- ISBN13: 9780807032916
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Product Description
Homeschooling is a large and growing phenomenon in American society—between 1999 and 2007 it grew at twelve times the rate of public school enrollments, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Current estimates suggest that about two million kids are homeschooled, but information about this booming population is terribly incomplete. Nearly a fourth of states don’t even require parents to notify authorities if they homeschool their children, mu… More >>
Write These Laws on Your Children: Inside the World of Conservative Christian Homeschooling
I picked this book up at the library and read it in a couple of days. The author clearly spent a long time observing and thinking about the daily lives of conservative Christian homeschoolers, and as a conservative Christian considering homeschooling myself, I enjoyed getting a detailed peek into this world. It was a quick read, and well-written for the most part. But I rate it only 2-stars because the author’s personal agenda was quite distracting. He appears to form his opinions on his research subjects based on their openness to his views on democracy and relativism, and then portray the families through either a positive or negative lens. His respect or disrespect for each family is clear, as well as his desire to “convert” them to his ideas about good education and citizenship. All this said, I do appreciate his final conclusion that homeschool regulations are only warranted under certain reasonable conditions and that his ideal society cannot force pre-defined virtues on its citizens. I also appreciate the transparency and hospitality of the homeschooling parents as they allowed an outsider, one decidedly opposed to their fundamental beliefs about God and absolute Truth, to analyze their lives and the choices they are making for their families. An interesting read, but not one I will be recommending broadly.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is an very well-written book – I agree with the other reviewers comments on the author’s approach to the topic. But, as a conservative Christian homeschooler, I just don’t really get the point of this book. Looking at 6 homeschooling families (out of the many thousands that are out there) and a few homeschooling organizations and conferences and then drawing conclusions about the conservative Christian homeschooling movement seems a little bit of a stretch to me. But, even that isn’t what has me wondering.
I’m not sure who the intended audience is for this book. If I were to go into several public schools and observe several classrooms, talk to several teachers, and then draw conclusions and make recommendations for change, who would care? Just as the public school system has no reason to listen to me, I question what gives the author the authority to make recommendations on regulations in homeschooling.
If you really want a look inside the homeschooling world, you might want to read this book: Homeschooling: A Patchwork of Days: Share a Day With 30 Homeschooling Families
Rating: 3 / 5
I am an East Coaster raised in a big city and in a home and a community that was not particularly religious. I attended public schools and I never knew anybody that was home schooled. I am now a teacher who travels frequently and I find it fascinating to hear parents and youth talk about schools, learning, and the role of education in our lives. Everybody has an opinion–usually a strident perspective– about schooling and learning. The most provocative and challenging views I’ve heard have been articulated by parents who have opted to home school their children. I often find myself inspired, provoked, confused, and awed by the commitment these parents have to their children. This stew of competing responses has always left me feeling, “I want to understand this world better.”
Kunzman’s book took me into this world in a way that challenged me to understand the phenomenon of home schooling and its relationship to Conservative Christianity. He moves between providing incisive commentary on the home schooled movement and narrative that brings us to the kitchen table classrooms of these families. After speaking to several of the home schooled families that I met, I always aspired to see these families in action. Kunzman’s text carries us into the daily activities of these families. He’s a graceful writer, a keen observer, and clearly somebody who has a nuanced understanding of this world.
I’m grateful to have read this as it’s an insider’s view of a world that I could probably never penetrate and understand given who I am and the world in which I live. Reading books like this is why I read. I only hope I get to see/hear Kunzman be interviewed about his experiences in researching this book.
Rating: 5 / 5
As an evangelical Christian I wondered what Write These Laws would say about the people I identify with. I don’t home school myself, but I go to church with many who do. I must admit I’m impressed. Dr. Kunzman is not only even handed, he is empathetic. While this book is thoroughly researched, his work is not about cold, hard analysis. There’s a warmth to his insights that makes me like people I otherwise wouldn’t and makes me cringe more deeply than I thought I would at the flaws that I myself see in my Christian community.
If there were more writers, researchers, and policy makers like Dr. Kunzman I am convinced we’d have a better educational system overall – because we’d actually be able to talk about both the good and the bad in each other’s views in ways that promote understanding.
Rating: 5 / 5
I found this book engaging and provocative. Kunzman does a terrific job of taking some sophisticated philosophical questions about the relationship of homeschooling to our societal aims for education and making them concrete and accessible for the reader. In large part, he does this through well-written and engrossing accounts of the lives of very diverse homeschool families across the country. The book gave me much to think about and challenged some of my assumptions about the homeschool phenomenon. I recommend it for parents, teachers and educators–anyone with an interest in the various ways we determine to educate children in our society.
Rating: 5 / 5