Upon the discovery of this section I quickly entered a few of the people who inspire me. Here they are in no particular order.

• John Adams
• James Madison
  
• William F. Buckley, Jr.
  
• Edmund Burke
  
• Mother Teresa
• Martin Luther King, Jr.
  
• Ghandi
  
• Susan B. Anthony
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton
• Ronald Reagan
• Thaddeus Stevens
• John McCain
• Abraham Lincoln
• Theodore Roosevelt

And while several of these people wouldn’t like to be on a list with the others I find them all to be inspirational in their own way.

Two that I would like to briefly highlight are Susan B. Anthony and Thaddeus Stevens.

Susan B. Anthony

Anthony a leader in the Women’s suffrage movement is a person I admire because of her unwavering support for an idea that she believed in even though she believed she wasn’t qualified to be a leader. In studying Anthony and the Women’s suffrage movement I have become more convinced of the necessity of political involvement and especially involvement in the Republican party.

On November 18, 1872, Anthony was arrested by a U.S. Deputy Marshal for voting illegally in the 1872 Presidential Election two weeks earlier. She had written to Stanton on the night of the election that she had “positively voted the Republican ticket—straight…”. She was tried and convicted seven months later, despite the stirring and eloquent presentation of her arguments that the recently adopted Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States” the privileges of citizenship, and which contained no gender qualification, gave women the constitutional right to vote in federal elections.

The ticket she voted for was that of Ulysses S. Grant and running mate Henry Wilson. The Republican party platform at the time made one of the first mentions of “universal suffrage” all though it wasn’t until August 18, 1920 that the 19th amendment was ratified recognizing a woman’s right to vote. Ironically as a subnote it was Democrat president Woodrow Wilson who supported the amendment but regressed on the issue of segregation in the United States (especcially for government employees) saying, “segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you gentlemen.”

Thaddeus Stevens

But back to the election of 1872. One of the major players in that election was Thaddeus Stevens. Steven’s was the house leader of the “Radical Republicans”, a segment of the Republican party that favored universal suffrage and a greater degree of emancipation and reconciliation for the previous confederate states. It was Stevens and the group of Radical Republicans who had passed the civil rights act of 1866 which was vetoed by then Democrat President Andrew Jackson who in turn had his veto overridden by the Republicans.

Steven’s was more than just an ardent abolitionist and fighter for equality. As the chairman of the house ways and means committee he fought for and impacted reforms in America’s financial system, although not all of the reforms happened he did succeed in financing the Civil War. Steven’s also had an impact on education. While a Pennsylvania legislature he worked for the free education law in 1834, some say it was his oratory skills that passed that law. He also worked for a constitutional limit on State debt and refused to sign the new state constitution in 1834 because it did not allow black citizens to vote.

When Steven’s died he was buried in the Shreiner Concord cemetery because it was the only cemetery at the time that allowed people to be buried without regard to their race. Steven’s also penned the inscription for his headstone.

“I repose in this quiet and secluded spot, not from any natural preference for solitude, but finding other cemeteries limited as to race, by charter rules, I have chosen this that I might illustrate in my death the principles which I advocated through a long life, equality of man before his Creator.”

Stevens dreamed of a socially just world, where unearned privilege did not exist. He believed from his personal experience that being different or having a different perspective can enrich society. He believed that differences among people should not be feared or oppressed but celebrated.

Anthony and Stevens, two people who believed in the ideas of equality and freedom and who didn’t live to see their work come to full fruition. These are two people that inspire me.

This has been another in a series of “ruminations“, half formed thought regurgitated via a blog to stimulate thought, discussion and the eventual assimilation of the best ideas.

First a brief overview of the article

For the purposes of this research, the Mosaic generation refers to adults who are currently ages 18 to 25; Busters are those ages 26 to 44; Boomers are 45 to 63; and Elders are 64-plus.

[...]

However, despite these similarities, the Barna studies show that the youngest generations are charting a new, unique course related to the Bible. Here are the types of changes being forged by young adults:

• Less Sacred – While most Americans of all ages identify the Bible as sacred, the drop-off among the youngest adults is striking: 9 out of 10 Boomers and Elders described the Bible as sacred, which compares to 8 out of 10 Busters (81%) and just 2 out of 3 Mosaics (67%).

• Less Accurate – Young adults are significantly less likely than older adults to strongly agree that the Bible is totally accurate in all of the principles it teaches. Just 30% of Mosaics and 39% of Busters firmly embraced this view, compared with 46% of Boomers and 58% of Elders.
• More Universalism – Among Mosaics, a majority (56%) believes the Bible teaches the same spiritual truths as other sacred texts, which compares with 4 out of 10 Busters and Boomers, and one-third of Elders.

