Education 101: 3 Best Reasons to Homeschool

With our kids, it was a relatively easy decision to bring our kids home and educate them ourselves. For some of our friends, the reasons to home school are as different as each family. One of our friends decided to home school their kids because they just didn't want their kids exposed to the dangerous conditions that exist in some public schools. Another family decided to home school because their child had a speech problem. Still another family just wanted to build a closer relationship with their kids and teaching them seemed like the best way to do that. There are many reasons to home school, here are three of the best reasons.

Reason #1: Taking Control of What Your Kids Learn

Do you know what your kids are being taught academically at your local public school? One of the saddest stories I have heard is that of a failing high school student who just didn't care about his public school chemistry class. He was failing miserably and didn't really want to do much to make the grade better. In our city, the schools don't pass out textbooks anymore because the kids just lose them. The kids are taught using worksheets passed out daily.

The public schools in our town will also not let anyone fail. They must pass even the worst kids on to the next grade level. Since this student didn't want to do the work, and the teacher had to give him a passing grade, they came up with a bold solution. This high school kid brought home a coloring sheet to be completed and turned in the next day for a grade. Who is being cheated in this system of public education. The school district should be ashamed. Home school curriculum is set by you, the parents. You decide what your kids will learn.

Reason #2: You Are Your Child's First and Best Teacher

There are a lot of folks in the public school system who will try and convince you that you cannot handle teaching your own child. Well, current home school statistics would prove those teachers wrong. In a recent study called the Progress Report 2009: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics, home school kids were tested along side public school kids using the exact same standardized tests.

The test scores told the whole story. Of about 12,000 home school kids participating in this study, all tested in the 84th to 89th percentile, while the public school kids scored in the 50th percentile. Never let a professional teacher tell you they are better at teaching your children. Home school has increased every year by about 10% since 1999 with about 2 million students educated at home last year. Apparently, some parents think they can indeed do a better job than so-called professional teachers.

Reason #3: Time is Better Utilized in Home School

How many hours do you think your kids spend each day, five days a week, in public school? How much time is really necessary for them to get a decent education. I'm not saying that kids don't learn important things in school or that school is a total waste of time. Think about it from the perspective of a teacher who must deal with as many as 25 or 30 kids in a classroom. And with special education being eliminated in public schools due to a bad economy, the teacher must now deal with those students as well. Add in bullying, physical violence, gangs, alcohol, and drugs to the mix. So how much learning time can your child actually experience in that sort of environment? One person we know actually timed it at about 13 minutes of learning in a typical day.

Home school allows for a better and more efficient utilization of time. Think of what a home school kid can accomplish in just 30 minutes of instruction that is tailored to their specific personality, interests, and style of learning. Now give that kid just three or four hours everyday, and they are already so far ahead of what might be accomplished in public school. And because you are your child's teacher, you can teach anywhere, anytime. There was a student who received a full scholarship to Harvard who was home schooled in the cab of her mother's big rig truck. That is full use of available time that has been proven to produce results. Well, at least Harvard thought so.

There are more than just three good reasons to home school your kids. The best reasons for our family was the time we were able to spend getting to know our kids an a whole new level, and watching them grow up. Being their teacher and sharing the joy and excitement of discovering and learning new things was also a major plus. Sure, at first it was difficult being together all day in the same house. But eventually we came to know each other so much better. Now we really miss it when all of us aren't together. We have been home schooling now for just about six years and the longer we do it, the better we like it. Is home school right for you? You will have to make that decision for your own family.

Sources:

New Nationwide Study Confirms Homeschool Academic Achievement

Ten Good Reason to Homeschool