Race and Homeschooling Culture

[rose]

Have we ever had this conversation before? I'm wondering if it's just me or if the homeschooling culture seem rather weighted towards white people to you too. Do you know any non-white homeschoolers? I wish I did. I suppose I can think of a couple of Asian families. Do you think that I'm imagining a disparity? Have you noticed this as well? If so, why do you think that this is the case?

 

I hope that this thread in no way sounds disrespectful. I'm genuinely curious about whether white people are over represented, why that might be and what you see in your area of the world. For what it's worth I'm thinking of the homeschoolers that I know in northern BC. The only major minority (in my particular town, they're the majority) group up here is first nations and I've never met a first nations homeschooler.

[maize]

Socioeconomics probably play some role as homeschooling generally requires one parent to stay home.

 

 

[MiMi 4under3]

Here in NY I see every demographic in homeschooling. I have come across every race, religion, family structure, and socioeconomic level. But yes, the majority is white.

[Janeway]

No one is represented. Homeschooling is a freedom people can choose to do. What do you suggest we do to make sure everyone is equally represented? Order certain racial populations to homeschool against their will or refuse to allow a portion of white people to homeschool in order to equal out the percentages?

 

Also, I know more black homeschoolers than Asian. And I live in an area that is over 40% Asian.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Janeway

[regentrude]

Our county is 93% white. So the fact that all the homeschoolers I know are white is not particularly surprising.

 

ETA: Come to think of,  I do know one family where one parent is half native American. And just thought of another one where one parent is Philippina.

Edited October 17, 2016 by regentrude

[sassenach]

I think you're right, but there's a lot of culture and class issues wrapped up in that, too.

 

In our HS group of about 40 families we have 7 mixed race families (white/Indian(2), Mexican(2) Filipino(2), Thai), and the rest are completely Caucasian.

[regentrude]

No one is represented. Homeschooling is a freedom people can choose to do. What do you suggest we do to make sure everyone is equally represented? Order certain racial populations to homeschool against their will or refuse to allow a portion of white people to homeschool in order to equal out the percentages?

 

I don't understand the need for this aggressive tone. It is a valid question to ask. The fact that something is a choice does not change anything.

Just like it often crossed my mind why it is that in rock climbing and back packing certain demographics are underrepresented.

[freesia]

Where I am (suburban NY) there is a diverse group.  We have black, white, latino, biracial, Pakistani, and folks with asian roots.  Probably the under-represented group vs the demographics where I live is immigrants from Central America.  That makes sense to me for economic, educational and language reasons (immigrants tend to use the school system to aid in assimilation and both parents are often working).

[regentrude]

Socioeconomics probably play some role as homeschooling generally requires one parent to stay home.

 

Not necessarily - there are many homeschoolers who work. Actually almost every mother in my local homeschool group has some kind of job.

Edited October 16, 2016 by regentrude

[bolt.]

Homeschooling is an option that is (mostly) limited to people who are (at minimum) securely homed, reasonably fed, and have their other basic needs met through employment of some kind that is compatible with supervising (or trusting) children during daytime hours. It is also usually undertaken by people with confidence and a reasonable education, or people with convictions and resources they trust.

 

While occasionally there are poor families or single parents who salt our ranks (they make it work!) most of us homeschool not only because we want to, but also because we can: because the sacrifices it requires are plausible for us. So, most of us are at least somewhat privileged. Privilege tracks (statistically) with whiteness in the western world.

 

In addition, various forms of racism might produce variances in the risks that we all face (cps, educational neglect, custody issues). The risks may be reduced for white people. The same risks might be more present for people of colour and/or minorities.

[AimeeM]

I live in an area that seems pretty diverse, racially, and definitely is diverse regarding socio-economics. 

I know homeschoolers that appear to be living on very little income; I know others that are very financially "stable." I will say that socioeconomics seem to have little to do with homeschooling here - like I said, I know people homeschooling with a variety of incomes.

 

All of the homeschoolers I know, though, are white. I have a few theories as to why, but I'm afraid they would offend someone and I've no desire to do that. 

