The Nature and Value of Support Groups
By Alison Martín

Two very important questions that T'CHERs often asks are:
       What local support group, if any, do you belong to?
       If none, would you like information about groups in your area?
While a state level organization such as T'CHERs certainly provides support and opportunities for homeschoolers to get to know one another, it is on the local level, in the support groups, where frequent face to face encouragement takes place.

So, just what is a local homeschool support group?  I would say that the broadest definition would be the best one.  A homeschool support group is two or more homeschoolers supporting and encouraging each other by whatever means.  It would be impossible to outline each and every way that definition is manifested, but I will give some common examples so that you can delight, as I do, in our diverse, yet supportive community.  Individuality is a hallmark of homeschooling and that is reflected in the variety of local support groups in Puerto Rico.

Support groups are usually considered to be closed or open.  While the words closed and open seem to have, respectively, negative and positive connotations to them, in this usage, they don't.  They simply refer to the type of membership the groups have.  Closed groups are those that restrict membership according to some criteria.  Some examples are groups that are:
    -defined by a particular homeschool methodology
    -defined by a particular religion
    -based on a specific theme  (i.e. ecology)
    -small cooperatives

Open groups are those in which membership is open to all.

Support groups operate with varying degrees of organizational structure.  They may have their own type of all, some, or none of the following:  bylaws, a governing board, membership fee and roll, committees, calendar, agenda for meetings, etc.

Most support groups generally fall within two operational models: 1) from top down, or 2) from bottom up.  In a from top down model, the board, or if there is no board, certain persons, generally make decisions for the group and determine the directions the group will go and then guide the membership in that direction.  In a from bottom up model, the members generally make decisions and determine what directions to go, and the board or certain persons then are charged with leading the group there.

While most support groups discuss issues such as homeschool legislation, they vary in what they do from there.  Some decide to speak out as a group, while others decide that they will not make a statement as a group but as individuals, on such issues.

Groups meet on varying schedules.  Some have calendars planned out in advance, others plan as they go, and others simply meet on the spur of the moment.   They may meet daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, haphazardly, etc.

The greatest support from support groups comes when homeschoolers are interacting, and each group encourages that interaction in its own way.  Some examples are:  on line chats and message boards, meetings with topics for adults, meetings with activities for kids, field trips, yearbooks, graduation exercises, community service projects, clubs, etc.

The number and variety of support groups in Puerto Rico is growing and this is a good thing.  More groups mean that more people can find the best support for their particular family.   That being said, however, what if your support group is not really to your liking, what are your options?

If there are other groups in your area, you can certainly visit those to see if they are more what you have in mind.   If there are no other groups in your area, maybe you can effect changes by getting more involved in your group.   If your group seems pretty set on how it is,  however,  should you simply quit?  No,  if it is truly the only group in your area, you are bound to meet other like-minded people as they seek out homeschooling support and find your group.  From there you can branch off to form a new group.   (In the meantime, you can also post a message on the T'CHERs message forums about your interest in starting a group.)  I believe that a sign of a healthy local support group is that it is not afraid to encourage its members to find or create the niche that they are most comfortable in.

As an example of the progression that can be made by sticking with your group, although it is not meeting your needs or desires, and what can happen when a group is not afraid to let go of its members in an encouraging way if their needs are not being met and they are ready to leave, I'd like to share what has happened in the West.
  
     -When we first got together to create a support group, we were divided on whether we should be an open or closed group.  It was finally decided that we would be a closed group (CHEC-WEST - Christian Home Educators of the Caribbean), although not everyone in the group wanted that.  
     -After a year, it was suggested that those wanting an open group should form their own, and thus, WEAVER (Western Home Education Association - a Variety Enriched Resource) was born.   
     -Some members of WEAVER at one point, then branched off to create a small closed group, with an emphasis on ecology.  
     -WEAVER usually meets on the west coast, but did have a couple families from Ponce because there was no group in the South for them.  So,  in order to help their members find homeschoolers who lived closer to them, WEAVER invited people from the South to their "Not-Back-To-School Party," which was held in Ponce that year.  (T'CHERs gladly passed the invitation along to those on its mailing list who live in that area since T'CHERs strives to encourage the creation, growth, and strengthening of all types of local support groups.)  The result of WEAVER's invitation?  A new support group was started in the South.         
     -After a couple years, the group in the South dissolved when quite a few of the families ended up moving to the States.            
     -A year later, however, WEAVER (and T'CHERs) again took the initiative to help a group start in the South when a couple families from Ponce started attending WEAVER meetings because of a lack of a group closer to home.   And so was born Homeschoolers del Sur! 
     -WEAVER continues to grow in leaps and bounds and it is exciting to think of the possible branch off groups that may develop from it and the interconnections of encouragement and support that are a natural byproduct of that as more and more homeschoolers get to know one another.

Whether your homeschool support group looks like two homeschooling friends sharing coffee and life, like a highly structured organization, or like anything in between, nurture that group and the individuals in it and you will find yourself nurtured in return.