Each year, close to a million school-aged children in the United States are not attending public or private school. Instead, they are learning outside of a traditional school classroom.
Learning at home or elsewhere in the community is not new to America. In the early years of this country's history, it was a necessity. Even after public education was nationally available, some chose to keep their younger school-aged children at home for traditional or religious reasons. Some groups, like the Amish, train their children through life-experience in their communities.
What Is Homeschooling?
A legal description would be "the educational alternative in which parents/guardians assume the primary responsibility for the education of their children." There are many ways this is accomplished.
Some parents "school at home" — setting aside a specific room with desks and other classroom objects. The child officially begins and ends school at a specific time each year, has a daily school routine and follows a scheduled curriculum.
Another family could tailor education around their child's learning style and interests. Some opt to focus on a particular topic — for example, using a gardening theme to teach reading, writing, science, arithmetic, health, and environmentalism.
A third family might select workbooks or teaching aids from several sources to enhance a child's natural strengths and strengthen the areas of struggle. It's not uncommon for a fifth grade homeschooler to be in fifth grade math and history, sixth grade reading, and seventh grade social studies.
Some families participate in a charter school — a public school opened by teachers and parents under contract with a local school district or university. The curriculum, character, and emphasis of a charter school vary as widely as the people who participate in them. The benefits of this kind of school are hotly debated.
At times, children will attend traditional school part time and learn from home the rest of the time. Others opt for participate in homeschool co-ops, with group learning and/or fieldtrips at least one day a week.
Why Homeschool?
The top reason parents/guardians cite for homeschooling is that they can give their children a better education at home. Government statistics indicate that parents of homeschoolers have higher levels of educational achievement than parents of non-homeschoolers. However, nearly 20 percent of parents of homeschoolers did not complete any schooling beyond high school. Parents don't need teaching certificates and only one state (Michigan) requires a certified teacher be involved in the education of a child.
Other reasons given for homeschooling include: religious reasons, poor learning environment at school, family reasons, to develop their child's character, disagreements with school teachers, child's special needs not being met at school, can't attend desired school, child has behavior problems at school, child wants to learn at home, and family needs flexibility.
Is It for You?
To be effective at homeschooling, a parent/guardian needs to do more than just know how to add and subtract. Following a checklist of expected benchmarks for each grade isn't going to ensure your child's successful learning. Interpersonal and scheduling issues might come into play that you hadn't planned on. Before you decide to homeshool your child, ask yourself:
- Do you know how your child best learns?
- How does your child feel about being homeschooled?
- Can you set aside time for educating your child?
- Do you have the creativity or resources to provide extras, such as art instruction or little league?
- Does your child respond positively to your instruction, or is there resistance?
- Can you handle being teacher and parent?
- Are you flexible?
- Are you patient?
- Will your child have opportunity to develop healthy social skills?
- If your child doesn't "get it," are you willing and able to get help elsewhere?
- Do you feel good about yourself?
- Are you organized?
- Are you disciplined?
- Do you like details and planning?
- Do you like to try new ways to doing things?
- Do you have a support group?
- How do you feel about spending the majority of your time with your children?
If you decide homeschool is for you, investigate the homeschooling laws for your state and get in touch with the local resources and support groups available to you. Other like-minded families constitute a major resource for homeschoolers. Local support groups form whenever there are more than a handful of families pursuing homeschooling in a particular locale. There is at least one state-level association in every state, and in some states there are a dozen or more regional associations.
Other resources include libraries, museums, colleges, extension courses, parks departments, churches, local businesses, mentors, private schools, and, in some states, public schools. Books and other educational materials are also important. Many private educational institutions offer curricular packages, books, and other materials for use in home schooling.
Homeschooling is a viable option for many families, and some children thrive in the homeschool environment both scholastically and socially. But be sure to assess your particular situation — and reassess frequently. |
