Each fall when school begins, a growing number of school-aged children do not head off to a classroom. Instead, they learn at home with their families or with other children in their communities. Homeschooling takes many forms, from a daily routine following a scheduled curriculum to child-led learning in which parents supervise and help. Choosing to homeschool or to traditionally educate a child is often a difficult and confusing decision for parents and guardians.
Is Homeschooling Legal?
All states allow homeschooling. Typically, a state's statutes, through a court ruling, an attorney general opinion, or a regulation that interprets a school attendance law to include homeschooling, consider homeschooling a legitimate option for meeting compulsory education requirements. Because each state regulates homeschooling differently, parents should examine local laws and consult with other homeschoolers before proceeding.
How Well Do Homeschooled Children Do?
Researchers, educators, and parents hotly contest homeschooling's academic worth. Scores of homeschoolers who have taken state-mandated tests or who have provided their results to researchers indicate that while some homeschoolers test below average, a larger number test above that mark. Homeschoolers make up less than two percent of the total school-aged population in the United States. Research cannot say for certain if the same children would do better or worse in a public or private school.
Proponents and opponents also disagree on how well-adjusted homeschooled children are. Although it appears to be true that children who are homeschooled spend less time with same-age children and more time with adults and children of different ages, research has not found that homeschooling harms children's social or psychological development. On the contrary, these children often demonstrate better social adjustment than their traditionally schooled peers.
Opponents argue that homeschooling is harmful to children because it isolates them from other children in their community. However, homeschooling is rarely conducted in total isolation. Many families participate in homeschool support groups, scouting, church and recreational activities, and other associations. Through these activities, homeschooled children share experiences with people outside their immediate families. Although some homeschoolers and their associations emphasize affiliations only with people who share their religious beliefs, many actively seek religious, cultural, and racial diversity.
What Resources Are Available?
Other like-minded families are a major resource for homeschooling families. To get started, most homeschooling families join local support groups. Families often find these groups by word of mouth or through public or private schools, religious groups, or state or national associations. At least one homeschooling association is active in every state. These groups offer advice and information and hold conferences at which families who school at home discuss legal, philosophical, and teaching issues.
Some school districts have established centers where families can enroll in classes or get resources and instructional support. Such arrangements are called shared schooling, dual enrollment, or assisted homeschooling. Some districts also allow homeschoolers to attend public school part-time. Many private schools and some public schools provide homeschoolers with texts, materials, and support. Several states have innovative learning options such as teacher-student contact via email, Internet, telephone, and occasional home visits. Homeschoolers also rely on libraries, museums, parks department programs, churches, civic associations, and other local institutions.
For More Information:
Home School Legal Defense Association |
