Homeschooling: Is It An Option For You?

So, you can’t decide on what school to send your child to. Then, how about send them home? Yes, home. You read that correctly. Homeschooling is growing in popularity each year and the numbers are pretty surprising.

According to Ann Zeis, creator of A-Z Home’s Cool Homechooling  (www.homeschooling.gomilpitas.com), there are currently about 1,376,804 children between the ages of 5 and 17 years of age being taught at home this year. In actuality, there are usually thousands more that don’t come from statistics because many homeschooled families do not take part in the surveys, for reasons such as jobs that require constant moving etc. Nonetheless, the numbers that were reported are definitely up there.

Well, the choice to homeschool is a viable option, and yet many parents shy away from the possibility because of a few reasons. One is they’ve been told that homeschooled children “need to be socialized." They are under the impression that because a child is not enrolled in a public school, they will not be with the same amount of children in the social realm.

Another reason is some parents think that because they don’t have a teaching degree, they will not be able to provide an adequate education as well as the public schools will.

Still, another reason is many parents feel that they cannot afford to keep a parent home as a teacher, if they need that two-family income.

Now, here are some thoughts as to why you don’t need to let those reasons stop you.  First, as to the social issue, the amount of homeschooled children is very large now, and most homeschoolers are part of educational co-ops or other groups that meet to either provide similar classroom-type activities (such as meeting at local science labs, special field trips to museums or possible language labs at a local university) They also individually sign up for local sport leagues, gymnastics and music lessons just as the public school students do.

The issue of not having a teaching degree is also not a hindrance for those who choose to homeschool because you don’t need a degree to follow the curriculums available, not to mention, even instructional videos for the “harder subjects” from the middle to high school years are available.

Lastly, the part about the income loss is probably the one that is hardest to debunk, as it is true: It will cause a dip in finances if you are dealing with a two-income family. But there are ways to help lessen the loss. The biggest way is to alternate shifts or have one of the parents work from home.

I won’t sugarcoat the whole idea, because trust me, it does take a lot of time and effort to put it all together and get your family learning like a well-oiled machine.

Keri Thornton, a homeschool veteran of 16 years, from Tiverton, with daughters age 20, 18, 15, and 14 year old twins, said, “There are huge costs involved. When you wear all the hats [mom, teacher, principal, chauffer, guidance counselor, extracurricula coordinator, recreation director, chef, nanny, housekeeper] the truth is that there is little or no 'me' time and we do give up a potential second income, so money is often tight. Homeschooling is wonderful, exhausting and all-consuming for those who embrace it wholeheartedly. My husband and I just felt it was the best educational choice for our daughters.” 

All in all, every family that I spoke to that has chosen homeschooling has been very satisfied with their choices and if asked if they would do it again, they all said, “yes, absolutely!”

They were happy with the type of socialization that their children were exposed to, and they were happy with the level of mastery that each child had over each subject.

As far as the proven results for how the homeschooled children scored when put against the public school children, on average, the homeschooled children tested at least one year ahead in preschool. Then, by eighth grade, the homeschooled children were at least four years ahead.

In defense of public schools, they do have professional teachers that have degrees and many of them hold a Masters degree in teaching. They have well-equipped science labs and they have the experience of teaching since the days of “the little red schoolhouse." Public schools educate with the experience of time and are overseen by the state.

They do the job for you so you don’t have to.

I suppose it can be said that it isn’t really fair to compare a ratio of one teacher to 25 to 30 students in a public school as opposed to one parent, and that much is true. But if the parent doesn’t hold an education degree, does it even the score at least a little? (Now, there's a future discussion)

Our Moms' Counsel here at Patch consists of mainly five moms, most of whom choose the public schools for themselves. They like the idea of having their children educated in the public school system. It is what they have been doing, and it is what they will probably continue doing. Each of them has said that they support the idea of having a choice of where to educate their children but homeschooling is not an option for them.

One of us has done homeschooling and public schooling (yes, you guessed it, me) and it remains my first choice. I also would do it again, in a heartbeat, except the next time I would have done it longer.

However, my children did spend most of their educational years in the public school system. They are both well-educated (one in college and one graduated from college and both on Dean’s List). I credit that success to the fact they both were home taught in their preschool and elementary years combined with the public education that they got, including the exposure to a few outstanding teachers who affected their lives. So, the system does work. There are plenty of statistics to show the graduation rates along with plenty of college graduates that came from them.

I personally support homeschooling and felt it was, and still is, an excellent source of education. I like the way parents can choose the curriculum. I like the way parents can choose the learning schedule. I like the way parents can teach children moral values. I liked the way families can avoid most of the bullying issues and the early social exposure to unwanted topics, and I liked the way children got a great advantage by moving ahead so quickly and mastering their subjects.

As a side note, the homeschooling option was usually chosen by people for religious reasons because they wanted their values instilled as opposed to the public’s values. Of course now-a-days, it isn’t just a religious choice but a choice made to better educate (the teacher-student ratio), and to keep our children safer (as bullying in schools becomes more and more prevalent).

So most of you, according to tradition, will probably go the public school route, as indicated by the statistics.

However, those analyzing the merits of public school versus homeschool are gaining speed. Maybe they won’t ever catch up but at least they are an option.

Aren’t options and freedom of choice the American way?