Good News: Announcing My Book
"Skipping School" is under contract!
Dear Friends,
Ladies and gentlemen, it is happening!
“What is happening?” You may well ask, to which I say: Didn’t you pay attention to the title this post?
Yes, my book, tentatively entitled Skipping School: Finding the Roots of Modern Homeschooling in the American Past, is under contract with Eerdmans.
My book is a history of homeschooling in recent decades that helps explain the homeschool boom that began in 2020 — with around 11% of American schoolchildren being homeschooled that fall, according to the U.S. Census — by telling the story of homeschooling’s place in the American educational landscape since the mid-twentieth century. It features:
- Quantitative research data on homeschooling from a variety of sources, triangulating these to get a clear picture of homeschooling in America
- Oral history interviews with real homeschoolers of various races, religions, and income levels
- Examination of critical concerns about homeschooling and possible educational neglect or even child abuse
- In-depth consideration of key homeschooling court cases
- Explanations of the scholarly literature on homeschooling to date
- A foundational case study of California homeschooling through the decades, in order to get ground-level views
- An inside-out consideration of this history from a person who herself has stood both inside and outside of homeschooling
I hope you will be as excited to read this unique study as I have been to write it! The complete manuscript is due in a few short weeks, so I look forward to sharing final information about a publication date sometime in the new year.
In the meantime, if you’d like to catch up on what yours truly has been writing about homeschooling later, you can access a nearly-comprehensive list by going over to the homeschool section of the Hollow:
Or get an audio rundown on some of my research, findings, and experiences via this podcast with
:
Thanks for (tolerating and) joining in on my excitement! As I prepare to add to and revise the manuscript for publication, tell me:
- What would you like to know about homeschooling in America since 1950?
- What would you like to know about the pandemic and its effects on American schooling?
- What would you like to know about changes in American schooling over time (and even since 2020)
- Do you have any other questions that you would like to see addressed in the book?
Warmly,
Congratulations, Dixie! What a great project! I’m excited to read it. In terms of possible considerations, what about:
—References to philosophies, like unschooling, classical, and Charlotte Mason as reactions against/out of progressive public schooling. Especially since COVID, parents have searched for something different in educating their children, and the rise in popularity of different approaches has only increased interest in homeschooling generally.
—The role of social media and technology in increasing awareness of and participation in homeschooling. Maybe this is too social science-y, but I think this is interesting.
—How American understandings of civic involvement and citizenship have affected the rise (and also skepticism!) of homeschooling.
—The cottage industry-ification of education = more homeschooling? :-) Is homeschooling in part sort of like putting education on Etsy, with all the positive possibilities and negative limitations of both the marketplace and of family involvement? If that makes any sense…
I know you only have so much room and have to focus! Thanks for reading my rambly thoughts on this. Looking forward to reading yours!
Wonderful news indeed! Congratulations, Dixie!