‘It’s upon us’: Kirk Cameron introduces homeschooling with new documentary

Actor Kirk Cameron Friday urged parents to consider homeschooling their children with the announcement of his new documentary due in June “Homeschool Awakening”. 

In an Instagram post in which he included a trailer for the film, Cameron called public education “Public Enemy Number One.” 

“It’s time for a Homeschool Awakening!” the actor wrote in the caption. “It’s upon us parents to cultivate the hearts, souls, and minds of our children. Today’s public school systems are not working for us, they are actively working against us. Public education has become Public Enemy No. 1.” 

The trailer begins by showing clips of various public figures asserting that parents should not have a say in their children’s education. 

“We have to break through the kind of private idea that kids belong to their parents,” says Melissa Harris-Perry at MSNBC. 

“I don’t think parents should be telling schools what they should teach,” says former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who was unseated largely due to that remark. 

“I don’t really understand this idea that parents should decide what’s being taught,” says Nikole Hannah-Jones. 

The video then shows multiple parents admitting to previously having negative feelings about homeschooling, that it was for “different people” who are “quiet”, or “reclusive”. 

“I always viewed homeschooling as somewhat of a cult,” one parent said. 

But those parents go on to tout the advantages of homeschooling, including freedom and individuality. 

“The freedom we had was so worth the sacrifice it was to teach the kids,” shared a parent. “Now, 12 years later, I realize it wasn’t a sacrifice. It was a total gift,” she adds as her voice shakes with emotion. 

“We didn’t have to be a special needs teacher, we only had to be a teacher of our daughter,” said another. 

“You are the perfect person to teach them, because you’ve been teaching them since day one,” stated another parent. 

Cameron then concluded the video by explaining his passion behind the homeschooling drive. 

“I made this movie because I care deeply about my children,” Cameron explained. “And I care about your children and about their future. And the future of our country.” 

“And I think America needs a film like this right now,” he continued. “We need to take back the education of our children. Because whoever controls the textbooks controls the future. Whoever’s shaping the hearts and minds and souls of our children will determine whether or not we live in a free country.” 

The film will be available in movie theatres across the country on June 13th and 14th only. Tickets and more information are available here.

The homeschool movement has been picking up traction since the pandemic, with school closures being a large contributor to failing grades and aptitude. 

In Baltimore, for instance, standardized test scores for 2021 revealed 85% of students are not proficient in math, and four out of ten public high school students earn lower than a 1.0 GPA. At one public high school, students were found to read at an elementary or kindergarten level. 

This could explain the drop in public school enrollment. For the 2020-2021 school year alone, America’s public school system lost over 1.3 million students.