the same standards as you do. I wouldn't mind a statement of standards... It does get lonely :nopity: