Home Schooling

There are many different ways we as Americans in our society, divide ourselves. The long term affects of some of this divisiveness affects not only individuals, but also families, communities and society as a whole. One issue that has clear dividing lines in our society is the issue of considering public school or home school for many of America's youth. Though there seems to be an overwhelming amount of statistical data in support of home schooling and a fair amount of data against public schooling, there are many more unproven notions that dominate the views of our society in relation to each systems of schooling. Often those home schooled are considered not to be socialized while those in the public school system are thought to have much better developed social skills. Dividing ourselves in such a way only fuels ideals and stereotypes associated with public and home school and ultimately leads to even more discrimination of one or both parties. Though no one can be certain just why we seek ways to divide ourselves, there are certainly incentives for staying divided as well as breaking free from the dividing lines.

Home schooling is not a new practice. For centuries children have learned outside the formal school settings, even when schools were readily available. Intellectuals from a variety of philosophical traditions have looked down upon formal schooling for many different reasons. For example, John Locke believed that the primary aim of education was virtue and that the home was the place to teach it. Michael H. Romanowski writes,

"Many home school advocates argue that their view of morality and their deeply held beliefs and values are not being adequately taught in public schools, it at all. Therefore they opt for home schooling to assure that their children are provided numerous opportunities to learn and embrace the morals and values that they deem appropriate" (Romanowski 81).

It is often forgotten that comprehensive schooling is a relatively new invention. It was not until the nineteenth century that state legislatures began requiring local governments to build schools and parents to enroll their children. Even then, children only went to school a few months out of the year. It was not until the mid-twentieth century that universal high school graduation was a realistic goal. Only recently have we begun to treat schooling as a full time affair entrusted to professional teachers. Most of the nation has come to accept classroom schooling as a norm. In fact,

"The U.S. Department of Education estimated that approximately fifteen thousand students were home schooled in 1984, with that number increasing to between two hundred thousand and three hundred thousand students in 1988. Currently, it is estimated that between 1.2 and 1.7 million students in grades K - 12 are home schooled in the United States" (Romanowski 79).

Thirty and forty years ago home schooling had become an unacceptable practice for satisfying compulsory education requirements in most states. State legislatures have gradually changed those laws, and all states now accept home schooling as a legally valid alternative to public school. There are regulations that vary with each state with regard to home schooling. At the very least, each family must file basic information with either the state or local education agency. Some states have more strict regulations such as testing the home school teacher, evaluation of the home school students, and minimal education levels. Because many families disagree with the regulations of the government, they stay "underground" to keep from being regulated.

What are the benefits and why do parents home school? Parents home school their children for many different reasons. The most commonly known reasons for home schooling are religion and the dissatisfaction of the academic teachings in public school. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education Statistical Analysis Report, "Home schooling in the United States, 2003,"

"Homeschooler parents who took part in the survey were given a set of reasons for homeschooling. First, parents were asked which, if any of the reasons applied to them. Eighty five percent of home schooled parents stated that concern about the environment of other schools, including safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure, was the reason they chose to home school their children. Seventy two percent cited religious and moral instruction, and sixty eight percent stated dissatisfaction with academic instruction" (Immell 2009). Home school parents feel that home schooling is an efficient way to teach and learn. It's time effective, in that a home schooled child, working independently or one-on-one with a parent, can get through and master more work or concept it more quickly than a child who's one of twenty-five in a classroom. To some, it's effort effective because a child doesn't have to spend needless hours over a concept already mastered simply because others haven't mastered it yet. One-on-one education leads to one of the positive proponents of home schooling, academic excellence.

There may be incentive to stay divided on the issue of public school or home school for America's youth. By maintaining a divide individuals that are home schooled may keep a certain perceived value of the education they provide for their children. They also may further foster the ideals and beliefs they want shared and passed on to following generations. Likewise, there are incentives to close the divide on this issue. If there is truly a better system for educating our youth, it is in our interest as a nation to implement such a system and have support behind it, particularly the support of the many parents of the students who are to attend school. Breaking free from the dividing lines would require overwhelming proof of the benefits of one system of education over all others