The Effectiveness Of Home Schooling

Some families prefer to homeschool their kids because they don't agree with the public school system, not because they are Christians. There are people who don't agree with how their student is taught in public school, and there are also student's who were bullied in public school so they start homeschooling. Some families just prefer to spend more time with their kids rather than sending them off to school eight hours a day. Parents who homeschool also might prefer a more involved style of parenting, which could influence their decision to homeschool. Some families also homeschool just because they have the ability

Before presenting both the positive and the negative aspects of homeschooling it is worth mentioning that the deciding factor for parents choosing to homeschool as opposed to public schooling generally falls into a biased opinion of public schooling. As mentioned in an NPR radio interview, “the number one reason parents give is the desire to provide religious or moral instruction and that the second most popular reason, closely followed behind, was a concern about the school environment” Martin, M. (2013). These type of reasoning for home schooling presents some valid question, such as, who determines what the best approach or the best form of education? Is the quality of education

While the American public school system educates the majority of students today, a fast growing population is beginning to accept homeschooling as an adequate alternative. Anyone with kids desires only the best education and experiences for them. Those who face this decision have to take in the plentiful list of differences and decide which will suit their family best. For years, most people saw homeschooling as an ineffiecent replacement to the government-provided schools already in existence. However, in the last ten years, studies have proved that homeschooling well equipps a student for college and beyond, changing the minds of many(http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college?page=2). In order to make this crutial decision between public or home school, one must account for the social and extracurricular opportunites, the educational aspect, and what role the family plays in education.

Homeschooling is on the rise in America. According to a 2007 NHES study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education there are an estimated 1.5 million students actively being homeschooled up from the 850,000 estimated in previous study conducted in 1999 (NCES, 1). Once seen as a fringe activity usually associated with the religious right, homeschooling now encompasses many mainstream families looking for educational alternatives in the face of such issues as violence, peer pressure, and poor academic quality in many public schools. Detractors on the other hand claim that homeschooling is a less effective method of educating America’s youth citing academic and social issues. Despite critics’ claims to the contrary, homeschooling is an effective and viable method of education as its participants not only do well academically; they are well socialized and are successful in college and later life.

Nowadays homeschooling is an activity that have become more popular in United States. In homeschooling parents teach many subjects at home, instead of taking their children to the traditional classrooms with more children. In my point of view I have two reasons to be against homeschool children; these two reasons are the next:

Despite home-schooling’s controversy because of the lack of teaching credentials for parents and socialization, homeschooling has big benefits for children. The first benefit is that while homeschooled, students receive individualized education. Parents spend all their time and attention to their children. Parents can devote all their time and attention to their children. Martin points out that parents understand their children best (Martin). Therefore, they can choose the best method to motivate their children to learn. “Parents are also able to evaluate their children on a daily basis and provide further instruction if needed” (Martin). Individualized education also provide necessary help as needed. As a result, homeschooled students achieve

Throughout history, homeschooling has been practiced by parents, extended family, and tutors. However, a small number of children were being subjected to homeschooling as compared to the 21st century (Gaither, p.226). Homeschooling is regarded as the provision of education to young people in a private setting as opposed to public setting. Instead of being educated by the teachers, the children are educated by their own parents, relatives, or tutors hired and paid by the parents. Parents who opt to subject their children to homeschooling, do so for a variety of reasons ranging from religious demand, structure of public schools to personal preferences.

In the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012, the number of American children 5 through 17 years old who were being home schooled by their parents climbed by 61.8 percent. There has been drastic increases in home education over the last several years. It is estimated that a total of 2 million students (2.3%) are home schooled in the U.S today. This begs the question, why home school?

Parents choose to homeschool their children for many years for many different reasons. To name a few reasons, the location (rural or suburbs), income, the belief that they can teach better, or the parent’s religious belief. Is homeschooling a better option than sending a child to a public or private school? Homeschooling is not all that bad or a traditional school is more superior, it comes down to the parent’s preference of what they think is best for themselves and their child. There is a misconception that homeschooling will not allow students to be successful due to students are not well enforced by the parents to do their work. Even in a traditional school, students may be

Once a parent has child that is old enough to start school, the parent has to think about if they want to enroll their child in public school or homeschool them. Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially.

Yet, many home schooled children come from families of accountants, professors, doctors, lawyers and small- business owners. At first, homeschooling was a sort of a marginal political movement. It has evolved into a separate lifestyle of parents and children that has many supporters in the USA. However, public school systems today are in a decline, which is why many parents turn to home schooling education. The progress in school education has stagnated since 1970s and, unfortunately, existing solutions to this problem do not seem to work well. The question is whether homeschooling is a kind of solution we all need.

Homeschooling has been practiced throughout history especially in colonial times due to the lack of schools in the colonies. When public and private schools became popular in society, the homeschooling path was erased for many parents. The idea of homeschooling seemed to be crushed for Americans until John Holt revived the idea in the 1970s. Holt believed that early children education was harmful because it ruined a child’s individuality. In the 1980s, a young man named Michael Farris established an organization called the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). Farris pushed the organization to erase any difficulties of homeschooling your child such as district school board officials requiring homeschooled

The popularity of home school began rising in the 1970s and growth continues to increase. (Murphy 336). The National Center for Education Statistics estimated in 2007 that 1.5 million students were homeschooled in the United States (Drenovsky and Cohen 20). This number is now reported at around two million, and Murphy states, “ . . . it [homeschooling] remains the fastest growing form of education in the United States” (342). This information proves that parents are searching for an alternative to traditional public-school education. Many wish to educate their children due to their own experiences, beliefs, and values. While other people argue that home school provides students with no social skills and complications when applying for college; however, these are misconceptions. Home school is an appropriate option to provide an education to children, and it does not leave them incompetent to survive in the “real world”.

Surprisingly, there are a variety of people that do homeschooling. Both people from high-income to low-income families. There are parents that even have doctorates or even a diploma in a general subject. Families with either one or two parents and differing ethnics and religious or secular inducement choose to homeschool (Ray 2002). Researchers come to the conclusion that homeschoolers, for the most part, have free reign when it comes to their homework and school pace that they feel that suits them the best.

¨Homeschooling is a middle ground for parents who do not want their children in public school, but do not want to or cannot pay the price of private or charter schools¨ (The City Writes). There are approximately 2.2 million students in the U.S. that are being homeschooled, of that number only a handful of them go to college. Homeschooling was originally for students with disabilities, but is no longer used solely for that purpose. Although homeschooling may be central to a busy child's life, it should be eliminated because it minimizes the range of information in daily lessons, strains relationships between students and teachers, and eradicates social skills.