Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that homeschooling is growing in the black community. Mike Smith discusses this with Joyce Burges, co-founder of the National Black Home Educators Resource Association, on today's Home School Heartbeat.
Mike Smith:
Many recent articles about homeschooling in the black community indicate that it's a growing movement. Do you agree, Joyce, and if so, why?
Joyce Burges:
I absolutely agree it is growing, because African-Americans are no longer going to sacrifice their children to a system that's not coming through for them. So it is growing; we're excited about that.
Mike:
Joyce, do you have any idea why it's growing like it is?
Joyce:
Well, one of the reasons is a lot of parents are wondering if their children are going to come home safe. And then a lot of our children are not really being educated; it's more socialization going on than education. And parents nowadays want to see their children get a fine education, and homeschooling is going to do that in the most excellent way.
Mike:
Joyce, do you have any idea how many black homeschool children there are today?
Joyce:
What I usually say, and it's pretty simple, is there is about one black homeschool family to every ten of my Caucasian friends who are homeschooling.
Mike:
Joyce, are the black homeschooling families getting opposition from their relatives now?
Joyce:
Not like it used to be in the past. Grandmas and grandpas are asking their children to homeschool their grandchildren now because of all of the horrors that are going on in the system. So grandmas and I think extended relatives are now supporting the idea of seeing their children actually homeschool their grandkids.
Mike:
Thank you so much, Joyce. And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.
If you'd like more information, visit our website at homeschoolheartbeat.com. That's homeschoolheartbeat.com.
