It Has Been A Privilege

This is an expansion on the thoughts in another post, The Dreaded “Privilege.”

Homeschooling is a privilege. Public school is a privilege. Private school is a privilege. That we live in a place where these options are available is a rare privilege in history.

I was supposed to be homeschooled. Life circumstances and the homeschooling laws in 1980s Pennsylvania kept it from happening.

I didn’t learn this until I was 35 and told my parents I was choosing home education for my son.

Although my parents chose public education, they didn’t pretend it was something it wasn’t. It was in opposition to our religious choices. It was in opposition to our holistic lifestyle. It was in opposition to many of the ways we lived.

My privilege was seated in honest observation of the circumstances of our decisions.

To point at someone else’s choice and call it “privilege” is to not understand the complexity of their circumstances. It is a judgment on another’s life employing an infinitesimal amount of information.

It is not helpful to pretend homeschool is 100% wonderful and it is not helpful to pretend public school is 100% wonderful. We must be honest about both if we are to live in truth and make the best decisions. Truth is uncomfortable.

I have close friends with families who have children in both arrangements, my girlfriend’s daughter is in public school, and most people I know have their children in public school. I am compassionate towards all choices, I am not shy about mine, and I believe strongly in selling home education as a lifestyle.

These things can exist together in a loving way. I’m not talking about “tough love” or “telling it like it is” without empathy. I’m encouraging everyone to celebrate the privileges of their individual situations in order to inspire and educate.