Edited October 17, 2016 by AimeeM

[Lang Syne Boardie]

No one is represented. Homeschooling is a freedom people can choose to do. What do you suggest we do to make sure everyone is equally represented? Order certain racial populations to homeschool against their will or refuse to allow a portion of white people to homeschool in order to equal out the percentages?

 

Also, I know more black homeschoolers than Asian.

 

This is not what "represented" means.

 

Not 'represented' as in, 'testified,' or 'took the place of.'

 

"Represented" as in "When somebody looked at all the people doing XYZ (or belong to PDQ, or subscribing to ABC), and started counting noses as to how many from various demographics were doing/belonging/subscribing, they saw this group and this group and that group, but very little of THAT group."

[SparklyUnicorn]

I just looked up my town.  It says 97% of the population are 1 race, and that 48% are white, and 44% are black. 3.8% Hispanic (of any race), and 2.8% Asian.  

 

I am very tired, but I'm confused by this breakdown. 

 

edited...ok I think I get it...do you mean 97 of people are of one race and not of mixed race?

 

 

Edited October 17, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[Janeway]

I don't understand the need for this aggressive tone. It is a valid question to ask. The fact that something is a choice does not change anything.

Just like it often crossed my mind why it is that in rock climbing and back packing certain demographics are underrepresented.

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not. It just is what it is. No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I live in a very diverse area, but there isn't much diversity among the homeschoolers I have met.  In 10 years I have met one AA homeschooler.  One Asian.  The rest were white.

 

 

[Amy in NH]

We live in a part of NH where there is almost no cultural diversity.

[goldberry]

I just heard curiosity, not an accusation of racism.

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not. It just is what it is. No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

 

As far as I can tell it's all just a matter of fact, "Hey, have you met any homeschoolers who were not white?"  And not, "Hey, have we discriminated against non-whites by homeschooling?"

 

You might be reading too much into the question.

[ChocolateReignRemix]

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not. It just is what it is. No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

 

Um...have you never looked at the demographics of different groups to learn how behaviors and practices vary?

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Correct.  97% of people are NOT of mixed race.

 

Basically my town is nearly 50/50 white/black, very little mixed or other races.  Still, I only know white homeschoolers.

 

I live in a similar city and it is the same.  I only met 2 non-white homeschoolers.  There could be more.  For one thing I have only been in secular groups so right there that might make my experiences limited.  The largest local group is a LEAH group.  I haven't met anyone from there that I know of.

Edited October 17, 2016 by SparklyUnicorn

[goldberry]

The homeschooling community here is almost 100% white, but so is the general area.  My area is not very diverse at all.

 

I previously lived in Texas, much more diverse, but I did not homeschool there.

[Guest]

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Edited September 9, 2020 by Æthelthryth the Texan

[Rachel]

I know of two African-American families, and one Hispanic family in my area that homeschool. It's a small sample but it is in line with the overall demographics of my town. I know there are a lot of Hispanic families who send their kids to the private Catholic schools too which isn't cheap at all.

 

Homeschooling does not seem to be only for "rich" white people in my area, many of the families I have met at a PE class we attend are blue-color families. Now the families in CC do seem to be better off financially, but I don't know for sure that is the case.

[Caroline]

Our homeschool group is majority white, but we have a growing percentage of black members, particularly the children in the younger grades. We have no hispanic students to my knowledge, which is odd considering that we have a very prevalent Hispanic population here. I tried looking up county demographics as a comparison on census.gov which made no sense what so ever. It says we are 80% white, 25% hispanic, 14% black, 2% two or more races, and 3.5% asian in our county, which leaves me wondering a lot of things...... :huh:

 

I have read in multiple places that African Americans are the fastest growing group of homeschoolers in the US, but seeing as how vague homeschooling stats are I'm not sure if that's accurate or not.

It's because Hispanic is not a race. It's generally a separate question. So you can be white and Hispanic or black and Hispanic, etc.

