Winning People Over to Homeschooling

Q. I have been homeschooling for 3 years and I have a friend whose kids are struggling in school. I know in my heart that this person and their kids will greatly benefit from homeschooling. They, however, feel that their kids are better off in the schools. How do I win them over.

A. Unfortunately, you may never win your public school friend over to homeschooling; at least not in the short term. In my experience, it is only in the last two years of high school, when it is clear that the child may not finish school at all, that the such a family will even consider homeschooling.

The problem is that there are just too many messages out there telling public school families that homeschooling is just off the grid and dysfunctional. So while your heart is grieving for them and their struggles, they are feeling sorry for you and may also be trying to figure out how to win you back to the public school system.

Of course you should broach the subject of homeschooling with your friend if you feel they are open to hearing it. You can give them a book on homeschooling, send them website links with statistics, and even invite them to a couple of homeschool events. But whatever you do, don't badger them. It will turn them away faster. Just expose them to the information and step back. The reason I am saying this is that if you convince them to homeschool or to try homeschooling, and they are not successful, there will be resentment that you talked them into doing something that was a bad move for their family.

The very best way to win a family over to homeschooling will take time, and probably more time that it should for their best benefit. This approach is to simply continue homeschooling your child, showing that it can be done successfully. As they see your children growing up happy, healthy, and stress free, while learning and thriving, they will warm up to homeschooling. They will become excited about it and take it on for them selves. Then they will ask you why you never talked them into homeschooling or pushed them harder.