An alternative to public or private school, is the Home school. It is involved with some charter schools. Home schooling is not for everyone, but it is climbing on the ladder of choice, for many. Slowly being recognized, it is now an education form to be reckoned with by many factors. Because it is so successful, there are some who feel threatened by it.
And, the threat is from public educator supporters. Because there are so many pros with Home schooling, the only real scare that public school supporters have {this would be the government and the unions} is to put out the sound bite that children who are home schooled have a ’social problem’ because they are at home and not around other children. Not ALL public school supporters feel this way, but some in power, do. Because parents should have the final say, and not government, Home school should be a given choice, without ridicule.
Belonging to a large family of Home school supporters, I have seen so many advantages to this type of education. With public school selecting what your child is taught, Home ‘schoolers’ select the curriculum. It does have to meet some standards and children are tested by an independent person, at the end of the year. The newest member of my large family circle to ’graduate’ from home schooling is presently enrolled in a computer programmer school. He scored well about the national standard scores set by the government.
SOCIAL PROBLEMS?
Most of the children I know who are home schooled, are very social. They have regular friendships, and go on many social events. They even play sports in the public schools, while getting their learning skills at home. These children have pizza parties, go to swim parties, have regular library visit cards, and the older ones date. I see no social problems. Some do, and they probably would in public schools, too. Socializing does NOT have its roots in what school you attend, but more by how they are raised from babies up. Do they have shy parents, or strict parents? Do they have a hidden behavior problem that is blamed for social problems? There is more to that problem than the choice of public school. It doesn’t hold water as being a drawback for home ‘schoolers’.
WHO SHOULD HOMESCHOOL?
Not everyone. You need to be well disciplined yourself, to home school. You need the ability to teach. If you don’t, you can’t transmit information into your child’s brain. It is that simple. {And that is NOT a low point for you, as not all people can teach.} You must at least have a diploma. You must have some organization to your life and be able to fit some many hours of teaching into your life. You NEED to join groups, even one, of other home schoolers. You need to have support from other home schoolers. You need to keep up on the new materials out there for your selection in what you will teach and what is paramount. The ’teacher’ may be the mom or it may be the dad. This is a choice PARENTS make. That is the right choice.
DRAWBACKS:
The children are always home ’in school’. They leave for social events and that sort, but they do not get up and leave the home on a bus or car pool. They are there for the schooling. To some, that could be a drawback. For others, it is a wonderful choice, to teach their children their selected studies. I hear of many parents complaining that there isn’t enough ’learning’ in public schools now, but to much ’be careful of others feelings’. If you want your children to learn the three ’R’s’, then home schooling could be a drawback. How to tolerate anything else is NOT a curriculum,
This country {America} was founded by home schooling. That is how all peoples, who lived here in the beginning, were schooled. If you don’t agree with it, that is okay. And you should allow other people to have their choice of education for their children without ridicule. That is the American way. That is the freedom of America. :-)