[MyLittleBears]

Part of the reason there is a small minority of hispanics is probably the language barrier (thinking of immigrants mostly). Most want their children to go to school and learn english, assimilate to the culture, and some don't speak english themselves (at least not in a way makes them feel qualified to teach it).

Edited October 17, 2016 by MyLittleBears

[OneStepAtATime]

Mix of Hispanic, Asian, Middle Eastern, and white here locally. Homeschooling community is tiny here. Some are lower middle class, some are near the poverty line, some are upper middle class and some are wealthy.

[Guest]

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Edited September 9, 2020 by Æthelthryth the Texan

[Ottakee]

In our area while homeschooling there aZ one Hispanic family and a few with adopted black or Asian children (with white adoptive parents) and us.....dh is Native and I am part.

 

Given the racial make up of our area, minorities are very few in the homeschooling world compared to their % of the local population.

[regentrude]

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not. It just is what it is. No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

 

Huh??? Nobody makes anything sound like a racism issue.

 

If in any given activity the percentages of people of certain demographics participating does not coincide with their percentage of the total population, it is an interesting question to ask why that is.

It is not a sexism issue to state that women are overrepresented or underrepresented in certain professions, just as it is not a racism issue to note that certain races or ethnicities are overrepresented or underrepresented in certain activities. It is an observation. Yes, it is what it is - and it is worth thinking about why that might be so.

Just like it would be interesting to ask why kids of Asian heritage are overrepresented in spelling bee winners.

Nobody said anything about racism.

Edited October 17, 2016 by regentrude

[SemiSweet]

I have noticed it as well. We haven't gotten super involved with a homeschool community here but the few events we've gone to have been majority white, there was one black family at a recent event. Even when we lived in Hawaii whites were more represented than Hawaiians it seemed.

[Tanaqui]

No one is represented. Homeschooling is a freedom people can choose to do. What do you suggest we do to make sure everyone is equally represented? Order certain racial populations to homeschool against their will or refuse to allow a portion of white people to homeschool in order to equal out the percentages?

 

Or - and maybe this is crazy talk - we could see about expanding awareness in certain communities. Many people don't homeschool for the simple reason that they don't even see it as an option. (And they might be right, but they might not.)

 

Outreach is also important. If you're considering homeschooling, one of the things you'll probably do is try to find other homeschoolers. Many of us can attest to how awkward it feels when all the local homeschoolers are unschoolers and we're not, or when they're all super religious and we're not, or when they all have average kids and we don't.

 

Race is kinda like that. If all the local homeschoolers are white, and you're black, and all your neighbors and relatives tell you that homeschooling is stupid, you're going to feel isolated, like maybe homeschooling isn't for you.

 

You talk about making choices, but people don't make choices in a vacuum.

 

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not.

 

Nobody is trying to make it sound like an issue of racial bigotry except you. I don't know why you felt the need to reply like this, but what you're doing is making a fight where there wasn't one.

 

No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

 

First of all, that's not what representation means in this context. It just means "the percentage of non-whites is lower than what I'd expect given the racial demographics of my area". It doesn't mean "people are representing a race". However, since you said it, the sad truth of our society is that minorities are always representing their group.

 

When a white person commits a crime, that's an individual crime. When a black person does it it's all "that's the problem with the inner city" or "it's not their race, it's their culture" or "well, blacks are thugs", depending on how deep a veneer of civility the speaker wishes to project. If it's an Arab Muslim who commits a crime, "they're all terrorists".

 

And this trickles down to children as well. White kids can act up or behave well, they can do well in school or poorly, and at most it reflects badly on their parents. This isn't always the case for other children, and that sort of reality can make people very reluctant to draw more criticism by acting different from the norm. (This can go both ways, btw. If you homeschool and your kids do well, and then the bigots use you as an example of how most parents of your ethnicity aren't good, caring parents like you, they're still being jerks even if they're not explicitly insulting you.)

