The Diversity of Homeschoolers

It can never be said with accuracy (even though it is often said by the anti-homeschooling movement or people who don't know better) that the homeschooling community is not diverse.

Agree or disagree, a couple of homeschooled teens are saying their piece in St. Petersburg:

Likins was back the next week, along with 200 other protesters. He has continued to come, even though the city has removed the barricades.

"It's probably my upbringing," said Likins, who is homeschooled. "My mom was a hippie and a peacenik, and my dad always wanted me to think for myself."

Homeschoolers do tend to think for themselves or they wouldn't be constantly swimming against the educational mainstream current regardless of their political and philosophical mindset.

Being arrested last month has not kept Brendan Mannion, 16, from the protests, which he joined in 2003. He thinks it is important to draw attention to poverty, decadence and hatred.

"There is such a gap between rich and poor in this city," he said. "People can afford to spend $50 on a bar tab while there are people starving just down the street."

The Gulfport teen, who is being homeschooled while he works toward an associate's degree at St. Petersburg College, is thinking about becoming a lawyer or a Greenpeace activist. In the meantime, he hands out fliers about peace activities to his neighbors and distributes food to the homeless in Williams Park.