• Skepticism of Origins – Another generational difference is that young adults are more likely to express skepticism about the original manuscripts of the Bible than is true of older adults.

• Less Engagement – While many young adults are active users of the Bible, the pattern shows a clear generational drop-off – the younger the person, the less likely then are to read the Bible. In particular, Busters and Mosaics are less likely than average to have spent time alone in the last week praying and reading the Bible for at least 15 minutes. Interestingly, none of the four generations were particularly likely to say they aspired to read the Bible more as a means of improving their spiritual lives.

• Bible Appetite – Despite the generational decline in many Bible metrics, one departure from the typical pattern is the fact that younger adults, especially Mosaics (19%), express a slightly above-average interest in gaining additional Bible knowledge. This compares with 12% of Boomers and 9% of Elders.

[...]

The president of the Barna Group pointed out that since many young people want to learn about the Bible it should be an opportunity for Christian leaders.Perhaps young people want to participate more in the process of learning, not simply attend Bible lectures or be trained in

Here are the disjointed notes from our discussion, notice the rabbit trails. Also note that our home group is made up of the buster generation 25-35

Why do these trends exist?

Different learning styles by generation

Internet and discussion versus lecturing and memorization

The church generally teaches in the older style

Independence and the questioning of authority are more prevalent in younger generations.

With increased globalization the younger generations have a wider experience and are more likely to experience being wrong which could decrease the assurance of being correct.

With more learning we realize what we knew was wrong which leads you to question everything else and it’s easier to be not sure than to take a stand.

But with all the globalization and diversity comes a desire to know more.

Well what is sacred? Is it just a different meaning of sacred from generation to generation? Does the younger generation hold most things as less “sacred” than the older generations.

Because of diversity we are taught to respect and learn about our neighbors which can lend itself to a more universalist view.

Because of the rate/speed of change the elder generation has more in common with their great grandparents than they do with their grandchildren. i.e. facebook and the telephone versus the telegraph and the telephone.

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One thing that I find encouraging looking forward is that the younger generation has a greater desire to learn more about the bible but in order to meet that desire I think the church needs to change it’s teaching style to match the younger generations learning style.

Join the discussion, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Here’s an example of new ways of instruction happening at Purdue University.

YouTube Link

The homeschool community is a fast growing, diverse and well networked group of parents who have taken it upon themselves to teach their children at home.

Currently there are an estimated 2 million homeschoolers in the United States. The growth of homeschooling has created a niche market that many businesses and groups now see a value in communicating with.

To really understand the homeschool community you need to have a basic understanding of it’s history.

A Brief History of Homeschooling

In the early 1960’s and 1970’s three streams emerged that catapulted homeschooling into the national sphere.

In the 1960’s John Holt wrote “How Children Fail”, 1964; “How Children Learn”, 1967; “What Do I Do Monday?”, 1970 these books coupled with his appearance on the Phil Donehue show pushed the ideas of homeschooling into the national dialogue. Holt also started the magazine “Growing without schooling” and in my mind represents the secular homeschooling world.
Wikipedia | Amazon | Website

In the 1970‘s Raymond and Dorothy Moore authored several books, “Better Late Than Early: A New Approach to Your Child’s Education”, 1975 and “School Can Wait” in 1980’s they were interviewed on James Dobson’s focus on the family radio program which helped spread the message of homeschooling into the conservative Christian community.
Moore Foundation | Amazon

Rushdoony wrote the book (The Messianic Character of American Education) in 1963 and was frequently called as an expert witness by HSLDA in court cases. Much of the leadership of HSLDA has been influence by Rushooney’s theology of Christian Reconstructionism. He advocated the complete submission of government to the biblical laws.
Wikipedia | Amazon | Chalcedon Foundation

In the early 80’s these streams flowed together bound by the necessity of numbers and the need to lobby for the legalization of homeschooling. Homeschooling as a legal and accepted form of education has enjoyed a very short history.

Growth

As the homeschooling movement grew in the late 80’s and 90’s the growth of the christian homeschool community outpaced the growth among secular homeschoolers. With this shift in power homeschool organizations began to disassociate with people they didn’t agree with and created “christian homeschool organizations”. These state organizations ran the state homeschool conventions, published newsletters and became the defacto legal defense of home education. The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Also began to grow and unite the state organizations into a very powerful political unit.
Wikipedia | Website

Changes

In the 2000’s two changes impacted the homeschooling community.
In the early days there was more of a individualistic pioneer spirit, these are the people I refer to as the first generation or the pioneers. They had shown that parents could successfully educate their children at home, they had fought for legislation to make it legal, they had begged, borrowed, cobbled together and even written their own curricula. In essence they made homeschooling culturally acceptable. The pioneers opened the doors to the second generation of followers. While the pioneers were more ideological the followers were more concerned with, cost, test scores, quality of public schools, schedule, etc.

