Two highly complimentary letters to the editor piqued my interest enough to look up Allie Gosselin’s March 13 letter.

I expected a well-written, non-biased, perceptive opinion on race. What I found was a girl playing into the stereotype of a sheltered homeschooler. While her letter was well-written — and I agree that it is good that we have schools where all races mingle — I do not agree with her portrayal of homeschoolers.

I am an eighth-grade homeschooler. Public opinion seems to be that homeschoolers are sheltered, biased and unsocialized. The public is misinformed. I am part of a mixed homeschool group where different races mingle freely and without bias.

I believe that all people are equal, and I am not proud of America’s history of slavery. However, I have to say that in the time I have spent around public school students, many of them are as uneasy or more so around people of other races than Allie says she was.

I have played on city league sports teams where the minority race was practically ignored by the majority of the team. While there may be homeschoolers who are sheltered, most of the ones I know are comfortable around people of all races and ages.

People who play into the stereotype are not helping to correct this misperception. The fact that she so readily accepted people of different races makes me think that she had not been taught prejudice and was not as sheltered as her letter insinuates.

It just sounds like she was uncomfortable around people different from the ones she had known. While I am glad Allie is enjoying the diversity of public school, please realize that this does not mean that most homeschoolers are sheltered or biased.

Kara Russell
Dothan