Department of Education pushes back after podcaster describes homeschooling as a ‘crazy Christian problem’

Liberal podcaster Jennifer Welch sharply criticized homeschooling as “trickle-down stupidity” and “MAGA on steroids” in a July 14 podcast episode, prompting swift backlash from the Department of Education (DoE) and many prominent conservatives. 

On the “I’ve Had It” podcast, which has roughly 1.73 million subscribers, Welch and her co-host Angie Sullivan played a message from a listener who said she has “had it with” watching “some of the stupidest people I went to school with decide they’re qualified to homeschool their children.”

“This is trickle-down stupidity,” Welch said of homeschooling. “This is MAGA on steroids. This is MAHA, this is trad wife, this is unvaxxed and unjacked and all that s***. This is the worst worst worst. And this s*** is — America has a crazy Christian problem. We have a fundamental crazy Christian problem.”

Welch, an atheist, added that she’s “talking about the freaks of the mega church,” the “ones that have schools that are these crazy indoctrination factories, hate academies. And then when that hit isn’t strong enough, they go to homeschooling, and I just think it’s a huge problem.”

Sullivan similarly called homeschooling a “bad idea” and called it “weird as f*** that you want your kids around you all day every day and all night.” She added that she doesn’t “trust somebody who wants to be with their kids 24/7,” saying she would have done anything to send her own children to school and “just get them to where I wasn’t.”

“I think a lot of dumb people just do it because it’s easier, and that’s a concern,” Sullivan said.

The remarks quickly spread online and prompted responses from political figures and conservative commentators.

In a July 15 post on X, the DoE shared a July 14 New York Post article about the remarks and argued that homeschoolers have “demonstrated their ability to succeed at the highest level time and time again.” 

“The proven value of homeschooling should never be dismissed as ‘trickle-down stupidity,’” the department added in the post. “The only thing that is stupid is your ignorance.” 

The department cited the inaugural winner of the Presidential 1776 Award, Miriam Washut, as one example of homeschoolers’ success. Washut, who plans to attend Wyoming Catholic College in 2027, told Zeale News in a July 1 interview that she spent months studying America’s founding documents for the competition. She said the experience deepened her appreciation for the nation’s founding principles and strengthened her faith as she relied on God and the saints’ intercessions throughout the competition.

>> EXCLUSIVE | Future Wyoming Catholic College student wins inaugural Presidential 1776 Award <<

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, also rejected the podcasters’ claims, writing July 15, “Not true. Also, in my experience homeschool students tend to be noticeably well-behaved.” 

Conservative commentator Glenn Beck mocked the podcasters’ stance in a July 15 X post and video and challenged them to debate a homeschooled teenager from his audience.

Homeschooling has grown significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to census data analyzed by Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and cited by Newsweek in a July 14 report, an estimated 5.92% of school-aged children were homeschooled during the 2023-2024 school year. That percentage is up from 2.8% before the pandemic.

Multiple studies cited by Newsweek also indicate that homeschooled students often outperform or do as well as their traditionally schooled peers on standardized tests and college outcomes. The National Home Education Research Institute, a homeschooling research and advocacy organization, found that homeschooled students typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public-school students on standardized achievement tests.

Newsweek also cited a 2016 study from the University of Minnesota, which examined 732 homeschooled students at 140 colleges and universities. Researchers found that the homeschooled students entered college with higher average SAT scores and high school GPAs than the broader pool of traditionally educated students.