One of the toughest decisions that any parent will ever face is to decide where to send their children to get an education. When most people think of education, they generally think of public schools… when governments require children to attend schools in which trained teachers are responsible for educating the children using an approved curriculum. Through the years that idea has slowly been changing and a significant number of parents have come to believe that it is much better for their children to be educated at home by the people who know them and their needs best. Although, most people think that a public education is better, many statistics and facts show that home schooling is beneficial in other ways. It is estimated that parents are now taking control of their children’s lives and education by teaching over two million children at home, rather than in public or even private schools! This essay will examine the question of home schooling and discuss which the best option for a specific child
When making the decision to home school a child there are a number of factors to consider. Some of the benefits that I found while considering this choice for my children were the one-on one attention that I, as their parent, could give to them. This is in stark contrast to the 30:1 student to teacher ratio in our public school system. By choosing to home school, I also found that I have more freedom to choose my child’s curriculum. I, as a parent, am required to teach: “A basic academic educational program that includes, but is not limited to, reading, language arts, math, social studies, and science.” Ga. Code Ann. 20-2-690(c)(4). Because of this I am able to include other subjects like New Testament Bible, Introductory...
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...of both worlds-a choice that I feel confirms that home schooling is not universally better – no more than public schools are universally bad.
I know that homeschooling is not for everybody. It is, however a viable education option that all parents should consider. I count it a privilege that I am able to educate my children, while strengthening our relationship.
Works Cited
Athens Banner-Herald. "Georgia school voucher bill dies in session." Associated Press. Athens, 12 March 2009.
Franklin, Gary. "Georgia School Bill Voucher." Associated Press. Atlanta: WXIA 11ALIVE NEWS, 19 February 2010.
Georgia Department of Education. GaDoE Home Schools. 2010. 20 April 2011 .
Ray, Dr Brian. Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America. Salem, OR,: National Home Education Research Institute, 1997.
Paramount of issues at hand is that of the constitutionality of voucher programs. The Establishment Clause prohibits a state religion and guarantees all the freedom to practice whatever religion they should desire. The Supreme Court, along with many lower courts, has held the Establishment Clause to mean also that neither federal, state, or local governments may support a religion, including financially. Voucher programs represent direct state financial support to private, often parochial schools. In fact, even the checks in Cleveland's program, while addressed to the parents, are currently mailed to the school first.
Lockwood, Andrew. School Finance Reform in Michigan Proposal A: Retrospective. Lansing: Michigan Department of Treasury, 2002.
Lyman(2006) writes about the definition, history, and current social importance of homeschooling in the United States. The author defines the education which is provided at home instead of school as homeschooling. She sates thatearlier homeschooling was confined mostly to the handicapped children who were not fit along with the regular students, who need extra care and the wealthier classes who wanted their children to be prepared for university studies. She continues to give an information that the number of families considering their children to have their schooling at home is increasing every year with the awareness of the positive traits of homeschooling followed bythe research work by the educational specialists, even while other education
Carey, Kevin. "The In-State Tuition Break, Slowly Disappearing." The New York Times 18 May 2015: A3. Print.
Just as a caterpillar changes into a complex and beautiful butterfly over time, education too is evolving and changing into something completely different than the “3 R’s” of the past. How education should evolve is a highly disputed topic. Although there appear to be many solutions these solutions often have many flaws. There has yet to be a single solution to solve this dilemma. Even though their perspectives on education differ, Brian D. Ray and Rachel S. Cox seek to tackle this issue in their respective articles, “Does Home Schooling Promote the Public Good?” and “The Home School Debate.” Ray is biased toward home-schooling being the solution to the ails of public education and believes that education issues can be resolved by encouraging
When kids reach the age where learning begins parents now and days have a concern of whether to home school their kids or send them to a public school. Both are good methods in developing a good education for a child. But also have differences in techniques of teaching and environmental differences. Parents have to think about the cost, the way the child learns being in a social environment, and also be aware of what their child is learning in the street. We will see how home schooling and or public schooling have different effect on a child’s education. The choice of public schooling and or home schooling is a personal serious decision for many parents.