[Tanaqui]

Oh, and yes, homeschooling in the US is disproportionately white, enough so that there are news articles occasionally about non-white homeschoolers and whether or not this is on the rise or if their reasons are different from the main group of homeschoolers or whatever. So, yay, if you're a non-white homeschooler you get to be "The Face of Black/Hispanic/Asian/Arab Homeschooling"! That's gotta be fun for all of 10 minutes.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Tanaqui

[mamakelly]

I'm in a very small group of homeschoolers that is very diverse. We have AA, Hispanic, Asian and white homeschoolers. We are an eclectic mix and I love it.

[Guest]

In my homeschooling community, whites are overrepresented compared to the racial diversity reflected in the area.* There are a couple of black families and one or two Asian families. Any others are from mixed race families or are adopted. I believe socioeconomic factors are at play.

 

*when I say "my area," though this is confusing. I live a couple miles from the county line. The county I live in has very little diversity, however my directly neighboring county is much more diverse. There are more extensive urban areas in the neighboring counties.

[maize]

A variety of life choices show clustering by race or ethnicity. One I have noticed in more than one location is disproportionate representation of Asians among string players, especially at the higher performance levels in youth playing. I knew one young woman who was the only non Asian in her university orchestra.

 

There are cultural groupings associated with race; all of us take cues in life from others we perceive as being like us, from groups we belong to. It seems that homeschooling in the US started among predominantly white cultural groups and has continued to expand primarily within similar demographic groups.

Edited October 17, 2016 by maize

[Rosie_0801]

Everybody in the rural group I'm part of are all white, but if there were non-white homeschoolers in our region, they wouldn't be attending our group because they live in the next city over.

 

I also attend a homeschooling group in the northern suburbs of the capital city. I know there's a large group of Muslim homeschoolers there, but for the most part, they do their own thing. There are two Muslim families (one Middle Eastern, one SE Asian) in our group though, and other non-Anglo but still white people. It's quite a multicultural area. I don't know any Indigenous homeschoolers, but I know they are out there because I've read their blogs.

[athomeontheprairie]

Our county is 93% white. So the fact that all the homeschoolers I know are white is not particularly surprising.

 

ETA: Come to think of, I do know one family where one parent is half native American.

Op, my numbers are (quite literally) 99.3%* white and .7% African American. The AA residents are children adopted by birth.

Consequently, every hs'ing family here is white.

 

*i live rural. The next town over is slightly larger. But even there white is a solid 95% of the population. There is no racial diversity.

[gardenmom5]

I'm sure it would vary according to location.  it will also vary according to percentage of the population.  I've met middle eastern muslim homeshoolers who are local here.  I was most active in a very small subgroup (that did include a saudi woman who converted to Christianity).  a few families had adopted multiracial children.  I never saw any difference in how they were treated by the group.

 

[momacacia]

I'm in the US Midwest. My homeschool community is predominately white, but it includes 2-3 black families (not sure of one family's school status right now), 2 black-white interracial-headed families and 2 Asian interracial-headed families. These are families that have been in co-ops with my kids...most of whom I'd know.well enough to call up with questions or say hello, etc.

 

And, in dd2's strings studio, we are.vastly outnumbered by Asians, both "typical" Asian decent and East Indian descent (being part of "greater Asia").

[TravelingChris]

I have homeschooled in many different states and in two countries.  I have met non white homeschoolers in all the areas.  In one area, I didn't meet any black homeschoolers but that was probably because blacks were a tiny minority in that state.  There were NA, hispanic and Asian homeschoolers there.  In all the other areas, I did meet black or half black homeschoolers.  We have met homeschoolers from different countries too here in the US. 

[mamiof5]

because you make it sound like it is a racism issue. It is not. It just is what it is. No one is representing a race. We all represent an idea in education. That's it.

Never, ever would have thought she made it sound like that. I just read it as an honest, true, out of curiosity. We can talk about groups of people and ethnical distributions on certain situations without jumping quickly at the racism argument.

[mamiof5]

We live in a mostly white area (I think? Haven't googled the demographics around here, just going off what I see), so in our homeschooling group the vast majority are white. Out of over 40 families there's probably 3 of Hispanic origin. No Asians, no African-American.

[maize]

When we lived on a military base our homeschool group was quite diverse, fairly representative of the overall community in base.

