"The O'Keefes: Homeschool Stereotyping"

by Shanxi Upsdell

Update: "The O'Keefes" were discontinued from television.

Sometimes my father jokes he homeschooled us because of worries about our socialization in public school.

At least, I thought it was a joke…until now.

An article by NBC News and News Services detailed a hazing incident in a suburban Chicago school, which turned so violent five girls were taken to hospitals for treatment.

What irritates me is that some people seem to excuse hazing as “innocent traditions” while maintaining the stereotype that homeschoolers are socially deprived.

Furthermore, Warner Brothers is seeking to reinforce this stereotype with a new sitcom, “The O’Keefes,” piloting May 22 and set to air this summer.

The movie depicts three homeschooled children as intellectually brainy, but socially incompetent.

“They can speak six languages, but are unable to converse with kids their own age,” the plot synopsis reads.

“The answer lies in their father’s worst nightmare – public school.”

Ah yes, public school – where they can experience hazing, teasing and bullying in all its socializing glory.

In Chicago’s suburban Glenbrook North High School, the hazing caused one girl to break her ankle, while another said she was hit with a bat or bucket and needed stitches.

While this hazing was an extreme example, it is not uncommon.

Alfred University conducted a nationwide study in 2000 where 48 percent of students nationwide said they had experienced hazing in some form.

Surely socialization should be less painful.

After enduring almost two years of traditional schooling, I had become a clam.

I feared to say anything in case I was mocked or insulted.

Once my parents started homeschooling, however, my mother supplemented my education with speech, drama and debate.

As a result, I believe homeschooling has made me more socially adjusted than I could ever have been in public school.

Non-homeschoolers need to know this.

Furthermore, Warner Brothers needs to know this.

Homeschoolers can write to Warner Brothers at

Warner Bros. Television
4000 Warner Boulevard
Burbank, CA 91522

– or e-mail them at: complaints@wb.org.

Together, homeschoolers can show Warner Brothers that real socialization does not always occur at hazings or other school settings, but in public-schools’ worst nightmare – homeschooling.

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High school hazing injures 5 girls

'Powderpuff' football game erupts in violence in Illinois

NBC NEWS AND NEWS SERVICES

GLENBROOK, Ill., May 7 - A "powderpuff" touch football game that was an annual hazing tradition at a suburban Chicago high school turned into a muddy brawl that left five teenage girls injured, authorities said.

OFFICIALS AT GLENBROOK North High School and police were reviewing videotapes and photographs of the incident, which occurred Sunday, to identify the participants. 

Police indicated that criminal charges could be filed. Officials at the 2,100-student high school told the Chicago Tribune that the fracas occurred off campus, during what they said was an annual hazing ritual in which seniors would square off with juniors - all of them girls - for a touch football game. 

The younger girls, who were charged $35 to $40 apiece and were provided with jerseys, said they were expecting some form of mild hazing during the contest but instead were hit and spattered with pig intestines, fish guts, blood and smelly trash, four girls who said they attended the game told the Tribune on condition of anonymity. 

"It was supposed to be a friendly initiation into our senior year," a 17-year-old told the newspaper, saying she required stitches after being "hit over the head with a bat or a bucket."

'SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!' 

In a videotape of the incident obtained by NBC affiliate WMAQ-TV of Chicago, senior girls are seen pouring paint on juniors, rubbing what some said was animal manure in their faces and forcing them to swallow what were reported to be animal parts. 

"Someone please help me! Can you please help me?" one of the girls is heard crying. 

Glenbrook District School Superintendent Dave Hales told the Tribune that one report said "human excrement" also was thrown at the juniors. 

In a study conducted in 2000 by Alfred University in Alfred, N.Y., 48 percent of students nationwide said they had experienced some form of hazing. The study recommended that school administrators adopt written guidelines on hazing and establish a strong disciplinary record. 

But Glenbrook North Principal Michael Riggle, who said alcohol contributed to the violence, maintained that the school could not be held responsible. 

"The problem that we have is it always takes place in an area that is not on our campus, and it's not school-sanctioned. Our students even try to hide the location," Riggle told NBC News. 

In addition to the girl who required stitches, one girl suffered a broken ankle in the incident. Three others were treated for bumps and bruises, school officials said.