The second big change was the growth of the internet.
It was now easy to find information and purchase products online. You could also read and write personal reviews to help you decide what to buy and from whom. In the early days you had to make a phone call or attend a seminar to find out the homeschooling legislation and requirements, now it’s only a mouse click away. Before you had to go to the state convention to buy your curriculum for the year. Now there is more than enough information online and it’s usually cheaper.

Reaching the Homeschool Community

With this brief history in mind here are some practical ways to reach the very diverse homeschool community. Marketers, organizations and politicians all can use these tools to reach out to the homeschool community with either their message or their product. Traditional marketing means spending money to borrow someone else’s audience. The internet and non traditional marketing lets you spend time and money to build your own audience. I recommend using both methods.

Traditional Methods

Magazines

Some of these magazines have overlap and some hit different segments of the homeschool community contact them to find out who they reach. Along with selling advertising space most of these magazines also maintain an email list which you can rent.

• The Old Schoolhouse
• Practical Homeschooling
• HSLDA Court Report
• Homeschool Enrichment
• Homeschooling Today
• Home Education Magazine
• Home Educating Family
• Homeschool Digest
• Creation Illustrated
• The Link

Direct Mail

You can advertise in card packs, essentially you are buying a postcard slot in a large stack of post cards, these generally have a large reach and are mailed several times a year. You can also rent their mailing lists to send your own mailing. They usually maintain a rentable email list as well.

• National Response Marketing
• Tri Media Online

State Conventions

There are conventions in every state and sometimes several in a state. The old schoolhouse magazine maintains a good list. You can also google your state to find one near you. Some conventions only allow christian curriculum vendors, others only homeschool vendors while others have an open door policy.
Old Schoolhouse 2009 Conventions

Support Groups & Co-ops

I have yet to find a central database of local support groups and co-ops. Buy a google search for support groups in your state will point you in the right direction. Here is one example of support groups in Pennsylvania.
PA Homeschoolers

You can reach support groups and co-ops by calling or emailing the leaders and asking for an opportunity to speak to the group. Free perks for the organizers can be helpful.

Online Outreach

The homeschool community has always been very connected and self organizes in a way that would make most political parties jealous. A hot button issue can quickly spread among homeschoolers and shut down switchboards in Washington D.C. Homeschoolers are also extremely well networked online as well. “Homeschool Mommy Bloggers” talk about child rearing, teaching, curriculum choices, politics, faith, recipes, hobbies etc. on a regular basis. They also quickly adapt to new technologies and can be found wherever social media will take you.

Blogger Outreach

Blogger outreach is a very nebulus term that basically means reaching out to bloggers. You can reach out in a variety of ways. You can email the author and pitch a story (doesn’t work to well), purchase advertising on the blog (hard to manage more than a few), become a member of a group blog, link to the blog, write comments on the blog, offer free stuff in exchange for a blog post (i.e. review materials, exclusive interview, etc.). The best thing to do is appeal to the blogger’s self interest. What do bloggers want?

1. Attention
2. Exclusive Information
3. Money

The best method I’ve found is to slowly build relationships with bloggers, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Read their blogs, comment on them and offer them information and/or materials that they would find useful.

Some examples of good homeschool blogs

• Spunky Homeschool
• Homeschool Blog Watch
• Corn and Oil
• The Homeschool Cafe
• Trivium Pursuit
• About Homeschooling
• Home Where they Belong

To find more homeschooling blogs check through the past winners of the homeschool blog awards. Also check blogrolls to find out who bloggers like to read.

Twitter

Yes homeschoolers use twitter, if you want to reach out on twitter start an account and start following people. Use the search function to find people talking about your issues/products and join their conversation.

Facebook

While there are a lot of homeschoolers on twitter there are even more on facebook. Start a fan page and joint the conversation on facebook. Also faebook advertising is very effective at targeting your audience. Tip for facebook advertising don’t send them to your website with your ad, keep them in facebook, either on your page or one of your events.  Build your community of fans and talk with them regularly.

More Websites

• The Homeschool Lounge
• A-Z Home’s Cool
• Homeschool.com
• HSLDA
• Homeschool Legal Advantage
• National Home Education Legal Defense (NHELD)

Information and statistics

• National Home Education Research Institute
• National Center for Education Statistics
• Wikipedia article on Homeschooling
• Cato Article on Homeschooling
• Barna research – Diversity among homeschoolers
• Article on homeschooling from the Economist

Recommended Reading

• Homeschooling: An American History by Milton Gaither
• Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement by Mitchell Stevens
• Write These Laws on Your Children by Robert Kunzman

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment or a question if you have anything to add or ask,