Jennifer Welch recently unleashed a tirade against Christian homeschooling families, calling homeschooling “trickle-down stupidity” and a “fundamental crazy Christian problem” and calling parents with traditional values “the worst, worst, worst.” She even dismissed the decision to homeschool as selfish.Welch isn’t an education researcher or a homeschooling expert. She’s a progressive podcaster whose “I’ve Had It” podcast has built a large audience by channeling liberal anger at conservatives into viral commentary. Her latest target just happened to be Christian homeschool families. But her latest broadside is still worth answering, if only to correct the caricature she presented of millions of families who have chosen a different path.Welch’s comments reveal a deeper, increasingly common assumption: the belief that educational institutions are better equipped than parents to shape children.As a serious Christian who was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade and intends to homeschool my own two children, I couldn’t disagree more. In fact, Welch’s contempt for families like mine is a reminder of exactly why I will never hand my children over to what have become taxpayer-funded ideological institutions.The irony is hard to miss. At a time of collapsing birth rates, declining academic achievement, and a culture struggling to pass on its moral inheritance, America needs more strong families willing to invest their time, resources, and lives in raising the next generation.Yet instead of encouraging those families, Welch chooses to mock them.Here are three reasons Welch couldn’t be more wrong about families like mine.1. Homeschoolers outperform their peers in nearly every measureStudy after study has found that homeschoolers outperform their peers across a wide range of academic measures. The facts simply don’t support Welch’s dismissive caricature of homeschooling or her claim that it produces “trickle-down stupidity.” Homeschooled students consistently perform well in standardized testing, reading, language arts, math, science, and social studies. Research has also found that homeschooled adults tend to be highly engaged in their communities and successful in higher education and professional life.Interestingly enough, there were at least 16 U.S. presidents who received part or all of their education at home through their parents or tutors, which was a more common practice in early America.Public schooling, by comparison, is a relatively recent invention — and one that is increasingly failing America’s students. If we’re going to question an educational model, perhaps we should begin with the one producing declining test scores and growing dissatisfaction.If Welch believes homeschooling produces “trickle-down stupidity,” she’s overlooking a remarkable list of accomplished homeschool graduates. In addition to presidents, homeschooling has helped produce notable entrepreneurs, athletes, military leaders, and scholars for generations. More recently, figures such as Tim Tebow, Charlie Kirk, Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Bethany Hamilton demonstrate that an education at home is hardly a barrier to excellence.RELATED: Education without ‘schooling’: Why a godly home is the best place for children to learn and thrive Heritage Art/Getty Images2. Homeschooling puts our children’s needs before our ownWelch calls homeschooling “child abuse” and “selfish,” then goes on to admit she cannot imagine spending that much time with her own children: “For me personally, it was that I would have gotten up on my hands and knees and strapped them to my back and crawled to get them to school every day just to get them where I wasn’t.”It’s difficult to square those remarks with the claim that homeschooling parents are the selfish ones.Parents who educate their children at home invest thousands of dollars in curriculum, books, and educational resources while often sacrificing an entire income so one parent can teach full-time. They willingly make those financial and personal sacrifices because they believe giving their children a strong education, solid character, and a biblical worldview is worth far more than the cost.This is exactly why, long before we ever started dating, my husband and I had each independently decided that homeschooling would be non-negotiable for our future family. If we couldn’t agree on homeschooling or Christian school for our children, it would have been a deal-breaker. That’s how deeply we care about raising children who love God, love their country, think critically, and become exceptionally well educated.That isn’t selfish. It’s putting our children’s needs ahead of our own.3. Parents — not the government — should raise childrenWelch’s comments reveal a deeper, increasingly common assumption: the belief that educational institutions are better equipped than parents to shape children. But our children don’t belong to the state, to cultural elites, or to government institutions. Parents bear the primary responsibility for raising them. That isn’t simply a Christian conviction; it’s one of the foundations of a free society.The Bible commands parents to teach their children diligently, pass on the faith, and train them in wisdom and truth, especially in a culture that has lost its bearings. Homeschooling is one way families can faithfully live out those convictions. As the late preacher Voddie Baucham famously warned, “If we continue to send our children to Caesar for their education, we need to stop being surprised when they come home as Romans.”Whenever people ask why my husband and I plan to homeschool our children, the conversation almost inevitably ends with the same question: “How will they socialize?” — as though homeschoolers spend their childhood hidden away from society.My own experience was exactly the opposite. I interacted with people of all ages and walks of life through church, sports, music lessons, homeschool co-ops, volunteer opportunities, and countless experiences outside the walls of a traditional classroom.I still remember living and working in Washington, D.C., and watching people’s jaws drop when I told them I had been homeschooled.”But you’re so normal?”Exactly.Homeschooling isn’t about hiding children from the world. It’s about preparing them to enter it with strong convictions, intellectual curiosity, and a sense of purpose.Jennifer Welch is free to mock families like mine. We’ll keep raising our children according to our convictions — and we’ll let the results speak for themselves.
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Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson is on a
