Homeschooing: An Effective Means of Education

It is obvious, based on these statistics, that parents homeschool their children for different reasons including religious beliefs, problems with the school system, and disabilities. Although the reasons for homeschooling may be valid; nevertheless, the disadvantages to the parents, children, and school system will eventually outweigh the positives. Homeschool is an ever-increasing trend for those parents who are insistent on greater success for their children in today’s competitive society. The question that arises with this movement is whether or not homeschooling is actually beneficial. Thirty-three percent of homeschooling parents cite religious beliefs as their main reason for homeschooling their children, as determined by a 2002 United States Census Bureau study (Gordon, 2003, para.

Merriam-Webster, Incorporated. Retrieved April 24, 2003, from http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=homeschooled National Home Education Research Institute. (2002). Home Education Research Fact Sheet. National Home Education Research Institute.

Retrieved April 20, 2003, from http://www.steoltingco.com/tests/catolog/TKFGRS.htm Anderson, Jeanne. (2002). Selecting Child Care. [Electronic version]. Retrieved April 21, 2003, from http://earlylearning.org/KC/Parents.htm#care Zill, Nicholas.

(1994, January). The Case for Homeschooling. Retrieved November 19, 2003 www.libertyhaven.com/politicsandcurrentevents/educationhomeschoolingorchildren/ casehomescho.shtml

Period Model. Retrieved May 2, 2003. from http://www.creativelearningcentre.com/default.asp?page=styles&sub=pyramid&la ng=&cs=NZ%24&cr=1&theme=main Magazine: Sears, Dr. (2001). Your child and School. Retrieved May 1, 2003. from www.parenting.com. Carol, Gina.

Retrieved November 14, 2003 from http://npin.org/pnews/1998/pnew298/pnew298i.html. This web page tells the reasons why parents involve themselves in their child’s school. It also explains under what circumstances these parents will participate. Wilson, D. (2002). Parents involvement helps in child’s education.

Homeschooling: Academics, Socialization and College Admissions Prospects Homeschooling is probably one of the least known and least understood issues in education. Many people tend to think that most homeschoolers are religious conservatives or extremists. However, the truth is that people from all walks of life are joining the homeschooling bandwagon (Ray, 2004). The main misconception is that homeschooled children don’t get the same academic and social education as traditionally schooled children. Contrary to popular perception, homeschooled children have the same, if not better academic opportunities, social opportunities and college admissions prospects than traditionally schooled students have.

Retrieved December 7, 2004, from http://www.child-reading-tips.com/cons-of-home-schooling.htm Pawlas, G.E. (2001). Clearing the air about home schooling. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 37(2), pp. 63-66.

Champaign, IL: ERIC Clearing house on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproductive Service No. ED458046) 7. Head Start Works, But Needs More Funding and Better Teachers, (2002). Retrieved on November 5, 2002 from NIEER (National Institute for Early Learning Response, http://nieer.org/media center/index.php?pressid=7 8.

When investigating the importance of home schooling to children, one must see the pros and cons associated with educating the child at home. The cons of teaching children at home are evident when looking at the child’s social life and future educational career. There are 1.2 estimated million students who are educated at home out of 52.7 enrolled students in 1998 (Clark/Havice). Interaction among students in schools allows them to develop social skills necessary for life. Home schooling prevents children from fully maturing into adults because of the constant interaction among other students and teachers that they would lack.