Homeschool is a verb is defined as “to teach your children at home instead of sending them to a school” (Homeschool). This means that a child is not taught at a public or private school; But the child is not necessarily just taught at home. Many homeschooling students participate in learning with other homeschooling families. Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, and in the United States alone, it is estimated that there are between 1.7 and 2.1 million homeschooling students. However, it is hard to know the exact number of these students since some states have different laws and do not require reporting (Frequently). Perhaps in the years to come, states will become more regulated across the board about reporting.
There are many regulations required for homeschooling, but these differ state to state. New Hampshire is considered to be moderate in terms of their regulations, while Rhode Island is one of the strictest states. In New Hampshire, an annual letter of intent is required, as well as a portfolio of the student’s work. An annual evaluation is also completed, whether by a certified teacher or through standardized testing (Homeschooling). Although there are multiple different ways to assess the work of a homeschool student, these two ways are the most popular in New Hampshire.
Parents decide to homeschool their children for multiple reasons. The most commonly given reason for homeschooling is religious and/or moral values. These reasons make up roughly seventy-five percent of parents. Some of these parents want more spiritual lessons taught that would not be provided in other schools. Others do not want their children to learn about evolution theories or sex education. The second most popular reason for hom...
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"Homeschooling Requirements." LoveToKnow. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
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O'Donnell, Christi. "Can a Parent Homeschool If They Don't Have a Diploma or GED?"Global Post. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. parent-homeschool-dont-diploma-ged-27112.html>. "Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education." EGSD. East Greenwich Public Schools, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
"The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling." Family Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. .
Homeschooling is becoming more popular in today’s society then before. Homeschooling is teaching school subjects to one’s children at home (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). But is homeschooling the best way to educate children? Homeschooling can bring more positive outcomes versus public or private schooling. This is because homeschooling can bring many benefits such as family orientation, no worries about bullies, less exposure to bad influences like drugs. Also it has a good success rate, adaptable cost, and flexibility. Homeschooling will keep increasing year by year. According to Dr. Brian D. Ray about 2% to 8% per annum was the growth over the past few years. For these and many more reasons is why parents choose to home school their children.
Homeschooling is becoming a huge trend across America. It does have its downsides to it, just like any other education. Many parents have to worry about the right way of letting their child have socialization. Without proper socialization, a child can lack proper social skills. Many parents fear the temptations public school can provide, so they homeschool their children to bring them up with holy and moral attitudes. No parent wants their child to hang around other children who abuse drugs, alcohol, or can misguide their children down a wrong path. With homeschooling, parents can monitor whom their children socialize with and for how long. Fearing to not have any socialization at all is where parents can go wrong.
“On the fringe” education has become increasingly more popular since the 1970’s while public education has been around since the 1600’s (Davis). “On the fringe” is what some parents think homeschooling is because they think schooling their children at home is “backwards” (Drenovsky and Cohen). However, homeschooling is more beneficial to students than public schooling.
Moreover, some families choose to Homeschool in order to screen their child’s curriculum to remove secularist views found in modern day public school curriculum (2002). Others have children with special needs or learning disabilities, so they choose to homeschool (Maaja, 1997). Ultimately, families are looking for what they believe is best for their children. And these families want to be actively involved in the education of their children. Homeschooling parents do not want strangers raising their children. They want to raise their children with freedom from government systems and institutions (Ray, 2000a).
Homeschooling is an unusual punishment inflicted upon many children in America. School is a place to be educated, make friends, find out who you are and learn life lessons. Homeschooling doesn't allow a child to independently develop. They are hidden from the real world. This causes many problems later in life.
Homeschooling is an education that gives parents choices and the right to teach their child however they want, but are the parents’ wants what the children need. Parents want to give their children moral instruction or want to teach them based on their religious beliefs and parents do have the right to do that because it is their child, but there are specific things that are essential for a child to learn or to experience. There are religious schools that give children an education on their faith and academically. Homeschooling doesn’t work because states have varying or no regulations on curriculum, some parents just aren’t equipped to teach their children, and homeschooled kids do not experience socialization. Parents don’t have to show how their child is performing academically, some parents only have a high school diploma or less, and homeschooled children are missing an important element of life because they aren’t learning or participating in class discussions or activities in a classroom setting.
