Home Schooling
It May Be The Best Thing for Your Child Home schooling... will it be
beneficial
or harmful to the student? Can the child fit in or perform normal
social
functions in the real world? Do the parents have certified credibility
to
educate? How well will the child adjust to everyday life? Do they
interact
normally with others of the same age? Can they function in an
uncontrolled
environment? All of these questions are quite legitimate and
realistic. However,
the real question to be answered is-- What is in the best
interest of the
children? Since they are the leaders of tomorrow, we must
secure a strong
education in our children for their own personal welfare as
well as the welfare
of our future. A perfect way to educate our future is
through the individual
attention, closely regulated environment, and strict
supervision of home
schooling. Home schooling is an effective way of ensuring
that a student can
learn at his or her own pace, receive special attention
concerning learning
handicaps, and gain the confidence needed to advance in
the educated world. Home
schooling gives parents confidence that their child
will be educated in a drug
free setting, a non-violent atmosphere, and
without peer pressure. Those who
oppose home schooling claim that home
schooling is a nonrealistic sheltered
environment, excludes the child from
normal activities, and allows students no
possible chance to be a normal kid.
They state that a home-schooled child has no
way of interacting with others
of the same age. Without this interaction, there
is no way for the child to
develop crucial social skills, learn ways to
cooperate in solving problems,
or be exposed to everyday life without the
protection of a parent. When a
child does not develop around others, problems in
development can arise. They
claim that to avoid all of these casualties is to
avoid home schooling.
(Reader's Digest) Home school allies James P. Comer and
Robert Slavin
conducted surveys of all fifty states and they found that the
estimated
number of students that are home schooled range from one to two
million,
which is 4 percent of the entire American student
population.
Approximately 16,300 home schooled students surveyed tested
in the 77th
percentile of standardized tests. Their public school
counterparts only tested
in the 50th percentile. The data supports the fact
that home schooled children
are advancing at a perfectly normal (if not
advanced) rate. This evidence states
that home schooling would presumably be
in the best interest of the child.
(Reader's Digest) Home school students
receive many of the same opportunities
that public school students are
exposed to. Because their parents pay local
taxes, home school students are
allowed to participate in the sporting, musical,
and extra-curricular
activities provided by the public school district in which
they reside. This
involvement is an excellent opportunity for home school
students to interact
with others of the same age and learn needed social skills.
There are
also special home school advising packets that can be purchased from
the
school district. These packets provide ways of involving home school
students
with other home school students in the school district. Over forty
states
have home school regulation laws. These laws state strict guidelines
for
parent credibility. Most states require a teaching certification. If
a
certification is not required, the state demands that the children be
tested
annually by the use of standardized tests in the areas of English,
mathematics,
social studies, and science. If a child fails to meet a specific
percentile on
these tests, the child can be removed from the home schooling
and placed in
public school. This ensures the proper administration of
education in the home.
Home schooling is definitely a valid substitute to
public education. The data
can not be ignored. Home schooled students excel
at a rate comparable to that of
public school students. Strict state
guidelines confirm the credibility level of
education given to the students.
Involvement in public school extra-curricular
activities ensures the normal
growth and maturation of social and emotional
skills. When considering the
best interests of a child, consider home schooling.
A controlled
environment, individual attention, setting of the academic pace
best suitable
for the child, and opportunities to interact with others by
involvement in
public school activities make home schooling a qualified and
suitable
alternative to public school
education.