How to Respond When Well Meaning People Link Abuse with Homeschooling

I receive a newsletter from VAHomeschoolers.org. VaHomeschoolers has worked to protect and promote homeschooling through action in legislative work, assisting homeschoolers on an individual level, and providing information, speakers, events and resources. You can join VaHomeschoolers in a snap at http://www.VaHomeschoolers.org/join.html . Visit VaHomeschoolers's web site at http://www.VaHomeschoolers.org.

Below you will find an article that I received today that covers a matter that all parents worry about. It will give you some answers to questions you may have, whether you are a homeschooler or you know people who homeschool.

"DO YOU STILL BEAT YOUR WIFE?": HOW TO RESPOND WHEN WELL-MEANING PEOPLE LINK ABUSE WITH HOMESCHOOLING.

I'm sure you haven't missed the most recent media accounts of abused or neglected children described as "homeschooled." I've read things like, "Nine of the eleven children slept in cages at night.they were reported to be homeschooled." Or, "The Dollars were sentenced to 15 years each in prison for starving and torturing their children..the children were homeschooled."

Aside from the normal human reaction to recoil from the horror of children being abused by those whom our society trusts to protect them and love them, and perhaps deep anger at the perpetrators of abuse, we homeschoolers have another reaction to these kinds of stories: "Oh, no, not again!"

We know that inevitably there will be another spate of letters to the editor calling for increased regulation of homeschooling, to prevent parents from "using homeschooling to hide abuse." There will be voices of concern around the water cooler at the office, over the cash register at the supermarket, or among the moms at the bus stop. And people we know and even those we love may raise this subject with us, hopefully not in accusation, but out of genuine concern for children - concern that we share.

How can we, as homeschoolers, respond confidently to these questions?VaHomeschoolers offers the support you need to empower yourself to answer these kinds of questions with confidence. The VaHomeschoolers website has the following articles to help you read up:Homeschooling and Child Abuse: No ConnectionVaHomeschoolers' official statement about the lack of connection between child abuse and homeschooling.
http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/childabuse.html

Answering the CPS (Child Protective Services) Questions A group of homeschoolers decided to find answers to common questions about CPS and child abuse reporting.
http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/cps.html

How to Talk to a Politician Includes VaHomeschoolers President Shay Seaborne's response to a state legislator's question about "homeschool abuse."
http://www.vahomeschoolers.org/politician.PDF