I was banned from Delaware’s largest homeschool group on Facebook. I wasn’t given an explanation. I haven’t posted there in many months, although the last I checked, I had more than 700 posts and comments over nearly a decade as a member and two years as an administrator.
Recently, I have only added encouraging or resource-sharing comments.
As an invested member of the Delaware homeschool network, I have directed my online efforts toward bolstering and growing my home education community.
In 2020 there was a shift in leadership and direction. I felt the strain as the mission of the group became less clear to me. Even so, I felt it important to direct new homeschoolers to this useful place: Delaware’s Best Source of Homeschool Information.
A year later, they chose to enforce gubernatorial dictates meant for K-12 facilities for ALL events posted on their page. I posted openly against this new policy, citing that home educators in Delaware do not have to follow the same rules as K-12 facilities. Many of us are doing this because we see K-12 policies as contrary to the wellbeing of our children.
They deleted my post.
A month later they changed the policy, yet my post remained deleted: Support for All New Homeschoolers.
I knew many people who left the group after that. I decided to stay because I felt I had a lot to share with the community. I believe my track record of “Liked” comments there lends some credence to that statement.
I don’t quite know how to feel about the ban. I knew I wasn’t welcome by some, but that was personal drama that I didn’t let get in the way of helping families who needed it.
But I’ve got a visceral reaction to being silenced without explanation. I know others will go quietly and that is unjust. I’m going to pray, then sleep on the dilemma.
