Homeschooling in Mississippi

I have really loved homeschooling in Mississippi. It has been a wonderful experience for my family. But what do other people think about homeschooling in Mississippi? Natalie at the Homeschool Cafe ask How do Mississippi public school superintendents feel about homeschooling?

One of the most outrageous claims Mississippi public school superintendents make.

In examining perceived reasons within the state of Mississippi, superintendents’ perceptions as to why parents choose to home school differed with respect to their individual districts and statewide. Superintendents did not identify any of the listed reasons as playing a major factor in parents choosing to home school within their individual districts. However, superintendents perceived integration/segregation/racial discrimination as a major factor in parents’ decision to home school statewide.

This is ludicrous. The public school (St. Martin High School) my children would have been attending is 79.5% white. Integration/segregation/racial discrimination played no part in our decision to homeschool. So why do we homeschool?

• Mandatory Public School Uniforms with no parental opt-out.

Once we began homeschooling we discovered we enjoyed the flexibility that allowed us to accompany my husband on business trips. We enjoyed being able to study subjects we were interested in in-depth. Perhaps the biggest benefit was being allowed to move at the pace that suited my individual children, this allowed my eldest son to start college at 16.

I know many homeschoolers and none have cited integration/segregation/racial discrimination as reasons for homeschooling. They do cite

• Bullying
• Lack of programs for their gifted or special needs child
• Mandatory Public School Uniforms
• Safety issues
• Religious beliefs
• Failure of Public Schools to meet their child's educational needs

To keep abreast of legislative issues effecting Mississippi Homeschoolers visit the MS Legislative Awareness Watchgroup .