– Should I Homeschool my children?

One of the first questions most parents ask is does home schooling actually work, and isn’t it going to take up to much of my time, how can I get all that I need done and home school. However homeschoolers are aware that all the worries and woes get done, especially when one knows about the barrage of current headlines of failing standards in education. Parents are also only too aware of the fact that the public schools have problems, but really wonder whether they can do any better. One natural response for some parents is to try a little harder to see if they can afford private schooling but, even if this were possible, are the private schools faring any better than the public schools? Would a help the situation in anyway.

The simple fact of the matter is that there are many, quality studies which show that, on average, home schooling produces actually superior students. To an extent of course this is understandable as parents clearly have an effect on education no matter which route they take. A parent who is genuinely interested in the education of his or her children who provides a the resources, help to motivate their children, will often produce better results as the children are receiving a lot of individual support and intervention this is often a help not an hindrance, particulary for children with additional needs.

In the United States the Department of Education agrees. In one study which they sponsored themselves home schooled students produced exceptionally high test scores. The median scores in every grade were far higher than those of public schools and even higher than those of private school students. The average home schooled student in grades one through to four was a grade level above that of public school peers and, by the time home schooled students reached the equivalent of the 8th grade, they were as much as four years ahead of students attending public school.

As if this were not enough, costs were also lower. On average, government schools spent ,500 per student each year and private schools spent ,500. By contrast, parents undertaking home schooling spent about 0 per student each year. This figure for home schooling does not of course take into account the time spent by parents on home schooling for which a public school teacher would be paid.

The public school system as we know it today evolved during the second half of the 19th century as one state after another made school attendance compulsory. Perhaps the most interesting question however, and one which rarely seems to be asked, is why, if public schooling offered such superior value, why was necessary for the states to make it compulsory and to force  parents to put their children into the public school system. Which appears to be a very interesting point to ponder on.

It could be, and sometimes is, argued that this was due to the ignorance of rural parents who did not see the value of education. However, it is interesting to note that adult illiteracy rates in 1840 Massachusetts were as low as 2% and that, by 1995, this figure had risen to 19%, in spite of apparently enormous advances in the intervening years. In 1840 libraries were rare and today they are everywhere as books are both relatively inexpensive and easy to trade.

Today in the United States over a million children are home schooled and thousands of home schooled students have attended colleges and universities, including many of the most prestigious and difficult to get into.

Whatever your own thoughts about home schooling vs public schooling or  whether a would work for you there is no doubt that the results clearly show the advantage of home schooling.

provides advice, information and resources on many aspects of the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling and a range of curriculums for both homeschoolers, parents and schools.