Home Schooling Offers A Better Education Than Traditional School

The education in our public schools has been on the down slope for many years. With the increased amount of drugs, school shootings, and other dementia in these schools, more and more parents are making the choice to home school their children. Although many people claim that public education is better and more suitable for children, many facts and statistics show that home schooling is equally, (Reich 2002) if not more, beneficial.

Reasons why Homeschooling is a better choice

Home schoolers are a diverse group; and their reasons for home schooling reflect their varied lifestyles and philosophies. According to recent studies, at least half of all families home school primarily for academic reasons, often citing enhanced opportunities for flexibility and creativity, and the advantages of one-on-one tutorials and individualized learning programs, tailored to their children's interests, learning styles, and skill levels. About 33% of home schoolers do so for religious reasons; others home school in order to promote family solidarity and self-reliance. Some home schoolers object to the negative social environment of the public schools; for example, in a 1995-96 survey sponsored by the Florida Department of Education, 42% of respondents attributed their home school decision to worries about school violence, adverse peer pressure, teen sex, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Home schooling methods also vary widely, ranging from highly structured 'school at home' programs to largely unstructured 'unschooling' or 'natural learning' approaches, featuring active childdirected investigation and emphasizing real-world experience. Some families design their own programs, often using a multidisciplinary 'unit study' approach, in which all academic subjects are centered around common unifying themes. Others purchase commercial curricula, participate in learning cooperatives, or enroll in online or correspondence programs, supplementary classes, or tutorials. A large and varied number of K-12 programs are available to home-educated students. Among the providers are Clonlara School, Calvert School (Baltimore, MD), Laurel Springs School, and Oak Meadow School (Putney, VT); online sources include Beyond Books, William Bennett's K12, and E. D. Hirsch's Core Knowledge Foundation. Home schoolers also take high school and college-level classes through the distance-learning programs now offered by many colleges and universities.

As assessed by standardized tests, home schooling is markedly successful: Home schoolers, by and large, score at or above the national average. A 1998 survey by Lawrence Rudner of the University of Maryland, for example, found that home schooled students scored in the 62nd to the ...