A Homeschooler' a Homeschooler's History S

by Cheryl Seelhoff o my knowledge, no one now homeschooling has ever at A Homeschooler’s History T tempted to compile a history of the modern homeschooling movement which includes all the varied contri- butions of the intelligent, interesting and – especially — diverse people who have shaped the homeschooling movement in this country. a straight-line path from glory to glory. ferences which exist among parents What makes this such a difficult task It is, I’m afraid, a very human story, who have all chosen homeschooling as is the depth, richness and texture of full of struggles, misunderstandings, the best option for their families. the fabric of the homeschooling com- and blunders, replete with human Reading through this history, I real- munity itself, woven and interwoven foibles and weaknesses. Nevertheless, ized how much I didn’t know and how as it is with the dreams and cherished reading through, I have felt so grate- much I would have benefited, way hopes of people who are as different fully proud, of all of us. I have experi- back when I began homeschooling, one from another as night is different enced feelings of warmth and tender- had I been more aware of history. from day, yet who are bound – some- ness towards some of my partners in times unwillngly! — together by their homeschooling history for whom I be- Religion and Education common love and concern for children lieved I would never again have those and their desire to do what is right by feelings. I’ve been overwhelmed and To a large extent, the Christian church them. Those who have homeschooled inspired and sometimes thrilled as I’ve created the foundation of what we for many years have fought together come across the wise and prophetic know as the Western system of edu- to secure and to preserve that right, words of homeschooling pioneers who cation. In order to maintain unity in have loved, protected, and nurtured certainly could not have known the the face of disagreements among one another through difficulties and significance of their words when they church members, and to defend itself challenges, and have, from time to were uttering them. Most of all I have against external threats in the form of time, as human beings will, also hurt been deeply touched as I’ve mulled different religions and philosophies, and betrayed and abandoned one over this very, very human history. Christianity developed what it called another. The sad chapters of our com- Above all it is the history of how much “apologetics,” or an intellectual defense mon history have left their mark— people will give for a dream that they of the faith, along with creeds and holes, gaps, snags and tears in the cherish. It’s impossible not to be in- dogmas which it passed along, via fabric of our community which will spired, thinking about it. education, to the next generations. only be mended in the afterglow of the healing and reconciliation which must So here are the tentative results of my To this end, schools for clergy and eventually come to people who have faltering efforts, for what they are administrative and government offi- worked so hard together to achieve worth. Where I have erred, please cor- cials were established by the Roman common goals. rect me. Where I am missing infor- Catholic Church in Medieval Europe, mation, please, supply it! Where I’ve then later by the Reformers and I have homeschooled my children got it all wrong, let me know. I’ve done Counter-Reformers, because church since 1983. In the years since then, my best. and state were not separate in Europe it has been my privilege, as a until the 1800s. In fact, church offi- homeschooler, editor, and conference One thing I believe it is very fair to say cials were state officials, and church speaker, to work alongside and to is that homeschoolers are not the kind schools were also state schools. know many hundreds of of people to appreciate revisionist his- homeschoolers from every conceivable tory! So please, do help me. I think Three Reformations background and perspective and from it’s time we applied ourselves to mak- all over the country and in foreign ing a record of our common history, Although in the United States, when countries, too. I have kept hundreds in the interest of creating an even bet- we use the word, “Reformation,” we of documents over these years – let- ter future. commonly mean the Protestant Ref- ters, newsletters, brochures, an- Love, ormation led by Luther, Calvin, and nouncements, magazines. Using Cheryl other reformers, in fact there were re- these records, I have done my best to ally three reformations, as follows: begin to weave together our common community cloth. I freely acknowledge n order to understand the its gaps and holes and my poor weav- homeschooling movement in this (1) The Protestant, or Magisterial, ing job – I’ve always had a problem I country, it is necessary to under- Reformation associated with three getting the tension right! — and I hope stand the role religion has played in great teachers or “magisterium”: people will write to me and will help the shaping of Western culture and Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Ger- me to fill in what is missing. civilization and especially in the shap- many, Ulrich Zwingli (1485-1531) ing of United States history. Apart in Switzerland, and John Calvin This is not a smooth, exultant or vic- from an understanding of this context (1509-1564) in Geneva. While torious timeline I am presenting here, it is difficult to make sense of the dif- these men differed in some ways, Page 32 © Gentle Spirit Magazine -- Volume 6 Number 9 in 1558. The Roman Catholic Counter-Reformers then assumed leadership of the older European uni- of Homeschooling -Part 1 versities which were still Roman Catholic, or they founded new universities in Europe and overseas. Early American Education they agreed on infant baptism and known as Unitarians or “liberal” Prot- that the church and state em- estants. This tradition continued in the colo- braced everyone. nial period in the United States with The conflicts between these men – colonists establishing church schools (2) The Roman Catholic, or Counter- Servetus, Calvin and Luther, and Ro- for their children or teaching their own Reformation, which attempted to man Catholics — which were the re- children at home. correct many weaknesses high- sult of the doctrinal differences be- lighted by Protestants and to re- tween them, the differences in how Colonies organized around shared de- gain territories lost to Protestant they read and understood the Bible, nominational beliefs eventually rulers; and what the Bible meant to them, what founded their own colleges to educate they understood to be God’s charac- both clergy and laymen, including (3) The Radical Reformation, which, ter, have been a force which has Harvard University, founded in 1636, in sharp contrast to the Magiste- shaped Western and American history and Yale University, founded in 1701. rial Reformation, desired a radi- since the Reformation and which has cal separation of church and state shaped and continues to shape the Through the late 1700s and early instead of incremental reform. homeschooling movement. In the 1800s, children continued to be either These were the Anabaptists, the homeschooling movement we have taught at home by their parents or they Brethren, the Waldensians, the had, in fact – and we still have — our were taught in church schools. Quakers, and some other groups. Luthers, our Calvins, our Servetuses Wealthy children throughout the colo- Most of the radical reformers em- and our Roman Catholics. We have a nies were sent to tuition schools for phasized “believer’s baptism” and full complement of all of the differences college preparatory courses, trade or did not believe in the baptism of and frailties which stumped these commercial schools existed which also infants. men, frustrated them, and caused required tuition, and finally, for the them to mistreat one another (usually poor, there were tax-funded “charity” Calvin and Luther both emphasized in the name of God!). One important schools which taught the rudiments salvation by grace through faith, but thing we have that they did not have of English, mathematics and moral Calvin included in his teachings an is the perspective of history, an ability education. There were no public emphasis on man’s utter depravity or to learn, understand, and evaluate the schools and there was no compulsory innate wickedness and inability to conflicts which tore them apart by education or mandatory attendance of even desire salvation, God’s sover- looking back, studying, reflecting, at- any kind until much later. eignty over the affairs of men, and the tempting to understand how and why doctrine of election, the notion that they acted as they did. The Unitarians some are predestined by God to salvation and heaven while others are Higher Education Unitarianism was first formally intro- doomed to be lost and to go to hell. duced into North America by way of From amongst the third group of radi- Over time, universities, representing Joseph Priestley, a leader in England cal reformers, men arose who ques- a “unity” of education, formed in me- of the group that came to be called Uni- tioned many traditional church teach- dieval Europe. Schools for monks and tarians. He was driven from England ings, including the doctrine of the clergy gained independence by forg- in 1794 by continuing threats to his Trinity (God as three co-equal per- ing agreements with church and state, life, and eventually he settled in sons).

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