Homeschooling in West Virginia

West Virginians are very proud of their motto: Mountaineers are Always Free.  Very few ever discuss what it means.  Free from what?  One must only live in West Virginia for a short while to recognize we are NOT free from regulations, or taxation, or free of worries.  I believe the “free” referred to by the motto comes from the Appalachian history of leaving behind the hustle and bustle of cosmopolitan concerns and going out to the wilderness to start afresh.  But when it comes to Education, it has proven very difficult to escape the strictures put in place by bureaucrats, well-intentioned educational elites, or government officials with goals of control rather than learning.  These regulations necessarily are one size fits all, and reflect lack of trust in the students, educators or parents. 

Yet God gave the responsibility to raise and rear children to their parents, and although parents have the ability to choose many different ways to ensure their child’ education, it remains the parents’ responsibility to provide that education and skills the childs needs to be a successful  adult and citizen.  The very diversity of choices reflect the very diverse needs and abilities of the children and families and this is exactly why one size fits all does a disservice to families and children.  We are very blessed in West Virginia to have some choices like private schools, government run schools, microschools and homeschooling. 

Homeschooling remains the choice that is most unrestrictive and personalized because it literally allows a parent to choose exactly what they wish in terms of curriculum, style, module, and time.  There are as many different ways to homeschool as there are parents homeschooling, and overall the results of homeschooling are children who are confident, well-spoken, creative, excel in academics and extracurriculars.  Despite this, every year there are those who would like to see homeschoolers be more regulated or the choice be taken away altogether.  It is so important that every parent, whether they choose government run schools, private schools or other options fight and defend the right to homeschool as unregulated as possible.  Homeschooling is the escape valve for any student who is having difficulty with whatever learning option their parent has tried.  It is the option that allows the other options to be successful, because if children are forced into those options that does not suit them, it affects the entire school they are put in.  Not to mention that the child suffers. 

In future articles we will further explore the reasons for why ensuring and trusting families to have this important option is integral to the success to all school choices.  But remember that just like the Constitution relies on the precept that our rights come from God, and government is only there to protect these rights, the right to attend a private school, microschool, or any myriad of options relies on the precept that parents ultimately have the final determination of where there child receives their education and that homeschooling is the backbone of that precept.