It is essential to understand that is no one size fits all. Cheryl Seelhoff (2000) suggests, "homeschooling is going to be different for every family, for every parents, for every child. There are no one size fits all formulas or solutions; families must always work out their own solutions in the context of their own unique lives" (p.2). The basic theme is the fact that homeschooling is the education of children under the direct influence and oversight of parents (Lines, 1998). Some notable characteristics of homeschooling includes parents are actively involved their children education; in most cases, the mother plays the dominant role. Homeschooling creates the favorable styles that suits the parents and the children. Children learn things that they are interested in and when they are ready to learn. Homeschooling creates the opportunity for the parents and children to spend more time together, praying, and learning. Most of these characteristics are hard to attain when family members spend their day going separate directions. Homeschooling creates the opportunity for families to go for vacations together, gaming together, attend religious services together, and so on. This encourages the upholding of moral values. Homeschooling is a hard work like
In the recent times, home schooling has been the most sought mode of learning by the American parents. In fact, it estimated that over 1 million children in America are now undergoing home schooling (Cooper, 2005). Although this form of learning is legally acceptable, parents are entrusted with teaching and coaching their children in all subjects. In addition, parents can also hire private tutors for their children as part of home schooling. This form of learning is aimed at ensuring that parents commit themselves in ensuring their children are able to learn like other kids in public schools.
Education has evolved steadily over many decades. When one thinks about education, he or she is normally predestined to envision conventional “school room” education. This thinking will be challenged throughout this document. Another form of education that has been around just as long is homeschooling. Homeschooling is an alternative form of education that more and more parents are moving toward as a result of many factors apparent in the school systems. In the article “Homeschooling,” Kate McReynolds tells that why parents homeschool their children can involve many factors. For some, it is a need to provide religious-based education. Others may fear for their
Thesis Statement: Homeschooled students often achieve higher academic success and are more active in their communities than traditionally schooled students, due to a personalized approach to learning that emphasizes individuality.
Homeschooling has held many places throughout the years. In the colonial days, homeschooling was the norm. In contrast, in the late 1800’s, homeschooling took a back seat and public schooling became the way of education. After religion instruction was removed from public schools in the late 1960’s, homeschooling reemerged. Over the past several decades, homeschooling has gone from a radical concept to being converted into mainstream education for thousands of people. In his article “Home Schooling Is a Legitimate Alternative to Public Schools”, Chris Jeub discusses the benefits homeschooling offers on an academic, social and family level. He argues that it is all around more beneficial for children to engage in being educated at home.
Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially.
Homeschooled children’s personal education doesn’t get overlooked. According to “homeschooling vs. public schooling: making the right choice” in the Huffington Post, Marion Lewis states, that public schools focus on teaching the average student; which means any student above or below average doesn’t get what he/she needs. With so many students it’s no wonder many students are getting overlooked. Marion states that class sizes are too big, with class ratios being anywhere from one teacher with twenty students to a whopping thirty students to one teacher. Homeschooling helps fix this problem by having individualized education for each student. With homeschooling, the parent has the opportunity to pick out of the many curriculum options the right one to teach their child the way best suited for them. Marion also mentions how one on one teaching helps the parent (in this case the teacher) find and target the students weaknesses to help focus on fixing those weaknesses.
One might ask why some parents decide to home school their children rather than send them to public school to receive a traditional public education. In his article, “What Have We Learned About Homeschooling,” Eric Isenberg offers data which says, “Families choose to homeschool their children for both academic and religious reasons” (407). Even so, most people claim that public school offers the perfect environment for learning and developing. They argue
...l that it is a decision that a parent needs to make, based on what they feel are important standards for learning. Home schooling provides a more relaxed environment, with a one on one learning environment and a flexible schedule. It also provides a pace that is best for the child, an environment on areas children want to focus on as well as confident student who doesn¦Ðt have to deal with the feelings of others. However, it decreases the socialization of the child, less exposure to different ethnicities and a limited view of the real world. The parents probably do not have the knowledge they need to teach, there are more distractions to deal with and parents may not know how to teach. These ideas are serious to think about and only add to the controversial idea of home schooling.