Introduction
Teaching children at home is another great way to be creative while inspiring and empowering young learners. Homeschooling is the education of children at home, typically by parents or by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the family or community, homeschooling in the modern sense is an alternative in developed countries to attending public or private schools. Homeschooling is a legal option for parents in the United States, and many other countries, allowing them to provide their children with a learning environment as an alternative to public or private schools outside the individual's home.
Homeschooling can also be used as a form of supplementary education, a way of helping children learn, in specific circumstances. For instance, children that attend downgraded schools can greatly benefit from homeschooling ways of learning using the immediacy and low cost of the Internet. As a synonym to e-learning or online homeschooling, homeschooling can be combined with traditional education, and lead to better and more complete results. Homeschooling may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools.
The Motivation
Parents cite numerous reasons as motivations to home-school their children. The three reasons that are selected by the majority of homeschooling parents in the United States are concern about the school environment, to provide religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with academic instruction at public and private schools. Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Homeschooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, living temporarily abroad, to allow for more traveling, or to allow for a more flexible schedule. For example, many young athletes and actors who have varied schedules are taught at home. Homeschooling can also be about mentorship and apprenticeship, where a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and then knows the child very well. Recently, homeschooling has increased in popularity in the United States, with the percentage of children ages 5-17 homeschooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 2.9% in 2007.
In a 2003 and 2007 survey a number of parents were asked whether particular reasons for homeschooling their children applied to them. The three reasons selected by parents of more than two-thirds of students were concern about the school environment, to provide religious or moral instruction, and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction available at other schools. From 2003 to 2007, the percentage of students whose parents reported homeschooling to provide religious or moral instruction increased from 72 percent to 83 percent. In 2007, the most common reason parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction (36 percent of students). This reason was followed by a concern about the school environment (such as safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure) (21 percent), dissatisfaction with academic instruction (17 percent), and "other reasons" including family time, finances, travel, and distance (14 percent). Other reasons include more flexibility in educational practices and family core stability for children with learning disabilities or prolonged chronic illnesses, or for children of missionaries, military families, or families who move often, as frequently as every two years.
Additionally, some parents in the survey intimated that traditional schooling can sometimes be restricting. They stated that they wanted more opportunities to socialize with a wide range of ages, to travel more, to do more field trips, to visit museums, to do outdoor education, to attend concerts, to visit work places, to tour government buildings, to seek mentor-ships, and to study nature outside. A homeschooling family can do more field trips, with only one vehicle and one parent required.
Perquisites and Certifications
Parents, tutors and other individuals who wish home-school their children (or someone else's), should make sure that they are in compliance with state and federal laws. As with most education certifications, requirements may vary from state to state. Some state might require professionals to have a bachelor's degree in education, while others only require you to have a high school diploma. At the same time, in some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are to be home-schooled. In addition to checking with their local state department of education, homeschooling professionals should also consider joining a Homeschool Cooperative of families who homeschool their children. It provides an opportunity for children to learn from other parents who are more specialized in certain areas or subjects. Co-ops also provide social interaction for homeschooled children. They may take lessons together or go on field trips. Some co-ops also offer events such as prom and graduation for these students. Homeschoolers are also beginning to take advantage of online homeschooling or Web 2.0 as a way to simulate cooperatives online. With social networks homeschoolers can chat, discuss threads in forums, share information and tips, and even participate in online classes via blackboard systems similar to those used by colleges.
Reading in family
Reading at home with family