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The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling
By Mike Mangum
October 15, 2002
Homeschooling is becoming more popular. The National Home Education Research Institute estimated that more than 1,300,000 children from kindergarten through twelfth grade were homeschooled during the 1999-2000 school year. According to a 1999 United States Department of Education Study, parents homeschooled for two main reasons; 48.9 percent of those surveyed believe they can give their children a better education and 38.4 percent made the choice for religious reasons.
It is legal to homeschool in all fifty states, although the laws are different for each state. Oklahoma is the only state with the constitutional provision guaranteeing the right to homeschool any child between the ages of 5 and 18 years old. They are required to receive instructions 180 days per school year in the subjects of reading, writing, math, science, citizenship, United States Constitution, health, safety, physical education, and conservation.
When children are homeschooled, they learn from their parents instead of going to a public or private school. The parents are the teachers and the principal. Homeschooling is taught at home and is very flexible compared to regular schooling. Parents can offer many subjects that are not offered in regular school. Children are allowed to work at their own pace; they can accelerate in the subjects that come more easily to them and have more time on the ones that are a little bit harder. There is no overcrowding and the parents get to choose how to teach the kids as opposed to following a set curriculum that is boring and loses their interest. Parents can make their own work, they can purchase books at discount stores, Christian stores, book stores, homeschooling magazines, or they can even print out pages off of the internet. Instead of teaching all the subjects themselves, some parents choose to trade off with other parents. A parent may decide to teach a small group of homeschoolers art in exchange for another parent teaching physical education or science experiments. Ultimately, the parents all decide what to teach and how to teach it.
There is a lot of speculation that homeschooled children don't get enough socialization time and because of that they are delayed in social/emotional areas. This is in no way true. There are groups that get together on a regular basis to go on field trips. Most importantly, homeschooled children are more likely to socialize better and on a higher level simply because they are exposed to all age groups, not just their own age group. They learn social cues from their parents and learn respect as well. Because of this, they learn how to hold a conversation with adults without interrupting, but can also relate to peers their own age or younger.
In Oklahoma, parents do not have to be licensed, use certified teachers or tutors, state approved curriculum, initiate contact with, register with or seek approval from state or local officials, test their children or permit any school officials or anyone from Department of Human Services to visit or inspect homes. They also do not have to give any notice to the school board before they start homeschooling and there is no required tests to take or records to keep.
When the children have completed all of their homeschooling and are ready to graduate, the parents can issue a diploma that is just as credible as one that is issued from a public or private school. They do not have to take the GED test. Children can use this diploma to get into college. Many colleges are not only accepting children with a homeschooling diploma, but are actively recruiting them. The colleges are doing this because, on average, homeschoolers score higher, are more prepared for college, have a better transcript, have often taken junior college classes as high school courses, and have varied outside interests that other students didn't have time to pursue.
Unlike what many people assume, the majority of homeschooled children grow up, graduate, get associates, bachelors, and masters degrees. They go on to become doctors, lawyers, and other productive citizens in their communities. Some of them even homeschool their kids so they can continue the tradition.
There are a few drawbacks to homeschooling. The parents don't have as much time for themselves. Even after the kids go to bed, the parents still have to decide what work has to be done the next day and then get it ready.
The comments people freely offer when they see kids in public when regular school is in can become annoying. Some parents refuse to let this annoy them. Depending on the attitude of the person making the comment, they would rather reply with something humorous or educating like, “You mean my kids are supposed to be in school?” or “We homeschool our kids so they have a better education.” Some parents feel it's a waste of time to try and explain the good points of homeschooling when the other person already has the mindset that children cannot get a good education with homeschooling. It all depends on the individual parent.
How the parents react to the few "cons" just depends on each individual family. We gladly accept the cons so we can enjoy teaching our children how we see fit.
This paper was written about homeschooling in Oklahoma and is not accurate for every state. To find out about the laws and requirements in your state check out Home School Legal Defense Association.
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