[shawthorne44]

When we started homeschooling, I was surprised at how white the homeschooling community was.   The first homeschooler I met was a homeschooling mother while I was in high school was black.  So, her and her family WAS the homeschooling community to me for a long time.  

[Sneezyone]

A lot of black homeschooling families participate in online groups. We do exist and in growing numbers. My cousin and his wife homeschool four kids, 12 yrs now) and I have my two (5 years off/on). I have never joined a co-op or other live group but they have in FL and NY. They are evangelical conservatives tho so these groups are more likely to be a good cultural fit. We are mainline protestants.

 

Part of the reason we homeschool is to protect our kids from negative bias and stereotypes w/in schools and joining a group filled with political conservatives would make it more likely than not that we'd encounter those views. So, I tend to stick with mocha mom groups and individual activities with other homeschool families.

Edited October 17, 2016 by Sneezyone

[Crimson Wife]

The HSers here are more diverse racially/ethnically than the private schoolers but less diverse than the public schoolers. It makes sense from an economic perspective because private schools here are extremely expensive ($25k+ per year per child for elementary and $35k+ per year per child for high school) and so private school parents tend to be much wealthier on average than HSers. But the PS has a very large % of low income students. Statewide it's 58% and in my county it's 40%. I know some low-income HSers but it's nowhere remotely close to 2 in 5.

[Amira]

Most of the homeschoolers I've known overseas have been associated with the State Department. They are a more diverse group of homeschoolers and representative of the US diplomatic community, but that's because it's much more equally possible for families to choose to homeschool because of limited employment opportunities for the non-State spouse and because there's a crazy huge homeschooling budget available. There's also the problem of non-white children being more likely to be discriminated against or ostracized in international schools than white children so some families homeschool for that reason too.

 

When we've lived in the US, nearly all homeschoolers we've met have been white, including in more diverse cities.

 

In the countries besides the US that I've lived in, I've never met in person a non-expat homeschooler, whether it was legal to homeschool or not. Most women worldwide do not have the resources, time, and education to homeschool.

 

Like Sadie and others, I consider this lack of diversity to be a major drawback of homechooling, but I think it's incredibly difficult to fix because it really comes down to privilege.

[KungFuPanda]

I think the op asked an interesting question. I live in a diverse area, and the homeschooling population is diverse, but white homeschoolers are STATISTICALLY over-represented even if you adjust for income. I don't know why that is, but I'll bet the answer is interesting. There has been an increase in homeschooling diversity in recent years. I'm guessing there's a cultural reason, but I haven't looked into what that might be.

[HS Mom in NC]

My county has about 9,000 homeschooled kids with affidavits on file. (At least that was the count as of the last homeschool convention I attended 5 years ago.)

 

We have quite a range here, but yes, the majority is white.  We have both mixed race families and minority families (mostly Hispanic and Asian) but not many African Americans.  Asians make up about 10% of the population here. I wouldn't say Hispanic homeschoolers are homeschooling in equal proportion to their population, but they are plenty of them around. To be fair, African Americans make up about 3% of the population here. I've only met 1 Native American homeschooler but I don't go onto tribal land so I have no idea how many homeschoolers there are there.  There is a Jewish homeschooling group here in the greater PHX area but not near me.  I heard there was a Muslim group too but I have no idea how many people are in it. 

[idnib]

Our homeschooling group is far less diverse than our region. (I'm not white, but most of our group is.) We've had discussions about it, and whether the group gives off a vibe that's not inclusive, or if it's part of a larger picture that's beyond our little circle.

 

The first black family in the group left after claiming racism, but the problem genuinely was an out of control child who was violent and radically unschooled, with a mom who refused to discipline him whatsoever, but was also unwilling to allow him to experience the "natural consequence" of being punched in the face in return. :001_rolleyes:  The person who finally stood up to the mother had to overcome the fear of rocking the boat, only to be screamed at for her white privilege, although she's less privileged in some ways than the mother of the violent child. That situation was difficult for everyone.  :(