Home School Heroes: The Struggle & Triumph of Home Schooling in America (Paperback)

by Christopher Klicka (Author)
Key Phrases: homeschool statutes, homeschool cases, modern homeschool movement, North Dakota, Mike Farris, Home School Legal Defense Association (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 367 pages
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group (August 14, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805426000
• ISBN-13: 978-0805426007
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #540,249 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

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 A Brief History of the Modern Christian Home School Movement, January 6, 2009

By	Angela J. Zaev "LadybugAZ" (Greater DC Region) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Home School Heroes follows stories about Christian Home School families from a variety of backgrounds facing a myriad of legal issues since the early 1980's in America. While some of the cases may seem like extreme examples, clearly the right to home school is not one we should take for granted. This is clearly documented in Christopher Klicka's entertaining read.

The author touches on a brief history of home education in Colonial America as well as mentions a few famous Americans from the past who have been successfully home educated. Some may object to the firmly held belief among many Christian home schoolers that they have the God given responsibility to train up a child in the way he should go (i.e. they, the parents, are in essence delegated by God to educate their children). The author lays out Biblical support for parents educating their own children in the first couple of chapters. You also learn a brief history of how the Home School Legal Defense Association began as well as the excellent research work done by Dr. Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute which produces such great resources as Home Educated and Now Adults and the Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling: Facts and Stats on the Benefits of Home School 2002-2003 (Worldwide Guide to Homeschooling).

Christopher Klicka provides various details about certain cases and how precedents were set one by one, state by state. He also discusses how truancy laws and compulsory school laws impact home education. He talks about truancy officers and how families have been investigated by the police and social service workers, simply for educating their children at home. He discusses the success of grass roots political activism and even documents how home school parents and private school parents tend to be more civically involved than their government school counterparts. This book reminds us that as home school parents, we need to keep abreast of what educational and other parental rights legislation is coming before our state and federal governments. Also, we ought to be diligent in maintaining our right to home educate without burdensome governmental oversight or the requirement to be certified which many seek. One quote in particular from the book highlights the thinking that John Cole, President of the Texas Federation of Teachers expressed in regard to a case where he stated "If as a result of this case anyone can teach children in the homeschool, that will have the natural and inevitable effect of devaluing teaching as a profession."

Towards the end of the book, the author also discusses some of the situations that home educators in other countries are facing as well as voices his concern about how educating our children via virtual public charter schools may just be a "Trojan Horse," slowly eroding the rights of parents to direct their children's curriculum and opening themselves, and others up to government scrutiny. The usual voiced concern is "What about oversight and accountability?" To this, I think we should point to the highly successful research about how well home educated students fare in comparison to their government school counterparts. Certainly, there are exceptions, for good and for poor in both the home school and the government school environments.

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding reading and great information, September 6, 2008

By	Sandra Dake Langley "Sandy Langley" (Tucson, az USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a book that all parents thinking about homeschooling or that have been schooling at home should read. It is full of easy ideas, while letting us know that before us our fellow American's had to fight a huge battle to have the rights to be free to home school their children. It was a tough battle that we continue fighting for every day of our lives. I would highly recommend you reading this book.