Homeschooling : A Viable Option For Many Parents

Thesis: Homeschooling environment is an effective approach in education due to evidence of higher achievement on placement tests, success through college, engaged socially with activities outside homes, and students becoming active members of society.

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.

There are many definitions for the term “real world”. Consequently, to the homeschooling parent, the real world starts when they give birth at conception, all the way until they reach the lawful age of 18. As a result, parents have structured their curriculum up to the 12th grade level. The “real world” has various meanings, and to the homeschooling community, there are many factors which come into play (Ray, 2004, p. 5). Ray asserts

Many, Parents have an opinion of what’s taught in their child’s classroom. Some parents want total control over what their child is exposed to. According to Michael’s Haverluck CBN news article Socialization: Homeschooling vs. Schools, he states “Parents feel that they can provide a better education at home, religious reasons, there is a poor learning environment at home, family reasons, and they feel that their children will develop character and morality.” (Haverluck). Parents have the chance to teach their children the values that they want. Children have the opportunity to choose when and where they want to study. The child does not have to be limited to a specific time schedule like public schools being six hours a day. The child can make his/her own

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.

An article from 2015 about homeschooling and public school stated that “it’s estimated that as many as 2 million American students are being educated at home.” There are several families that would prefer homeschooling over public school for several reasons, which will be discussed in this essay. The two topics that will be discussed are homeschooling and public school. There will be multiple topics discussed in this essay, such as pros and cons of homeschooling and public schooling, and which option would be the best option for certain types of families and students. These two topics will be contrasted by explaining which topic would be the better option for specific groups of people, and certain families. The purpose of this essay is to describe the advantages and disadvantages of home and public schooling. Also, the purpose of this essay to show statistics about which system of education would be best for certain families, specifically those who are low-income families, and want the best option for their children. Whereas public schooling is inexpensive and gives children a chance to make friends, homeschooling is the best option because it gives children a safe, and more compatible learning environment.

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.

Stereotypes have continued to lead people to believe that homeschoolers are isolated from the real world. However, taking a closer look into public and private schools it becomes apparent that traditionally schooled children are the ones not living in the real world. Traditionally schooled children are confined to a classroom for around 180 days each year with minimum opportunities to be exposed to a workplace or to go on field trips. Also, they are usually only surrounded by children their own age. Lastly, in traditional school everything is provided for the students and the students are given little to no responsibility. These students are not prepared to be responsible at home or the workplace, making them unprepared for life after graduation.

She also had been a high school math and physics teacher along with holding a liberal arts and sciences degree from St. John’s College, and she hold a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University. Homeschooling can be a matter of consistency for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently. Parents need to be involved in their children’s home schooling and they don’t all need to have a certain degree to teach their children in their home. Although, home schooling only has a small number of students who choose that can have a be superior to public schooling. Even though home schooling has grown over the years there is a wonder if home schooling is a help to public schools or a harm. Marcia summarizes that academic achievement and homeschooling history are especially good. Tensions can be hard with decision on whether home schooling is the right way to go, but with Clemmitt’s article she shares that they can receive adequate education with parents teaching them, academic achievement of homeschooled children, and whether home schooling can help or hinder public

because they are oblivious to the fundamentals of it. If parents were knowledgeable of the

There are reasons for homeschooling which is beneficial to parents and their children. First, it is because of customized curriculum. Second, it is because students who have special needs are able to adapt their learning and meet those necessities without difficulties. Third, it is because of greater time for family bonding. Fourth, it is because of a safe learning environment where parents can watch their children; homeschooling make students free from

For many educators, the main argument is between freedom of education and the right to a proper education. Many parents want to control the environment that their children learn in. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 91 percent of parents who homeschool their children are concerned about the public school environment (Homeschooling, 2017, para 9). Although there is no doubt that there are problems found in public schools, issues arise with alternative forms of education as well. Critics of homeschooling often reason that

One question many parents of young children have to consider is whether or not they want to homeschool their children or send them to a public school. Over recent years, homeschooling has become much more popular. “There are about 2.3 million home educated students in the United States. This is up from one estimate that there were about 2 million children home educated during the spring of 2010 in the United States. It appears the home-school population is continuing to grow (at an estimated 2% to 8% per annum over the past few years)” (Ray, 2016, p.1). Homeschooling is better than public schooling for many reasons, but some people may disagree with this statement and argue that public schooling is better because of more socialization, access to clubs and sports, cost less and etc. All these reasons can be shown to favor homeschool education by evaluating them through aesthetic, moral, and practical criteria.

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.