Home School Heroes [Paperback]

Christopher Klicka (Author), Josh Harris (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

Home School Heroes: The Struggle & Triumph of Home Schooling in America covers the history of the modern homeschool movement, with many stories of God’s faithfulness to homeschool families fighting in court for the right to educate their children. It is a book that can be read by older kids and adults alike to give them an appreciation for all the sacrifices of homeschool families to win the freedom we enjoy today. Home School Heroes concludes with a call to readers to always remain vigilant and active in protecting our precious freedom to teach our children in God’s ways.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher J. Klicka is a homeschooling father of seven, popular speaker, and author. Since 1985, when homeschooling was still illegal in most states, he has served as Senior Counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association, working successfully in the legislatures and courts to win the right to homeschool without burden-some regulations. Klicka works in Purcellville, Virginia

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: B&H Books (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805426000
• ISBN-13: 978-0805426007
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,830 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable history of the struggle and triumph of homeschooling in America, October 10, 2009

By 

HeatherHH - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home School Heroes (Paperback)

I am a homeschooling parent of five children, and Lord willing, more. I was homeschooled my high school years, and my brother in his middle school years. My husband's brothers were homeschooled. But, all of this homeschooling took place in the 90s, once homeschooling was already clearly legal. I wanted to know about those who had gone before and suffered the persecution from government, the court trials, etc to win these freedoms. So, this book sounded wonderful to me, but it wasn't quite what I expected.

A better title for this book would be the subtitle: "The Struggle and Triumph of Home Schooling in America." Most of the book focuses on the various court cases, examples of contacts with government officials in the various states, legislation passed, etc. It's valuable in depicting the difficulty in securing homeschooling freedom. However, families were in general talked about for only a paragraph or two. The title "Home School Heroes" had made me expect a more detailed look at some individual families, their decision to homeschool, the persecution and trials that came with it, etc. But, this book is more an overview of the "big picture."

This book is a testimony to the grace and power of God. Many of the victories won were nothing short of miraculous. And the author definitely recognizes it. Glory is repeated and explicitly given to God. This permeates the book, which is a plus in my opinion. There's also an appendix with a salvation message.

There are also a couple chapters encouraging homeschooling families to continue to fight to preserve their freedoms and warning of the dangers of charter schools and other voluntary involvement with the public school system. Very appropriate.

At the beginning of the book, in starting this history, there is a chapter entitled "The Home School Legal Defense Association Is Born." Now this makes sense, because most of the court cases starting in the mid-80s involved them, with the author working there all that time. However, the chapter became an infomercial for HSLDA, quite literally. Partway through, you're asked who you're going to call when you need help, told they're on the side of the little guy (with quotes from satisfied members), given membership costs and encouraged to join, etc. Now, our family has membership, and we are fans of HSLDA. But, this detailed sales pitch portion would have been more appropriate in an appendix at the end, or in the final epilogue.

All in all, this is a good book for homeschooling families that don't have much knowledge of how homeschooling came to be legal in all 50 states, and how arduous a task it was. It's a wonderful testament to God's mercy. It's not a book that I'm likely to reread in the next decade, but it's one that I'll keep on hand to loan out to others.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strongly recommended for any parents seeking to pass on a religious, homeschooled education in their children., January 5, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home School Heroes (Paperback)

Written by Christopher Klicka, a senior counsel of the Home School Legal Defense Association, Home School Heroes: The Struggle & Triumph of Home Schooling in America is the true story of mothers and fathers who braved powerful legal opposition against the practice of homeschooling, particularly in the 1980's and 90's. Klicka presents numerous true stories of his work for the Home School Legal Defense Association in which he intervened to prevent social workers or police from entering homes without a warrant or interviewing young children without a court order, or worse, taking children away from their loving parents. A devout Christian as well as a legal defense counsel, Klicka also speaks of the strength and comfort provided by God and Jesus Christ in the most dire hours of need. Home School Heroes recounts milestones of progress reached for the right to homeschool, offers practical advice concerning what to do if state agencies attempt to interfere with the legal right to homeschool a child, and is strongly recommended for any parents seeking to pass on a religious, homeschooled education in their children.

5.0 out of 5 stars homeschool Heros, February 11, 2010

By 

Ashley Mauck "chefgirl" (Ne, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Home School Heroes (Paperback)

This book is a great learning tool to remind us of what our founding homeschooling families did for us. Also Chris Klicka is a great writer. It is a great book for anyone to read.