There are many reasons why parents or guardians choose to homeschool their children for some portion or all of their educational years. This can range from a child having a disability or neurodiversity, concerns about the quality of education, to other topics like moral or religious conflict with traditional schools. Ryan Stollar shared the story of his experiences as a homeschooled child of an Evangelical family upbringing. He also talks about some of the trauma that he has experienced or witnessed from homeschooling ideologies, including sexual and/or physical abuse. Ryan’s childhood included physical punishments from his parents, consistent with church doctrine. “There were teachers in evangelicalism who promoted how to raise and train children. And they always include corporal punishment,” he said. Ryan included that these punishments drove a wedge between him and his parents. He also noted that as he grew older and began speaking with other homeschooled children, he began to realize how bad some others had it concerning inadequate education, misogyny towards women’s roles, and other forms of abuse. This was when he decided to act in the name of future homeschool children to prevent their abuse. Ryan is the author of the book The Kingdom of Children: A Liberation Theology. He co-founded the website Homeschoolers Anonymous, where many people who have been homeschooled share their stories of experiences and trauma. If you care about children, and worry about what is happening in America, this is an interview you will want to listen to and share.

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