HOMESCHOOLING CURRICULUM GUIDE ON

Considering Home Education

by Willemien Krüger

I m

oved

my

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om r

ain

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un

This book is dedicated to my

sceptical of homeschooling at

afternoon long ago in a panic to learn all she can about it. She is

people about homeschooling I

and everyone!

HOMESCHOOLING CURRICULUM GUIDEon

CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION

by Willemien Krüger

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on

CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION

Copyright © 2013 by Willemien Krüger at:

www.homeschooling-curriculum-guide.com

This book is for encouragement and educational purposes

only. Permission for personal use is granted.

All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may

be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic

(photocopying), recording, or otherwise – without prior

permission in writing from the author.

Find support to continuously improve your homeschool on

www.homeschooling-curriculum-guide.com pointing YOU in

the right direction, whether you are starting out homeschooling

or have been doing this for a while.

ISBN: 978-0-9922150-0-2

eISBN:

Cover & Layout design:

Designwave

www.designwave.co.za

PREFACE

The Homeschooling Curriculum Guides series will

be pointing YOU in the right direction as it provides

lots of practical answers to questions by parents

investigating homeschooling. As you read this guide, it

will help you:

Understand

Get the facts as research and statistics are shared

Think about the pros and cons of home education

Think about the real

and traditional school

Decide if homeschooling is for you when reading the

ten steps to decide

Gain insight into why and how some people homeschool

Relate to some perspectives on public school, as shared

by parents with children in school

This book has been developed for the public at large, with

home education as an alternative to traditional schools.

This book will challenge parents to realize that they have

a choice in the education of their children and that the

choice will have long-term consequences. This guide is

best read as a companion to all the other Guides in the

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series when you have made your decision to home educate

your child(ren).

The seven guides included in the Homeschooling Curriculum

Guides series currently are, in order of a recommended

reading strategy:

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on HOW TO START HOME EDUCATION

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on CHILD DEVELOPMENT PHASES

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on HOME EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIALIZATION

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on THE 7-STEP PROCESS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOMESCHOOL

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on A PERSONAL ECLECTIC CURRICULUM

websites are active and current during the publication

process. If any link is not active, I do apologize. Please

inform the author.

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Contents

PREFACE .....................................................................................................................................v

1. INTRODUCING HOMESCHOOLING – THE

MORE EXCELLENT WAY .........................................................................1

2. STATISTICS AND RESEARCH ON

HOMESCHOOLING ..........................................................................................5

2.1. HSLDA 2009 Report ......................................................................................7

2.2. Homeschoolers have grown up ..................................................9

2.3. Research in South Africa ..................................................................12

3. PROS AND CONS OF HOMESCHOOLING ....................14

4. TEN STEPS TO HELP YOU DECIDE IF

HOMESCHOOLING IS FOR YOU ...............................................19

5. RELATED ARTICLES: .....................................................................................27

5.1. Homeschooling – the answer maybe? ............................27

5.2. Perspectives on public school ....................................................35

5.3. Mistakes homeschoolers can make ......................................................44

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................54

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1. Introducing homeschooling –the more excellentway

believes that home education is the best option

for creating independent thinkers and nurturing

their natural talents and interests”….said by

announcement of Old Schoolhouse Expo 2010.

Homeschooling is not so much about schooling as

about educating your own children at home. For

many of us this already implies a big paradigm

shift since we have grown up with schooling and

done at a school away from home

and education was done at home.

In reality homeschooling is about

integrating the two, and maybe

the word is a misnomer. The truth

is that when you homeschool

you educate and every time you

Home education is the best option for

creating independent thinkers and nurturing

their natural talents and interests.

1

good education will support you in life anywhere

and all the time. If your child is homeschooled

there may be time and opportunities available which are

not provided by a school system requiring conformance to

preset requirements. I truly believe that potential is not only

not developed but even lost in the constraints any human

designed system has. Many parents are considering the school

systems and they perceive the loneliness, the insecurity, loss

of creativity and interest and the boredom their children

experience, and usually this is the starting point for many to

consider home education. Others may have known all along

that the school system did not develop their own potential

and has therefore considered home education from the start

as the way to educate their own children.

children. Consider it carefully.

What is home education in short:

It is a wonderful journey of educating your children that

one undertakes in faith…the path is not clearly marked.

COMMITMENT you and your family

make to each other.

It is not just a good idea, it is so much more than that.

It is personal decision you make with your heart, and

your head follows later.

It is the right thing to do.

e

d

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When you have made the decision

you will be surprised at the

positive rewards you will reap....

read these quotes from other real

homeschoolers:

“My children have the opportunity and time to

discover and develop their unique potential.”

so freedom is required for the development of

Learning takes place more integrated in daily

“I can get hugs and kisses all through my day.” “

It is the right thing to do.

3

“My child is more emotionally secure and mature.”

add the ‘manure’.”

blueprint for their lives!”

4

2. Statistics and research onhomeschooling

In numerous studies the quality of education provided

at home has been found to be superior to those

provided in schools. As the evidence accumulates,

established as a valid and

truly effective educational option. This page will provide

some research and statistical information to support this

statement.

