The Homeschool Choice

Homeschooling used to be a fringe movement. But the number of homeschoolers has nearly doubled in the last two decades. Why are so many parents opting to homeschool their children? The Homeschool Choice offers fresh insight into how cultural beliefs about parenting, childhood, and the role of the state drive the choice to homeschool today. Not every parent who opts to homeschool is an ardent homeschooler. Some feel forced into this choice when public schools don’t provide what they want for their children, including the “right” lessons around gender and sexuality (whether more or less progressive). With income inequality at an all-time high, Averett offers much needed and thoughtful analysis of how and why some privileged parents divest from public education, and the consequences this has for social inequality. A terrific book, The Homeschool Choice is an urgent call to challenge the individualistic and intensive nature of parenting today, end the privatization of schools and other public services, and embrace the collective care of children. ~Sinikka Elliott, author of Not My Kid: What Parents Believe about the Sex Lives of Their Teenagers

Through powerful interviews and discerning prose, The Homeschool Choice examines why more and more U.S. parents decide to homeschool their children. In an era when the rhetoric of choice and individualism loom large, Kate Averett brilliantly shows how parents’ beliefs about childhood, gender, and sexuality lead a diverse group of families to decide that their children are best off “opting out” of public school. Averett astutely reveals what is at stake for society when the brunt of the labor of homeschooling and children’s moral upbringing falls largely on mothers. Thought-provoking and beautifully written, The Homeschool Choice is a must-read for anyone interested in the challenges of parenting, role of government, and future of public education. ~Caitlyn Collins, author of Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving