Reading my first story in “How to Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” was a triumphant moment for my mother and me.

It culminated over 100 mornings of patient study – our heads bent over the primer, sounding out letters and words, and joyfully celebrating each milestone of my reading journey. These mornings became the foundation of my educational journey: from my years of homeschooling, my time in Catholic high school, and ultimately my experience as a student at the University of Notre Dame. 

Neither of us imagined that one day, progressive activists would smear our experience as “weird as f---,” or abusive. Yet those are the exact words that “I’ve Had It” podcast cohosts Jennifer Welch and Angie Sullivan recently used to vilify the over 3 million homeschoolers across America.

“I think it’s just f---ing weird as f--- that you want your kids around you all day,” Sullivan said in the July 14 episode, adding that she doesn’t “trust somebody that wants to be with their kids 24/7. I think a lot of dumb people do it 'cause it’s just easier.”

Welch similarly characterized homeschooling as a “crazy Christian problem.” She even called it child abuse: “I think it’s selfish for parents to push a religion on a child. ... I think it’s all child abuse, honestly.”

This bigotry displays surprising ignorance of homeschooling’s popularity and success.

Families are fleeing from public schools with good reason

Homeschooling rates have steadily risen since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the difficulties of remote learning inspired many parents to pull their kids from........

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