Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Farris:
My guest today is Chuck Hurst, who’s the executive director of the Home School Foundation. Chuck, thanks so much for joining me!

Chuck Hurst:
I’m very glad to be here.

Mike:
Chuck, over the last 20 years, we’ve seen a tremendous rise in the number of families who are homeschooling special needs children. What kinds of additional challenges do families face who homeschool children with special needs or learning difficulties?

Chuck:
These families do face unique challenges with homeschooling. Foremost is fear. They fear not being professional, they fear they’ll fail their child, they fear that the schools will find out that they’ve been negligent in providing the best education for their children.

They also face uncertainty. They ask, “How am I going to do this? It’s true I’m not a professional—do I need training for this? Will I be able to find the right resources for my child? I certainly know my child better than anyone else, but am I really up to the job?”

They also face frustration. Homeschooling their children can be frustrating because there are so many voices telling them what to do, and yet there are so few resources that are really affordable for the average homeschooling family that’s already on a tight budget.

Mike:
Well, Chuck, you’ve raised some excellent questions. Next time we’ll talk about how the Home School Foundation is working to meet some of these very needs. I’m Mike Farris.