Ill Conceived

Homeschooling


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It's no secret that large families tend to homeschool their children. But why is this their approach of choice, and how does it work? This week, Josh and June take a look at the origin of homeschooling and discover how the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), an advocacy organization founded by homeschool parents, has effectively created a parallel education system in the United States with almost no oversight or accountability.

***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to [email protected]***

EPISODE ART: Monica Swanson, a Christian homeschool advocate and author of the books Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You; Raising Amazing: Bringing Up Kids Who Love God, Like Their Family, and Do The Dishes; and Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, A Strong Family, and a Life They'll Thank You For Later. Swanson also has hosted podcasts about homeschooling and has four sons. 

AUDIO CLIPS:

  • 42:30 – Monica Swanson, a homeschooling advocate and author of Becoming Homeschoolers, in conversation with Jim Daly on Focus on the Family Radio
  • 1:03:58 – Tiffany Jefferson, a homeschool mom, in a HSLDA promotional video entitled "What Is Freedom For?"
  • 1:20:07 – A promotional video for HSLDA's online academy on their website
  • FURTHER READING:

    • "Mechanisms of cultural diversity in urban populations" by Harin Lee, Noric Jacoby, Romain Hennequin & Manuel Moussalam (Nature Communications, 2025) 
    • "Implicit racial biases are lower in more populous more diverse and less segregated US cities" by Andrew J. Stier, Sina Sajjadi, Fariba Karimi, Luís M. A. Bettencourt & Marc G. Berman (Nature Communications, 2024)
    • SOURCES:

      • "A look at homeschooling in the US" by Isabelle Pula (Pew Research Foundation, February 20, 2025)
      • US National Center for Education Statistics Fast Facts on Homeschooling
      • Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, a Strong Family, and a Life They'll Thank You for Later by Monica Swanson (Zondervan, 2024)
      • "The Dangers of Early Schooling: The Need to Reexamine our Motives and Methods" by Raymond Moore (1973)
      • Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice by James G. Dwyer and Shawn F. Peters (UChicago Press, 2019)
      • The Homeschool Choice: Parents and the Privatization of Education by Kate Henley Everett (NYU Press, 2021)
      • Biography of Michael Farris on the Alliance Defending Freedom website
      • Generation Joshua website
      • Homeschool Legal Defense Association website
        • Archived copy of HSLDA statement on same-sex marriage
        • Current HSLDA statement opposing the Make Homeschool Safe Act
        • Center for Responsible Home Education website
        • FOLLOW THE SHOW:

          • Website: illconceivedpodcast.com
          • Bluesky: ‪@illconceivedpodcast.com
          • Tumblr: @illconceivedpod
          • FOLLOW JOSH:

            • Website: joshboerman.com
            • Bluesky: @bosh.worstpossible.world
            • Other podcast: The Worst of All Possible Worlds
            • Stream: Traditional Scrench
            • FOLLOW JUNE:

              • Bluesky: @junlper.beer
              • Other podcast: Kill The Computer
              • Writing: June's Substack
              • ...more
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                Ill ConceivedBy Josh Boerman & June Sternbach

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