Parents should do their research to make sure they are able and prepared to homeschool their children. Each state has their own requirements for homeschooling and most families pays for the studies themselves. In certain areas, enrollment in a state based program is optional. If that is the case, then the state pays for specific resources in exchange for the homeschool meeting certain requirements to remain in the program. If the child is already in public or private school and the parent decides to homeschool. The parent would need to write a letter of withdrawal that has to be given to the school principal or the local
While the majority choose to do so for academics, the reasoning goes beyond simply that. Homeschool families are often stereotyped as extremely religious and attempting to hide their children from the corruption and sin of the world. Families that do keep children out for these reasons are still prevalent within the homeschooling community; my mother contemplated homeschooling me and my brothers for this reason, and one of my best friends is homeschooled in a religious home. As homeschooling grows more mainstream, more families believe that public school squashes a child’s creativity and attempts to conform all children into the same person. Lynn Schnaiberg, a writer for Education Weekly, gives the reasons for four homeschooling families in her article “Staying Home from School.” In this article, the first family, the Scandora’s, believe “learning is not a product of teaching” and that their children should be free to learn at whatever pace they want. Another family featured in Schnaiberg’s article, the Collins family, is dissatisfied with the Baltimore city schools, which had some of the lowest test scores in the state. The Hoyt family has two children who are considered “gifted.” Because public schools do not give proper attention
“Is getting a good education important to you?” Most people when asked this question would answer, “Yes.” This is because it teaches us valuable life skills and prepares us to communicate and engage with others in the world. Education has taken on many forms over the years, and one of the more successful components of education has been homeschooling. Once considered a criminal act of defiance, homeschooling is now legally an option in all fifty states for parents to consider, and it has a substantial
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.
The homeschooling is a controversial topic as many have very different ideas on what they want for their children. The idea to opt for homeschooling originated in the 70s in parts of Europe but at passage of time it has spread throughout the world, now more than half million American boys and girls and about ten thousand. British do not attend public school or private school because their parents have come to the conclusion that at home can get a good education. At least as good as they could receive if they go to school (Sandra M. Alters ) education.
Homeschooled children’s personal education doesn’t get overlooked. According to “homeschooling vs. public schooling: making the right choice” in the Huffington Post, Marion Lewis states, that public schools focus on teaching the average student; which means any student above or below average doesn’t get what he/she needs. With so many students it’s no wonder many students are getting overlooked. Marion states that class sizes are too big, with class ratios being anywhere from one teacher with twenty students to a whopping thirty students to one teacher. Homeschooling helps fix this problem by having individualized education for each student. With homeschooling, the parent has the opportunity to pick out of the many curriculum options the right one to teach their child the way best suited for them. Marion also mentions how one on one teaching helps the parent (in this case the teacher) find and target the students weaknesses to help focus on fixing those weaknesses.
One might ask why some parents decide to home school their children rather than send them to public school to receive a traditional public education. In his article, “What Have We Learned About Homeschooling,” Eric Isenberg offers data which says, “Families choose to homeschool their children for both academic and religious reasons” (407). Even so, most people claim that public school offers the perfect environment for learning and developing. They argue
Homeschooling is receiving instruction of education in a place other than an established school. Some parents feel if they keep their children at home, they can minimize the chance that harm can happen. Other parents feel that they know their child best and can utilize personal strengths to work on educational needs. In the past, religion was the leading cause of parents who chose home schooling, now days this does not necessarily hold true.
All children in America have the right to a quality education. Most students receive that education through conventional means, going to a public or private school. There is another option for today's children, home schooling. Home schooling is a controversial issue. While it does have its benefits, some people believe it has too many downfalls to be an effective method of education. In this paper, topics such as academic impact, social impact, and parental opinions of home schooling will be discussed.