Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Home School Athletics Institutionalized

Tha home school movement is becomeing more established.

Only a few years ago a parent choosing to home-school his or her children was invariably asked "How will they meet and interact with other children?" Often there was no good answer.

Then homeschool associations formed in most metropolitan regions. But they didn't meet the needs of many parents. Some evangelical Christian homeschool families, for example. didn't want their children associating with more liberal Christians, much less free thinkers or "godless hippies". And the feeling was mutual.

As the movement has grown, it has generated new solutions to the problem of access to social experiences.

The New York Times, in "Growing Cheers for the Home-Schooled Team"now reports on the growth of athletic leagues for himeschoolers. Some of the teams are very good; some players have attained star status and are being actively recruited by the top college sports programs.

One point to notice: the homeschool teams are now scheduling games against public schools.

A larger network of educational providers is thus being recognized, and both conventional schools and home-schools are emerging as nodes in this network.

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