<p>During the period of time when I was in the US and homeschooled, I got alot of;
"Oh, you are homeschooling? You're family must be well off aren't they?"<br>
After which I respond, "Actually...no...we live under the poverty line..."</p>
<p>Various responses came after that, most of them along the line of "Oh, so you basically dropped out of school and are just saying that you are homeschooling, because obvious you can't afford real homeschooling."</p>
<p>Of course this got me angry. There were so generalities and assumptions wrong in that one sentence; and its surprising how often I got that.There are many generalizations of homeschoolers out there, we've heard them all. There are the "good/smart" homeschoolers and the "bad/stupid" homeschoolers, the "socially inept" homeschoolers, the "rich homeschoolers", etc.</p>
<p>Now, this is only my first year, but I think I've got a pretty good understanding about homeschooling. I'm just curious though...what are the average incomes of homeschooling families? Is the generality "Only comfortable families homeschool their children properly, the poor people just use it as an excuse for their kid dropping out." true?</p>
<p>NHERI did a study a while back and I was very surprised at the median income that they cited. I believe it was around $50,000. It sure is not that high here! A group of us went to the climbing wall yesterday--one family, 2 children, living in a small single-wide trailer, husband works for a fireplace business--another family, 3 children, husband is a pastor of a very small church--another family, 5 children, ranchers--another family, 2 children, husband is a drywall installer--another family, 7 children, husband is an electrician--another family, 3 children, husband is a wildlife officer--and the last family, 2 children, husband is a surgeon. The last one is the only family here that makes anywhere close to the cited income... Hsing can be done on a shoestring, and done well.</p>
<p>I have heard that assumption, too. Oh, don't I wish it were true! :) </p>
<p>People seem to think if the wife can afford to stay home and buy school materials for the kids, then the husband must earn a lot. And there may be some areas where it is true. I have heard of a homeschooling group in Virginia where most dads are doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. However, that group just happens to be in an area where MOST families, homeschooling or not, are well off.</p>
<p>In most areas, homeschooling families run the usual gamut from well off to barely scraping by. In fact, I think many tend to be toward the lower end of the scale, simply because they ARE making do on one salary. I know my blue collar husband has volunteered for overtime for most of our married life so that we could afford for me to stay home and teach the boys. Only now that the boys are both graduated am I able to work close to fulltime, and most of that goes straight to my younger son's college. </p>
<p>We have always homeschooled on a budget, buying books at garage sales, used curriculum sales, etc., and using the library a lot. Often the books we no longer needed were sold so we could buy books for the next year. And we have discovered you don't need a lot of money to homeschool well. Although it does tend to get more expensive during the high school years with more specialized texts needed and more outside activities that tend to cost more.</p>
<p>So far this thread makes it look like homeschooling fathers all work outside the home and homeschooling mothers all stay home and teach all day. I know very few homeschooling families that look like that. </p>
<p>And no, Lily415, it is not true that only financially comfortable families homeschool their children properly. There are single parents who work at jobs and manage to homeschool on a single income, and there are families where both parents must work outside and share the homeschooling responsiblities. In some families the father stays home and in the primary homeschooling parent, and in some families the students mostly teach themselves. Homeschooling can be done successfully in all those situations.</p>
<p>There is as much variety in homeschooling life styles and income levels as there is in the general population.</p>
<p>Exactly. Which is why it got me so angry after I heard that assumption more than once in a span of only like, four months. Its another one of those sterotypes that are actually true in only 2% of the cases. bah</p>
<p>Lily415, it's pretty common for people to look down on what they don't understand or know about. Sometimes the best you can do is just share the correct information and then just let it go. </p>
<p>PrEpKiD, what do you mean you shouldn't have sent your your tax return forms? How else would you qualify for the financial aid you need?</p>