The Value of Human Interest Stories to Public Opinion

With graduation came a plethora of stories about homeschoolers doing the same sorts of things other teenagers do. Things like putting on a musical, playing organized sports, taking field trips, and of course graduating. Some of them even earn scholarships and go off to college. Even the potentially fascinating story of living and learning at a living history museum in central Nebraska was cast aside in favor of focusing on how normal Aaron Beye, the young graduate, seemed to be.

My first reaction to the sheer number of these sorts of human interest stories cluttering my inbox was, "Stop the presses! Homeschoolers are normal!" But it was a nice mental break from the battles being fought in Tennessee, New Hampshire and California. It also provided a nice contrast to a headline that would appear on a North Carolina news site on June 16.

Death investigations prompt homeschooling recommendations

The death investigation was that of young Sean Paddock, whose mother tied him to the bed in several blankets. He suffocated to death. Because the family homeschooled, many people questioned whether or not the system could adequately protect children who were effectively "off the grid." The specific recommendations related to homeschooling made by Social Services in the report were:

• The Department of Non-Public Instruction should conduct a study regarding a Needs Assessment and pursue funding to support increased monitoring and oversight to home schools


• The State Fatality Review Team supports the continued efforts of the Division of Social Services in regard to the gathering of statistics related to specific school situations in child protective services


• The State Fatality Review Team recommends that the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner begin to track school status at the time of death and make available this information on a yearly basis to the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force and the state-level North Carolina Child Fatality Prevention Team. State Child Fatality Review, Findings and Recommendations
  

While I was constructing my post in response to these recommendations, I focused on how Sean was not of compulsory school age, how the state was involved with monitoring Sean's well-being because he was placed in the Paddock's home by Social Services for adoption and there had been prior allegations of abuse, another story came across my computer.

Teen tied to tree overnight dies.

A homeschooled teen, tied there by his father as a disciplinary action.

Unfortunately, these kinds of stories slip easily into the common stereotype many people have that we homeschool in order to "hide" our children from the public. But they also inspire a certain level of defensiveness among homeschoolers that can come across as a little insensitive to the horrific torture these children experience. Of course it isn't a homeschooling issue. An average of four children are murdered each day in the United States, a number that has been increasing steadily. 79% are younger than four, and 39% have had previous contact with Social Services. Monitoring homeschool families would prevent very few of these cases, if any, considering that most of the children are not yet of compulsory school age, and even schools miss the warning signs in the children they see every day. A summary from ChildHelp:

But people still worry about what could happen. Homeschooling is not well understood, is often met with some level of suspicion, and seems like a "good" way to hide abuse. And people seem frighteningly willing to forsake any liberty "for the children." Even if the actual benefits to the children are immeasurably small. The arguments we construct, however, seem to fall flat on those outside of homeschooling.

Then a thought struck me. Perhaps these small human interest stories appearing in local papers across America could be potentially more beneficial to homeschooling than they might first appear. These stories present homeschooled youth a lot like "the kid next door." You can connect with their stories because they are not doing anything extraordinary, are obviously not excluded from the normal social lives of American teenagers, and they so often credit their homeschool experience for the confidence they have to pursue their dreams.

Most stereotypes are built on ignorance rather than overt hostility, and personal experience goes a long way toward shaping a person's opinions of homeschooling. While having a friend who homeschools is likely the best way for non-homeschoolers to see homeschooling in a more positive light, these sorts of human interest stories probably rank a close second to meeting a friendly homeschool family at the doctor's office. Over time, these snapshots of the lives of real homeschoolers may go a long way in building a more positive image of homeschooling with the public.

Fortunately, these types of articles are not that difficult to write, and reporters are generally pleased to have brief articles about people in the community. Although it is generally more focused on homeschool groups than individual homeschoolers, Mary Griffith's The Homeschooling Image: Public Relations Basics is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in writing an article, a feature, an editorial or who is asked for an interview for a story. Even nicer, it is available as a free download.

A story about your homeschool group's field trip to the apiary may not seem like "news," but imagine it as an invitation to the public to take a peek into your life. Such glimpses could prove more important to public opinion in the long run than well-crafted arguments in response to calls for greater monitoring of homeschools.



Dana Hanley is a fourth year homeschooling mom to three girls and a boy. In her column, she will be taking a look at homeschoolers who have affected the news and news that affects homeschoolers. Dana is the host of Home School Talk, a weekly one hour broadcast focused on homeschool news and opinion. Visit her blog, Principled Discovery.