Home Schooling

Recently, there has been a renewed interest in home schooling, which is the practice by parents of educating their children at home, instead of sending them to public schools. “Currently, it is estimated that between 1.2 to 1.7 million students in grade k-12 are home schooled in the United States (Line 1998; Ray 1999)”. The purpose of this presentation is to present the pros and cons of home schooling compared to public schools.

Is Home Schooling better than Public Education?Yes No

Students can receive one on one attention.

Parents are unhappy with the quality of public schools.

Parents want to educate children according to religious beliefs.

Home schooling is very expensive and time consuming.

Parents may not have the necessary qualifications to prepare their children well.

Home schooled kids may lack the social skills they will need when entering college and the work force.

One on One Attention Home schooling allows for individual attention to

the student. It is easier to find out what each students particular interests are and develop them. Some children need special attention in one area while others will need special attention in another. It is not possible to cater to these needs in and overcrowded classroom one may encounter in a public school.

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Parents are unhappy with the quality of public schools

The quality of public schools have deteriorated. Not only academically but also there are safety issues. Home schooled students scored as many as 30 percentile points higher than public school averages on the comprehensive test of basic skills. Parents are also concerned about safety of their children. Home schooling protects children from guns, bombs, and drugs.

Parents want to educate in accordance with religious beliefs

Some parents believe the family and not the state are responsible for the education of their children. Parents want to instill certain religious beliefs in their children without interference of others religious beliefs.

Home schooling is very expensive and time

consuming. Not all families have the parental time required to

teach, since many families depend on both parent’s income. Even if one of the parents can afford to stay home, there are many resources that must be bought, as books, science kits, art supplies, audio and visual equipment, and many others.

Rebecca Rupp, a mother who home-schools her kids, describes her routine, “My husband and I spend many hours preparing, researching, collecting project materials, assembling books, writing supplementary workbooks…When I need uninterrupted time, I get up at four in the morning. As solutions go, that’s not everybody’s cup of tea.”

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Parents may not have the necessary qualifications to prepare their children well.

Even though it is legal in all states, many of them don’t even require the parents to have a high school diploma in order to teach their children at home. Most parents may have the best of intentions when home schooling, but they may lack the ability and professional preparation needed to provide an efficient education. “Perhaps the biggest and most legitimate concern about home schooling is making certain that children are being taught by a ‘qualified adult’…the term qualified is not referring to teacher licensure but rather the ability to “present instruction to children in a coherent and skillful manner” (Simmons 1994, 47).

Home schooled kids may lack the social skills they will need when entering college and the workforce.

Home schooled children often aren’t exposed to a diversity of beliefs and backgrounds that they would encounter in public schools. A sheltered environment, as one’s home, rarely prepares a child to what is real world. Unless the children have contact to peers, they will not develop good social skills.

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