More on homeschooling and divorceby Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger 15 Mar 2009 09:15 PM I recently wrote an article about when homeschooling becomes an issue in divorce. Basically, it is very common for one parent (usually the husband) to be supportive in homeschooling, and even possibly the initiator, until divorce. Then they decide that they are not behind it at all and what the kids in public school. Judges also tend to be biased against homeschooling assuming the children are over sheltered. Homeschooling has never been successful if both parents do not agree. Homeschooling cannot be done in a bubble and against the will of one parent. I have to wonder that if in some of these cases, where one parent is surprised by a spouse being against homeschooling if that parent chose to ignore that the other parent always had reservations against it. I also wonder if, in some cases, the fact that the parents were not on the same page where kids were concerned is part of the reason they are divorcing. One of the more recent cases of a court ruling against a homeschooling mom is found in the World Net Daily Website. In this case, the judge unfairly demanded the mother filed her objections on Sunday due to personal reasons involving his dog and handicapped her from any chance of fighting for her right to homeschool. The kicker here is that the kids were thriving in the homeschool environment and were several years advanced academically. It was clear that the mother was doing an excellent job. Still, the judge insisted that the kids be exposed to the "real world". For more information about the case, check out the blog Homeschool Injustice. ...More specifically, information on this case. The only way to avoid such hardships in divorce involving homeschooling is to make sure both parents are on the same page. The mother cannot decide to homeschool and try to cajole the father into going along with it. The father cannot decide that the mother will teach the children without her whole-hearted buy in. The same goes for the opposite spouse. If both parents do not agree without reservation, homeschooling should be out of the question. The only exception to this rule is if one parent had full custody and is able to make all educational decisions in the case of single parents where the other parent is not in the picture. *Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask. * Have you seen the homeschooling curriculum glossary? Learn more about Andrea Hermitt  Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children. Relevanthomeschooling tags User Comments b_deal (15) 16 Mar 2009 05:40 AMAndrea, I cannot agree more. To give context to what I am about to write, my spouse is the majority homeschooler (doing most of the teaching, during the day), while I am the minority homeschooler (teaching only Latin and Logic, after work). From my experience I'd like to add two pieces of advice to minority homeschoolers (typically a he) to consider; they are not related to divorce, but rather to the healthy relationship between the majority homeschooler and the minority homeschooler. 1. Keep a close eye, as close as you can, on your spouse's health, physical and mental, and take what steps you can to reduce your spouse's stress. Illness and burnout in the majority homeschooler can seriously derail the homeschooling process. I am thinking specifically of an incident of burnout I have recently witnessed, but I think physical health should be on the watch list as well. 2. Stay focused, as focused as you can, when your spouse is telling you about homeschooling matters. My personal bad habit lately has been that as my spouse begins to talk about curriculum (especially choosing curriculum for next year), I'll find myself phasing out. I have to work hard to focus, not only so I can understand better how our time, money, and other resources are being put to use, but so my spouse knows there is legitimate buy-in from me. Just my 2 cents. Discuss this article
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