In 1997, a study by Dr Brian D Ray

(an internationally known scholar

and president of the National

Home Education Research

Institute (NHERI)) was released

entitled Strengths of Their Own:

Home Schoolers Across America. The study demonstrated

that homeschoolers on the average, out-performed their

counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percent in

Lawrence Rudner of 20 760 homeschooled students which

found the homeschoolers who had been homeschooled

all their school-aged years had the highest academic

achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher

better established as a valid and truly

effective educational option

5

grades. This is good encouragement to families to commit

to the long-range vision and homeschool through high

school.

In this study it was also found that there is no positive

correlation between money spent on education and

student performance. Loving and caring parents are what

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2.1. HSLDA 2009 Report

Ten years later in 2007, the Home School Legal Defense

Association (HSLDA in USA) again commissioned

Dr Brian D Ray to conduct a nationwide study of

to develop a picture of homeschool students and their

families—capturing their demographics and educational

background—and analyze the impact of certain variables

collected data for the cross-sectional, descriptive study in

2008. The 11 739 participants came from all 50 states, Guam

and Puerto Rico. This research report was released in 2009,

called Homeschool Report 2009: Academic achievement

and Demographics provided by the HSLDA.

The overall conclusion was that homeschoolers are

still achieving higher scores than their public school

counterparts—irrespective of their family background,

socio-economic level or style of homeschooling.

In the study, homeschoolers scored 34–39 percent higher

than the norm on standardized achievement tests.

The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th

percentile for Language, Math, and Social Studies to the

89th percentile for Reading.

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The study also found that whether or not parents were

no impact on these high scores.

The study also considered the many approaches that

homeschoolers take to education and found hardly any

difference,

in terms of the degree of structure (ranging from very

unstructured approaches such as delight-directed

learning or eclectic teaching approaches to very

structured, pre-planned, and prescribed approaches),

or the amount of time spent per day in parent-directed

learning activities or even enrolment in a full-service

textbooks, lesson plans, evaluations, counselling and

record-keeping in all core subjects).

The vast majority of the parents in the study were

married (97.9%).

The families had an average of 3,5 children compared to

formal education level was

above average (but the homeschooled students whose

parents did not have college degrees still performed at

the 83rd percentile).

8

2.2. Homeschoolers have grown up

Ihas “grown up,” and there were enough homeschool

graduates to begin to see how they are succeeding in

their homes, in their work and in their lives. Research was

question to see how homeschoolers have fared in community

life. The complete research report called Home Educated

and Now Adults: Their Community and Civic Involvement,

Views About Homeschooling, and Other Traits is available

from NHERI. The HSLDA also released a synopsis of this

report called “Homeschooling grows up”. The results refute

long-held criticisms of homeschooling and seem to indicate

that homeschooling produces successful adults who are

actively involved in their communities and who continue

to value education for themselves and their children.

The following is a brief summary of some results:

Over 74% of home-educated adults aged 18–24 took

college-level courses, compared to 46% of the general

United States population.

Homeschool graduates engaged in a wide variety of

occupations

Homeschool graduates were active and involved in their

communities.

71% participated in an ongoing community service

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activity (e.g. coaching a sports team, volunteering at

a school, or working with a church or neighbourhood

association), compared to 37% of US adults of similar

ages.

Taking all things into consideration, 59% of the subjects

reported that they were “very happy” with life, with

– this implies that nearly all home-educated students

73%

general is that life is exciting compared to less than 48%

(more than 50% of non-homeschooled children found

life boring).

75% of those surveyed were glad that they were

homeschooled, with 66% saying that it had been an

advantage to them as an adult.

55% of them would homeschool their own children.

is the Research facts on homeschooling as published by Dr

Brian D. Ray in 2009, where the following statements are

made:

Colleges are increasingly actively recruiting Homeschool

students.

The home-educated are doing well, typically above

average, on measures of social, emotional and

psychological development. Research measures include

peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family

10

cohesion, participation in community service and self-

esteem.

Homeschooling gives young people an unusual chance

to ask questions such as “Who am I?” and “What do I

really want?”.

expression can more easily be accommodated in home-

based education.

The reports are available on the websites of the Home

School Legal Defence Association or the National Home

Education Research Institute

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2.3. Research in South Africa

In South Africa, research done at the University of

South Africa (UNISA) by Ms Dierdre Bester found

that children who received home education performed

academically much better than their school counterparts

and that they were very well adapted socially as well. Her

comprehensive research paper is

called

on the social development and

academic performance of the pre-

adolescent. [this report is available

found that there were many

Home-educated children have:

A greater sense of responsibility;

a positive self-image;

a positive outlook on life;

ability;

an independent

One must never assume that positive

socialization happens in schools

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Bester also stated that one must never assume that positive

socialization happens in schools – in fact quite the opposite

might be true.

Homeschoolers usually:

Relate better than average both horizontally (with

others about same age) and vertically (with others

younger or older than they);

often take leadership positions;

have positive role models;

build quality friendships; and

have a self-image that is not dependent on group

pressurep

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