Homeschooling Is Becoming A Fast Growing Educational Trend

In 1980, homeschooling was illegal in 30 states. Later on, it was recognized as a parent's right across the country in the year 1993 (Martin, 2014). A survey was made to the respondents. They were asked if homeschooling was an acceptable means of education. As the results of Phi Delta Kappan Gallup survey, Americans have become more receptive to the idea of homeschooling. They think that homeschooling has become an alternative option to public schools because it is more socially acceptable (Moreau, 2012). In the previous related study, it was mentioned that the increase of homeschooled students had been consistent. It only shows that the acceptance of homeschooling has been broad as the years passed

Not long ago, my parents received an endless amount of criticism, similar to the Walls’ family, for their decision to homeschool my siblings and me. Many “feared” for us, because according to them, there was no way we were going to learn effectively at home, what we could in a formal school. My mom tells me stories of how people she’d known expressed genuine concern over the idea of educating children in a different way than what is deemed “normal.” I do not blame these people for their concern, as they were raised in a society that emphasizes a single approach to learning. Although there were definitely times growing up when I wished to attend a brick and mortar school like “normal” people, after a certain age I genuinely appreciated my parent’s decision. Being home-schooled has taught me so much more than just the basic principles of education. I grew up being highly self-reliant due to my online school requiring students to be almost entirely responsible for keeping up with their work. Similar to college, I had a syllabus provided to me, and had no one other than myself to make sure I was on top of everything. This helped me to become a responsible and well-organized individual. I also gained a quality education, despite all of the fear and concern of those around me. I still have to answer the questions, “Why were you homeschooled?” and, “Didn’t you want to go to regular school?” more

Education in our society is a very important factor in shaping our future. One’s future is depended on the education they receive and everyone is somehow affected by this. Children from the ages of kindergarteners to seniors in high school, college graduates, and stay at home mothers, are all shaped by the education the government provides us. There are many different ways to acquire an education some through private schools, public, charter, and being homeschooled. However, homeschooling is growing more in popularity than it has ever been.

Homeschooling is a type of education which typically occurs in the home with the child’s parent or guardian serving as the primary educator. Currently, homeschooling is legal in all 50 states and is considered to be one of the fastest growing segments of K-12 education in the United States. In 2007, homeschooled students represent approximately 3 percent of children attending K-12 in the United States (Cogan 19). Since homeschooling is outside the control of the traditional education system, questions have been raised as to whether or not homeschooling can adequately prepare students for a college environment and the rigors of college academics. One side of this argument claims that homeschooling does not adequately prepare students for a college environment. Supporters of this side believe that homeschooling isolates students from the outside world, rendering them socially and educationally handicapped (Romanowski 125). Since their schooling experiences are limited to their homeschool setting, they are at a disadvantage with their postsecondary studies (Romanowski 127). The other side argues that homeschooling is an adequate form of schooling for college preparation. I BELIEVE THAT HOMESCHOOLING CAN ADEQUATELY PREPARE STUDENTS FOR A COLLEGE ENVIRONMENT.

George Bernard Shaw, an influential Irish writer, once said, “My schooling not only failed to teach me what it professed to be teaching but prevented me from being educated to an extent which infuriates me when I think of all I might have learned at home by myself.” Many parents have latched onto Shaw’s beliefs and have made the audacious decision to home educate. Currently, there are approximately 1,642,027 homeschooled children in the U.S.A. alone. Home educating is an alternative to mainstream public schooling, and it is performed within the home through curriculums, co-ops, or online education systems. Homeschooling is advantageous because homeschooled children are proven to perform better academically, they can avoid inimical mainstream school situations, and parents can specialize curriculum in the best interest of their child individually.

Through my personal experience and research I have accumulated that homeschooling has become more appealing to the average American family. Through my research I found more families should consider the task of taking on homeschooling to focus on the student’s personal needs and education style. Charlotte Postlewaite writer of "The Home School Debate” opens her article with “ Homeschooling is perhaps the fastest growing option that parents consider for alternative education and school choice. According to The National Center for Education Statistics, in 1999 about 850,000 students’ ages five through 17 with a grade equivalent of kindergarten through grade 12 were home-schooled.” Thus, preparing their student for college.

