I Don't Need A Support System...

Liz Phair may not, but most homeschoolers do.

Whatever your personal beliefs, if they don't fall into the category of conservative Christian, you are likely to find yourself on the fringes in the homeschooling community. I've talked about that many times and pointed out many examples. Others in other areas like to point to the existence of their particular inclusive or non-sectarian local support group as if their mere existence meant it was not a problem for anyone! Other times, other resources will be suggested. Sadly, while I appreciate much of the content of magazines like Secular Homeschooling, I felt it had a strong agnostic and atheist bent. Just because I'm not a conservative Christian doesn't mean I fit in with the Skeptic movement, or whatever the term was.

That, then, is the problem. Or, shall I say, part of the problem. Another portion of the problem is living with the frustration and the disappointment. Whenever a new resource is discovered, it seems like almost inevitably religion is interjected at some point. And, along with that interjection, there is a letdown.

How do you cope with that frustration and disappointment? Not having expectations that are too high is one common response. After all, if I were to approach the new homeschooling books, sites, curriculums, or other resources with the default assumption that they are written from a creationist and conservative Christian viewpoint, I wouldn't be disappointed when that was confirmed. I'd instead be pleasantly surprised if that turned out to not be true!

It's a guarded, cautious way to approach the world, though, and I have a feeling that if I turned in that direction completely, I'd eventually miss some good resource or curriculum in my attempt to avoid disappointment and frustration. This isn't exactly the outcome I'd want, either.

Another approach is to talk about each instance. Whether in person or online, giving vent to the frustration allows some to process it and then more or less put it away. I wouldn't know anything about that approach. Using a blog to vent one's frustration? Pfft. Y'all know I must be talking about someone else.

Many times, we're told to create our own. "There's a niche!" I don't want to create a website or magazine or curriculum. I wouldn't mind helping coordinate informal gatherings to discuss curricula, and that's something Smrt Mama and I are working on, as it happens. But non-conservative Christian homeschoolers shouldn't have to create all their own support systems. Ultimately, that's what gets to me, time after time - the support system is already there for them. Just not for me.