Brett and I decided even before our son was born that we would like to either put him in private school or homeschool. We did not decide this on a whim. We decided this after having friends that were homeschooled or private schooled, knowing moms that ARE homeschooling, and after watching the public school system across the country fall into chaos and ruin. (NOT saying that there are no more good schools out there, because I KNOW that there are. However, being in the military, there is NO guarantee that we will be near any of them!) Recently, there has been a lot of debate and ridicule brought up to me over our decision. I refuse to stoop to name calling, and I refuse to allow my talents as a mother and homeschooler be called into question. However, I would like to share some resources that others may not be aware of, and that may help other parents decide more accurately what might be best for their own children.
Numbers of Homeschoolers and Reasons to Homeschool:
About 1.1 million students (1,096,000) were being homeschooled in the United States in the spring of 2003. Thirty-one percent of homeschoolers had parents who said the most important reason for homeschooling was concern about the environment of other schools. Thirty percent said the most important reason was to provide religious or moral instruction. The next reason was given about half as often; 16 percent of homeschooled students had parents who said dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools was their most important reason for homeschooling. (http://nces.ed.gov/nhes/homeschool/)
Myths about homeschooling:
It costs more: False-”The household income of homeschoolers in 1999 was no different than non-home-schoolers. However, parents of homeschoolers had higher levels of educational attainment than did parents of non-homeschoolers.”(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_homeschool_statistics_for_the_US)
No social skills: False-”In July 2000, the Discovery Institute, a Seattle-based think-tank, published an extensive report on home-schooling written by Senior Fellow Dr. Patricia Lines. She describes several controlled studies comparing the social skills of homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers. The homeschoolers scored as “well adjusted.” In one study, trained counselors viewed videotapes of mixed groups of homeschooled and schooled children at play. The counselors didn’t know the school status of each child. The results? The homeschooled kids demonstrated fewer behavioral problems. Dr. Lines’ conclusion? “There is no basis to question the social development of home-schooled children.”(http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/human-relations/56224.html)
Homeschoolers don’t get into or have difficulty in college: False-”In a study that categorized college students as either home, public or private schooled, and examined their aptitude for achievement in college English, Galloway and Sutton (1995) found that homeschooled students demonstrated similar academic preparedness for college and similar academic achievement in college as students who had attended conventional schools. In a similar vein, Oliveira, Watson and Sutton (1994) found that home-educated college students had a slightly higher overall mean critical thinking score than did students from public schools, Christian schools, and ACE [private] schools but the differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, Jones and Gloeckner (2004) cited three studies (Gray, 1998; Jenkms, 1998; Mexcur, 1993) as showing the home-educated to be performing as well or better than institutional-school graduates at the college level. Jones and Gloeckner, in their own study, concluded, “The academic performance analyses indicate that home school graduates i are as ready for college as traditional high school graduates and that they perform as well on national college assessment tests as traditional high school graduates”(http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200410/ai_n9443747/pg_3?tag=artBody;col1and ‘Jones, Paul, & Gloeckner, Gene. (2004, Spring). A study of home school graduates and traditional school graduates. The Journal of College Admission, No. 183, 17-20.’)
Homeschoolers don’t score as well on state tests: False-”ACTs and SATs are the best-known test predictors of success in university or college in America. Both the SAT and ACT publishers have reported for several years that the scores of the home-schooled are higher, on average, than those from public schools. For example, for the 1999-2000 school year, the home-educated scored an average of 568 in verbal while the state-school (i.e., public-school) average was 501, and 532 in math while the state-school average was 510.” (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3955/is_200410/ai_n9443747/pg_3?tag=artBody;col1)
Homeschoolers are less successful as adults: False-Adults in college now and getting into the job market are just as likely as, if not MORE likely to be successful in college, in their jobs, and in their communities.(http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,49573,00.html, http://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/Beyond.asp)
Homeschool curriculum is not accredited forcing a homeschool graduate to take the GED: False-”While most accredited homeschooling programs are not difficult for most children, the homeschooling program can be made into whatever the parent would like it to be. They can add to the program as they deem is necessary to improve upon it.”(http://ezinearticles.com/?Why-Go-For-The-Accredited-HomeSchool-Diplomas?&id=195977) In addition, everyone who ‘needed’ a GED in the past because the college of their choice refused to accept their school credits, never needed that GED to begin with, and not it is official! “Colleges and universities have often—and unnecessarily—insisted that homeschoolers obtain a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) for financial aid. Because this requirement was usually based on the institution’s concerns about federal funding regulations, Home School Legal Defense Association addressed the situation at its root. The Association drafted federal legislation to place homeschool college applicants for admissions and financial aid on the same footing as traditionally schooled applicants” (http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/hslda/200306/200306190.asp)
For questions regarding homeschooling laws and regulations in your state, visit http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp.
Again, homeschooling, obviously, isn’t for everyone. However, if you are thinking about it, or have wondered about it, there are many many resources online, within the public school districts, and within your state that can tell you more, so you can decide what is best for your child. There are also online forums, support groups, and organizations that will help you get your child involved if you are already homeschooling and having difficulty finding avenues out of the house!
EVERY minute we spend with our child is a learning experience! We have begun ‘homeschooling’ from the moment we held that baby in our arms. If we choose to continue that through their childhood, no one should be able to tell us we are wrong or are hurting our child.
