Homeschooling is increasing in popularity in the United States, but it is still not widely understood. Even with greater acceptance of homeschooling and a larger population of homeschoolers, there is still a need to discuss what it looks like in practice, what options are available to parents, and why it may be a proper choice for families. The students who engage in homeschooling experience a different approach to education, and the families that practice it also need to navigate the technical, legal, and psychological implications.
In this article, we will address the various aspects of homeschooling, including its advantages and disadvantages, and the legal requirements for families that wish to pursue it.
Homeschooling: Definition and History
Homeschooling, also known as ‘home education’, is the practice of educating a student or students at home, generally within the family setting and in some cases supplemented by subject-specific tutoring or mentorship. It is based on the idea that teaching and learning can take place in a non-traditional and non-institutionalized setting.
The reason why someone may choose to homeschool is usually due to the benefit of having greater control over the curriculum, the teaching style and the educational environment, but also in some cases due to personal factors such as the student’s health or the parent’s profession. Homeschooling is thought to have been present throughout history, with many famous figures who did not receive formal education giving it as an alternative. For instance, Thomas Edison, Hans Christian Anderson, and Marie Curie were homeschoolers, as were the Bronte sisters, Albert Einstein, and even Winston Churchill.
The modern practice of homeschooling began in the 1970s in the United States as an educational alternative to mainstream schooling, but today there are many organizations devoted to providing support, resources, and networking opportunities to both homeschooling families and educators.
Advantages of Homeschooling
There are many benefits to homeschooling that often attract parents to consider it as an option. According to research done by the National Home Education Research Institute, the primary advantages that homeschooling provides include: enhanced family relationships, customized education, socialization opportunities, religious freedom, and educational results. First, families who engage in homeschooling tend to experience greater family connection.
This is because they are able to spend more quality time with each other, which in turn builds stronger relationships as students and parents understand each other better. This quality time can also be spent on trips or engaging in targeted learning outside the home or engaging in activities such as extracurriculars.
Second, homeschooling allows for a tailored educational program that provides for individual learning needs. Parents can select the curriculum and pace of lessons that best suit their unique student’s skills, interests, and learning styles. They can even focus on topics that hold a child’s interest and employ teaching methods that resonate with their student.
Third, homeschooling can provide greater opportunities for socialization. Contrary to popular belief, homeschooled students are often not “isolated” from their peers, rather they have the opportunity to engage with their peers through classes, homeschooling groups, and social activities.
While there can be less group learning experiences, homeschooling parents may enroll their student to activities such as music lessons, sporting activities, or other social clubs. Fourth, homeschooling provides families with the freedom to adhere to their religious and moral beliefs.
Since parents have control over the curriculum and class instruction they can custom fit it to their values and beliefs. Fifth, there is research that indicates homeschoolers tend to achieve superior academic results compared to their public school counterparts. Generally, homeschoolers are tested using standardized tests and according to research homeschoolers often rank between the 80th to 95th percentile in performance in these tests.
Disadvantages of Homeschooling
While there may be a lot of advantages to homeschooling, there are also some drawbacks that families should consider. These include: insufficient resources, cost, and parent qualifications. First, parents who choose to homeschool often lack access to resources such as textbooks, library books and other educational materials that might be available in traditional settings.
Access to teachers and other experienced adults who could provide guidance and support is also limited. Second, homeschooling can be expensive because parents are often required to purchase and provide all the materials needed for home education.
Also, any extracurricular activities or specialized instruction might require significant financial resources. Third, parent qualifications might also be an issue.
In order to provide students with an effective education, parents must be well-equipped to teach the subjects being taught. They would need to have a thorough knowledge on the subjects being taught and just as important, they would need to have the necessary skills that can help the student develop, such as patience and understanding.
Legal Requirements for Homeschooling
In the United States, there is a lot of variation in homeschooling regulations from state to state. Generally speaking, all states require homeschoolers to meet certain requirements regarding attendance, curriculum, evaluations, and other legal matters.
Most states require that students receive the equivalent number of instruction hours typically provided in public schools, although some states have adopted the “parent qualification” approach and require that the parents teaching their students have certain qualifications. Some states also require parents to administer a standardized test to their student and submit the results to the state. Most states also require having a state-approved curriculum and for record-keeping to be maintained.
Parents should check with their state requirements to make sure they are in compliance. Additionally, it is important to understand that there is not a national accreditation program for homeschoolers, nevertheless, the outcomes from a homeschooling curriculum can still be equivalent to those from a traditional school system.
Conclusion
Homeschooling is an increasingly popular choice for families and it is increasing in acceptance across the country. There are many advantages to homeschooling some of which include enhanced family relationships, customized education, and greater socialization opportunities.
There are some caveats to it as well, such as lack of resources and the requirement that parents have certain qualifications. Additionally, regulations vary across states, so it is important to research the regulations in a person’s state. Although it may have certain drawbacks, there are merits to homeschooling and many families have found it to be a rewarding educational option.