This coming Thursday, the 2022 Virtual Homeschool Summit will kick off. Hosted by The Homeschool Graduate, the online summit has a fantastic line-up of speakers (including me!). I don't speak at many homeschool conferences, but I was happy to participate this time because of the diversity of speakers.
Rising Diversity in Homeschooling
Typically, most homeschool conferences are pretty one sided. They tend to be centered around white Christians. Diversity is rarely present, though there may be one or two people of color included. That's why I was so delighted to see the speaker list for this summit. There are some very different perspectives being presented.
Earlier this year, there was a huge outcry when one of the major homeschool conventions announced their keynote speaker. Nowhere close to being a homeschooler, the person - and conference - had become 100% politicized. "Homeschooling was NOT for everyone" was the clear message being sent.
But I think this change was a reaction to the pandemic, which suddenly thrust homeschooling into the front of everyone's mind. And I mean EVERYONE. While most families were suddenly involved in distance learning, a whole new set of people were suddenly exploring homeschooling as an option. And they continue to do so as another pandemic - school shootings - has spread.
Homeschooling is for Everyone
Many families are finding delight in the freedom that homeschooling provides. Especially as school boards stop trusting teachers to teach and clamp down on what is approved teaching material. (This approval is based on personal opinion, NOT on academic study and recommendation.)
A huge portion of these new homeschoolers come from very diverse backgrounds, heritages, and faiths. They are looking for curricula that reflect their own values and views. And if they can't find them, they create their own.
Don't get me wrong - there is a crowd of established homeschoolers who have been championing the battle cry, "Homeschooling is for everyone!" for a while now. And their message is gaining steam.
Note this is not to be confused with the phrase, "Homeschooling is right for everyone." It definitely isn't.
The 2022 Virtual Homeschool Summit
If you are interested in finding leaders in the homeschool world with whom you find you share similar outlooks, and whose knowledge you may benefit from, then consider signing up for the FREE 2022 Virtual Homeschool Summit. Then watch the sessions at your own leisure.
Note: I wasn't compensated for my participation. I agreed to be one of the speakers hoping to reach and encourage more Hispanic families, and was delighted to see the final speaker line up.
Don't wait. Register today!