Another reason that people may think homeschooling is not good for kids, is that they don’t get a well rounded education. In the article “Homeschooling Curricula Do Not Meet Academic Standards,” it talks about how a mother or father can teach their kids when they, the parents, haven’t been to college (Shives). The teachers that teach in public, private, and charter schools have gone to college to learn how to teach their students. These teacher take years of college to be able to teach kids what they need to know. The teachers take specialized classes for specific grade levels as well. These classes are all tailored to help kids learn in each stage of their lives. In my personal experience when I’ve had Algebra homework and needed help, my

What do parchment, a feather quill, a CD, and even a horse drawn carriage all have in common? All of these devices have become outdated and replaced by something more beneficial and useful to society. Unlike these improvements, public education has remained relatively the same. However, the controversial and heated topic of homeschooling is about to change that. Many individuals have strong opinions on homeschooling either for or against it for various reason. Will public school become a thing of the past for the public good? Brian D. Ray, President of the National Home Education Research Institute, in his article, “Does home schooling promote the public good?,” ventures to argue this

For the first 230 years of our history, parents, not the government, were in charge. Competence in reading, writing, and arithmetic was nearly universal at the time of the American Revolution. But by the mid-nineteenth century, a band of reformers led by Horace Mann of Massachusetts replaced our founding, free-market education system with a system of state-run education, with compulsory attendance and standardized curriculum. (Forstmann, 2001) Homeschooling has been around for a long time and is not going anywhere. It continues to increase as the year's pass, and it’s not slowing down. Many pioneers have fought for homeschooling, and new ones continue to surface. While the public education continues to downplay homeschooling, home educators continue to flourish in many ways by performing academically and becoming professionals in their field of study. The reasons parents chose to homeschool for religious reasons, low standard in public schools, academic advancement, and a safer environment. From my own experience with homeschooling, its beneficial for a variety of reasons. One reason would be one on one teaching according to the child’s learning style. When you compare this method to the public sector, children are receiving constant tutorial help from their parents. Receiving tutorial help doesn’t mean that the child will not know how to perform without assistance but prepares the child to study on their own and master the scope and sequence of studying. A child will have

Homeschooling, not very well known, presents a new and affordable way to educate children. “Home school is a term used to refer to the education of children by their parents or guardians in a setting other than a public or private school” (Anderman & Anderman, p. 467). It has never been a new thing; it just has not been as popular as it used to be (Lines, p. 76). With this topic meaning so much to groups for and against the right for homeschooling and what should be legalized or not, the debate still rages on from local to even national government entities. Both sides of the argument have valid points, but ultimately it is the choice of the parents. There are many types of ways to educate children and that decision is difficult for both

Homeschooling a child can drastically affect their lives in the future, and put them in a clouded state of mind for seeing what the world is. Schooling your child from home will hold them back from learning a wide variety of basic skills that can be easily provided in public or private school systems. Although some see homeschooling as a good way to shelter their children from the world they view as harsh, it is not giving them any chance to gain common social skills. Social skills cannot be taught to a child, they are something the child must learn from interaction with his or her peers. Furthermore, homeschool teachers are not required the level of training and experience that a teacher at a public school are required (Hudak). Diversity is something widely portrayed in school systems; however, homeschooling doesn't allow students to bear witness to the diverse nature found in school systems.

Part IV analyzes the first of these routes, which is whether homeschooling could become a fundamental right because of deep roots in American history and tradition. Raley argues that homeschooling has been the primary form of education for most of Western history and that states have almost always refrained from infringing on the ability of parents to educate their children at home. For example, in societies like ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, medieval England and colonial America, only the wealthy could send their children to school. The vast majority of people were instructed at home by family members (e.g. in a trade). Even when America’s first compulsory education law appeared in Massachusetts in the late 1800s, the Massachusetts Supreme Court concluded that homeschooling should be permitted due to the fact that, “[t]he great object of these provisions of the statutes has been that all the children shall be educated, not that they shall be educated in any particular way.” In fact, despite a brief period of questionable legality during the

Who homeschools? Although due to the private and largely unregulated nature of homeschooling, it is difficult to determine the actual number of homeschoolers in the United States many believe that there are 1-2 million homeschooled students.() Considering in _____ estimates were closer to __________ homeschooling proves to be a very popular option among today’s parents. Although Christian beliefs are still a reason some homeschool a greater number of today’s parents are choosing to homeschool for reasons far beyond this stereotype. The opinion that the public school system in this country is holding children back from reaching their full potential by going at the pace of the slowest learners in the classroom, is just one of the many reasons parents decide to homeschool. Others chose to homeschool because their family requires the convenience of a flexible school day. With public schools battling drugs, alcohol, and an increasing number of violent and sometimes deadly acts within our public schools it is no wonder parents today are searching for better alternatives. The question remains whether homeschooling is the answer to these concerns.

So many reasons why parents choose to home school their children. Even though it has been said that the drop-out rate is higher than in public schools, it has been proven by the NHERI (National Home Education Research Institute) that home schooled children have a higher success rate for college education. NHERI conducts, collects and provides research on homeschooling and publishes the information in the Home School Researcher Journal. Home schooling has become very popular and some people believe that it provides a better education.

Education is a very important concern in the hearts of Americans. . But what exactly is the best form of education. Homeschooling has gradually made its way into the education field as an acceptable and controversial form of education. Homeschooling can simply be defined as educating children at home or the community rather than at school (Withrow, 1999; Cromwell, 1998; Lines, 1995). An alternative definition would be, parents choosing the schooling for their children (What is Homeschooling, 2000).