Dixie Dillon LaneEvery podcast appearance, updated as new ones drop

Discover the untold story of why homeschooling moved from the margins to the mainstream of American education. In this groundbreaking study Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream ( William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2026), historian Dixie Dillon Lane traces the rise of homeschooling in the United States, from the modern movement's beginnings in the 1950s as a fringe activity to its current status as a widely accepted educational choice. Through compelling nationwide data and vivid case studies from Los Angeles County, Lane uncovers a powerful truth: homeschooling taps into long-held American beliefs in local control and...

Discover the untold story of why homeschooling moved from the margins to the mainstream of American education. In this groundbreaking study Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream ( William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2026), historian Dixie Dillon Lane traces the rise of homeschooling in the United States, from the modern movement's beginnings in the 1950s as a fringe activity to its current status as a widely accepted educational choice. Through compelling nationwide data and vivid case studies from Los Angeles County, Lane uncovers a powerful truth: homeschooling taps into long-held American beliefs in local control and...

Discover the untold story of why homeschooling moved from the margins to the mainstream of American education. In this groundbreaking study Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream ( William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2026), historian Dixie Dillon Lane traces the rise of homeschooling in the United States, from the modern movement's beginnings in the 1950s as a fringe activity to its current status as a widely accepted educational choice. Through compelling nationwide data and vivid case studies from Los Angeles County, Lane uncovers a powerful truth: homeschooling taps into long-held American beliefs in local control and...

AMDG. Today we welcome homeschooling mother, historian, editor, and author Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane to the Kolbecast. Dixie has recently written a book about the history of homeschooling called Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How it Went Mainstream. Through research, Dixie traces the origins of homeschooling through the lens of the homeschool movement in Southern California and its evolution to its current form today. In addition to this history, Dixie also shares her wisdom and experience as a homeschooling mother to talk about the benefits of homeschooling and navigating some of the challenges that it can present. Links mentioned & relevant: Dixie’s book Skipping School: A History of Homeschooling in the United States and How It Went Mainstream Dixie on Substack The Bad Moms Homeschool , Dixie's collaboration with Ivana Greco and Nadya Williams Hearth & Field Research by Ivana Greco & Elliot Haspel on stay-at-home parents Have questions or suggestions for future episodes or a story of your own experience that you’d like to share? We'd love to hear from you! Send your thoughts to podcast@kolbe.org and be a part of the Kolbecast odyssey. We’d be grateful for your feedback! Please share your thoughts with us via this Kolbecast survey ! The Kolbecast is available on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , and most podcast apps. By leaving a rating and review in your podcast app of choice, you can help the Kolbecast reach more listeners. The Kolbecast is also on Kolbe's YouTube channel (audio only with subtitles). Using the filters on our website , you can sort through the episodes to find just what you're looking for. However you listen, spread the word about the Kolbecast!

dear parents, Today I get to talk about the history of homeschooling and how it has exploded in the past decade…super interesting conversation around the history of homeschooling and what it looks like nowadays. Dixie Dillon Lane holds a PhD in history from Notre Dame, homeschools her own kids, and just wrote Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream (I had to steal back this book from my wife’s nightstand so I could prep for this interview!) We talk about how homeschooling evolved from a counter-cultural, keep-it-under-the-radar movement in the ‘80s and ‘90s into a normal educational choice that families move in and out of year to year. We dig into what the research actually says about socialization and safety, why religious instruction is no longer the top reason families homeschool, and how parents can be deliberate about preparing homeschooled kids for adult life. And one stat that shocked me: there are now more homeschooled kids in America than kids in parochial schools . Links: Get Dixie’s book: https://amzn.to/4fRwrOg Checkout the WSJ review of Skipping School Have a parenting question? Ask at https://drphilboucher.com/ask Thanks for reading dear parents! This post is public so feel free to share it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dearparents.substack.com/subscribe

What can the history of homeschool teach us about the future of Catholic schooling? Historian and educator Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane joins Dr. Jaime Madison Vasquez to discuss her new book, Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream . Drawing on extensive research and interviews, Dixie traces homeschooling’s journey from a small and often hidden movement in the mid-twentieth century to a significant and growing part of the American educational landscape. The discussion includes the changing relationship between families and schools, why parental influence has become such an important educational question, and lessons for Catholic school leaders. Guests Dixie Dillon-Lane, Historian of Education, Author of Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream , Editor, Hearth and Field What We Cover * How Sputnik and the Cold War triggered federal intervention in local education and why that history illuminates the parental instincts driving educational choice today * The distinction between parental control, influence, and authority and what it means practically for school-family relationships in Catholic schools * How homeschooling evolved from a legally risky fringe practice into a minority norm now larger than Catholic schooling, and what that says about American beliefs * What the data actually shows about homeschooling and child safety and how Catholic school leaders can model clear-eyed, fair engagement with contested education statistics * Post-COVID shifts in how families weigh institutional affiliation against core values and the invitation that creates for schools anchored in a strong Catholic mission Chapters * 00:00: Introduction and Dixie’s background * 09:31: Sputnik and the Cold War’s impact on American education * 11:56: Early homeschoolers and the anti-institution movement * 17:14: Parental authority vs. control vs. influence * 25:03: Where homeschooling and Catholic schooling overlap * 31:54: Subsidiarity, local control, and education * 36:49: Homeschooling and child safety: data vs. narrative * 41:14: What public school performance numbers reveal * 44:01: Post-COVID shifts in values and institutional affiliation * 49:00: Lessons for Catholic school leaders in this moment * 53:15: The ultimate purpose of education Resources: * Skipping School: A History of American Homeschooling and How It Went Mainstream by Dixie Dillon Lane ( Amazon , Bookshop , Eerdmans Publishing ) * The Hollow Substack Newsletter * The Bad Moms Homeschool Substack Newsletter * Hearth & Field: A Journal, An Invitation, A Quest for Real Life Follow Dixie on LinkedIn Join the conversation * Leave a comment and subscribe at familiaris.substack.com * Become a paid subscriber at familiaris.substack.com/subscribe Paid subscribers gain access to monthly collaborative office hours. Office hours are hosted on Zoom and are not recorded. Pop in to ask a question, get feedback on what you’re working on with families, hear what other leaders are doing in their schools

Dixie Dillon Lane, Ph. D, is a historian, writer and homeschooling mother of four, as well as an Associate Editor at Hearth & Field journal. In this episode, we discuss the homeschooling experience and why more American parents are opting out of the public school system to teach their children in the home-based classroom. Dixie’s current book project is a history of homeschooling in Los Angeles since 1950. Follow her on X @DixieDillonLane and on Substack at TheHollow.substack.com .

The modern era of home education began in the 1950s and has continued to grow dramatically since. Join Jim Mason (HSLDA President) and homeschool mom and researcher Dixie Dillon Lane as they discuss the history of homeschooling through the lens of Dixie's doctoral thesis, "Leaving School." Dixie provides a historian's perspective on the various eras of homeschooling and Jim details HSLDA's role in establishing and maintaining homeschool freedom . Dixie also shares the immense joy that she has found in homeschooling her own children. "This feeling that the legality is gray, that you're in a gray area of the law? Not so much anymore, but for many, many decades that really affected the behavior of homeschoolers. Well, this is a really intriguing story […] One that involves both determination and fear and how the fear eventually became smaller and the determination stronger " —Dixie Dillon Lane