Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Sonlight not going secular

There was a recent article writen addressing that Sonlight had secularized its curriculum for public school use. You can find the article here. Sonlight however is not secularizing its curriculum and is staying true to its focus. Here is a quote from  Judy Wnuk, Sonlight Forums Moderator,
"Please let me begin by offering that there are some statements in the linked article which are incorrect ... primarily ... the comment (and article title) that says Sonlight is adjusting its homeschool material for public-school use. This is simply not true. Sonlight is making no changes or adjustments to either its product line or its mission statement, to make it more palatable for public school use. We remain committed to the purpose and function that began Sonlight back in 1990.

The gentleman quoted in the article is actually employed by InquisiCorp Corporation, which is Sonlight's parent company. InquisiCorp owns a number of companies, *one* of which is Sonlight Curriculum Ltd. It is one of InquisiCorp's family of companies that is working with the school districts mentioned in the news article, not Sonlight.

The article also mentions that Sonlight publishes some of the books which the Douglas County School District uses for its home education program. Again, this is incorrect. The few books, and Instructor's Guides, which Sonlight publishes are of Christian character. Sonlight distributes a number of titles from other publishers as well. Any books which Cloverleaf is utilizing were published by other publishers whose products Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd. may distribute.

While some may feel that what I've shared is "splitting hairs" ... the distinction is very important in the business world. Sonlight and the other companies owned by InquisiCorp are *not* the same, any more than Disney and Touchstone, or Honda and Acura, are the same. While each of those companies may share common products, staffing, and even design and marketing ideas under an over-arching corporate structure, each maintains its own distinct identity and mission.

In summary ... the article which you linked does include some misinformation which I hope I have addressed in my comments here. As I noted earlier, I do appreciate your willingness to ask for clarification of what you read. Please rest assured that Sonlight Curriculum remains a Christian-focused curriculum and we have no plans to "secularize".

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