10 September 2021 EDIT: Homeschool Delaware has changed their policy on permitting certain events. My post that created the stir remains deleted and I feel strongly that there is an air of unfriendliness towards those who are not excessively compliant to public health recommendations. I find this out of sync with home education principles in that we often urge parents to be minimally compliant with overreaching school administrators.
Original post follows:
The largest homeschooling group in Delaware has taken it upon themselves to go beyond State mandates and limit the ability of its members to communicate.
After Governor Carney declared that all K-12 schools, public and private, and childcare centers would have to mask children full time, there was an influx of interest and participation in the homeschool community.
All Delaware homeschool groups became busy with new members, questions, and general activity. The mask mandate was the clear motivation.
Homeschool Delaware decided to expand the Governor’s mask order to include any indoor gathering mentioned on their page. They would not allow postings by members which defied their newly declared limitations.
One chooses home education for a variety of reasons. Perhaps the most common is to escape the rules and regulations of schools. Whether too lenient or stringent, a family parts ways with the school system because it no longer shares their values.
One certainly doesn’t go through the anxiety and difficulty of home education to accept less personal freedom.
Although it is the largest, it is not the only group that supports home educators in Delaware. I strongly recommend the following Facebook groups if you need help on your journey (Spoiler Alert: You do):
Delaware First State Homeschool
Allschoolers of New Castle County
Unschoolers and Others
Homeschool Recess Kent County DE
Time to Build: A Delaware Lego Club
Pages Alive Theater
Delaware Homeschool Support
SLIME Socially Learning in Multiple Environments
UnSkate
Sussex County Homeschool Middle and High School Group
Lifelong Learners of Delaware
Field Trips for Delaware Homeschoolers
Elements Homeschool Co-op
Homeschool Hangout Kent County
Tri-State Homeschool, Inc.
Homeschool Adventures (Sharon’s Adventure Afield) NJ PA DE
Southern Chester Co and Northern DE Homeschoolers
There were more than I expected and I’m grateful to build this list and connect with some people I haven’t seen in a while.
Below is the post and thread that was removed from Homeschool Delaware.
Thank you for stand up, and spreading resources!