It's no secret that large families tend to homeschool their children. But why is this their approach of choice, and how does it work? This week, Josh and June take a look at the origin of homeschooling and discover how the Homeschool Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), an advocacy organization founded by homeschool parents, has effectively created a parallel education system in the United States with almost no oversight or accountability.
***WE WANT YOUR THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEKLY MAILBAG! Send an email with feedback about this week's episode to <a href='mailto:illconceivedpod@gmail.com'>illconceivedpod@gmail.com</a>***
EPISODE ART: Monica Swanson, a Christian homeschool advocate and author of the books Boy Mom: What Your Son Needs Most from You; Raising Amazing: Bringing Up Kids Who Love God, Like Their Family, and Do The Dishes; and Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, A Strong Family, and a Life They'll Thank You For Later. Swanson also has hosted podcasts about homeschooling and has four sons. 
AUDIO CLIPS:
<ul>
<li>42:30 – Monica Swanson, a homeschooling advocate and author of Becoming Homeschoolers, <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtzgPEQ9HQ0'>in conversation with Jim Daly on Focus on the Family Radio</a></li>
<li>1:03:58 – Tiffany Jefferson, a homeschool mom, in <a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmJg4RvDigo'>a HSLDA promotional video entitled "What Is Freedom For?"</a></li>
<li>1:20:07 – A promotional video for <a href='https://academy.hslda.org/about/'>HSLDA's online academy on their website</a></li>
</ul>
FURTHER READING:
<ul>
<li><a href='https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-60538-2'>"Mechanisms of cultural diversity in urban populations"</a> by Harin Lee, Noric Jacoby, Romain Hennequin & Manuel Moussalam (Nature Communications, 2025) </li>
<li><a href='https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-45013-8'>"Implicit racial biases are lower in more populous more diverse and less segregated US cities"</a> by Andrew J. Stier, Sina Sajjadi, Fariba Karimi, Luís M. A. Bettencourt & Marc G. Berman (Nature Communications, 2024)</li>
</ul>
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li><a href='https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/02/20/a-look-at-homeschooling-in-the-us/'>"A look at homeschooling in the US"</a> by Isabelle Pula (Pew Research Foundation, February 20, 2025)</li>
<li><a href='https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=91'>US National Center for Education Statistics Fast Facts on Homeschooling</a></li>
<li>Becoming Homeschoolers: Give Your Kids a Great Education, a Strong Family, and a Life They'll Thank You for Later by Monica Swanson (Zondervan, 2024)</li>
<li><a href='https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED086352.pdf'>"The Dangers of Early Schooling: The Need to Reexamine our Motives and Methods"</a> by Raymond Moore (1973)</li>
<li><a href='https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo38181464.html'>Homeschooling: The History and Philosophy of a Controversial Practice</a> by James G. Dwyer and Shawn F. Peters (UChicago Press, 2019)</li>
<li><a href='https://nyupress.org/9781479891610/the-homeschool-choice/'>The Homeschool Choice: Parents and the Privatization of Education</a> by Kate Henley Everett (NYU Press, 2021)</li>
<li><a href='https://adflegal.org/profile/michael-farris/'>Biography of Michael Farris</a> on the Alliance Defending Freedom website</li>
<li><a href='https://generationjoshua.org'>Generation Joshua website</a></li>
<li><a href='https://hslda.org'>Homeschool Legal Defense Association website</a>
<ul>
<li><a href='https://web.archive.org/web/20140902002256/http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/000010/200402050.asp'>Archived copy of HSLDA statement on same-sex marriage</a></li>
<li><a href='https://hslda.org/post/what-homeschoolers-need-to-know-about-the-make-homeschool-safe-act'>Current HSLDA statement opposing the Make Homeschool Safe Act</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href='https://responsiblehomeschooling.org'>Center for Responsible Home Education website</a></li>
</ul>
FOLLOW THE SHOW:
<ul>
<li>Website: <a href='https://illconceivedpodcast.com'>illconceivedpodcast.com</a></li>
<li>Bluesky: ‪<a href='https://bsky.app/profile/illconceivedpodcast.com'>@illconceivedpodcast.com</a></li>
<li>Tumblr: <a href='https://www.tumblr.com/illconceivedpod'>@illconceivedpod</a></li>
</ul>
FOLLOW JOSH:
<ul>
<li>Website: <a href='https://joshboerman.com'>joshboerman.com</a></li>
<li>Bluesky: <a href='https://bsky.app/profile/bosh.worstpossible.world'>@bosh.worstpossible.world</a></li>
<li>Other podcast: <a href='https://www.worstpossible.world'>The Worst of All Possible Worlds</a></li>
<li>Stream: <a href='https://www.twitch.tv/traditional_scrench/'>Traditional Scrench</a></li>
</ul>
FOLLOW JUNE:
<ul>
<li>Bluesky: <a href='https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:mf5dzzqkp7fnmby6blfeljwj'>@junlper.beer</a></li>
<li>Other podcast: <a href='https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kill-the-computer/id1647062210'>Kill The Computer</a></li>
<li>Writing: <a href='https://junlper.substack.com'>June's Substack</a></li>
</ul>

Podurama

Home

Trending

Personal

Your Podcasts

New Episodes

My Files

Favourite Episodes

Tags (Folders)

Recently Played

Bookmarks

Followed Playlists

Homeschooling

Ill Conceived

AI Chapters

AI Insights

Reviews