The Public School Bias Against Home Schooling Parents

By Wade Robins

It’s becoming more and more obvious, as research on the success of home schooling is making clear, that home schooling is outperforming the US public school system in the quality of the education, self-esteem, and social awareness it instills in its students. And there are large numbers of public school authorities who are not happy with that realization.

The Tyranny Of Tenure

The public school system, to be fair, is saddled with regulations which make necessary change almost impossible. The tenure policy in most public school districts, for instance, prevents the firing of tenured teachers and school officials, and allows incompetent or unmotivated teachers who have hung on long enough to achieve tenure the security of lifetime employment. They are free to under educate our children whose parents cannot afford to put their children in private schools.

If tenured public school teachers were held to the same standards as private school teachers who are up for job reviews on a regular basis, they might take a different attitude toward fighting to maintain their tenured status. And home schooling might not have become the education method of choice for millions of American families.

It is nothing less than a catastrophic embarrassment for thousands of public school districts that parents with not formal training in education are outdistancing their teaching staffs in the quality of the education which they are giving their children.

Public school authorities would much prefer that the parents in their school districts operate under the belief that teaching should be reserved for degreed and state-certified teachers. But the statistics indicate that parents who home school who have never been within a mile of a teachers’ college or had a single college-level course in education are proving better teachers than those on the public school faculties.

The Eroding Tax Support

Another reason public school officials are livid about the number of parents choosing to home school is that the public school system loses, on the average, $7500 in government funding for each child removed from it. The public school system in the US is funded by tax revenues and each school district gets money according to the number of students enrolled. Form that money it pays for its teaching staff, and as the number of students drops, the number of faculty must be cut as well. Bye-bye gravy train.

Until the 1980s, in fact, home schooling parents win most states faces truancy and neglect charges for choosing to keep their children out of the public school system. But over the last twenty-five years, parents outraged about the deteriorating public school systems have pressured the state courts to recognize their right to home school, and they now can in all fifty states. The legal home schooling requirements, however, still vary from state to state.

If the public school officials in your school district are harassing your over your decision to home school, consider joining the joining the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). They will provide you with legal representation should you require it in order to continue home schooling your children. Their website is at www.hsdls.org

You can also find more info on Home Schooling Programs and Home Schooling Curriculum. homeschoolresults.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Home School Results.
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Homeschooling - The Social Concerns

By Peter C Johnson

For many social skills is an area of deep concern when the decision of whether to homeschool the child is raised. Many would say that a child needs to develop a certain level of social skills and confidence to succeed in life- and that homeschooling may neglect this important aspect of a child’s development. This is untrue, as it is simply dependent on the parent.

As homeschooling has become more popular over the years, there have been many communities and organisations for homeschooling organised. These organisations and communities create opportunities for the homeschooled children to socialize and benefit from a non-threatening and non-competitive environment.

Children who lack confidence or are shy, are often neglected and ignored at school. This can have serious implications in later life- we now know the damage bullying had on our generation- and would never wish it upon our children. Children who are neglected or bullied due to differences in appearance and behaviour will not be able to learn effectively, nor assimilate in the social learning environment which a school is meant to provide for its students.

Children involved in homeschooling become more aware of the learning process- as it is focussed purely on them. This raises the chances of absorbing the information, asking relevant and sensible questions without being challenged by an obnoxious brat, and generally feeling like they are progressing more efficiently. Children begin their life by imitating their parents. Homeschooled children therefore pick up the outstanding qualities they see in their parents- again this is why the parent must have a selfless attitude when it comes to homeschooling. At the same time the child is protected from the undesirable effects of not conforming to other children’s ideas of behaviour and appearance etc.

Homeschooling in this fashion will more likely result in your child being able to develop and adapt to future challenges in life. The self-esteem and self-confidence of the homeschooled child is bolstered by the parents vested interested and serve to develop the child’s social abilities even further. This will result in a well balanced and well rounded child.

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Homeschool Information

By Mary Joyce

Getting Started With Homeschooling. Before jumping into all the decisions surrounding the actual teaching and homeschooling of your child such as: what curriculum, what books, what materials, the home school calendar, organize this, organize that…. Before you do any of that first get familiar with with this bit of homeschool information.....your state’s home school laws, rules, and other regulations. Some states are quite easy and others require much more work. The HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association) is a great place to start. Legally you do have the right to homeschool your child. Just make certain you comply with the individual state’s regulations.

Homeschooling does require a huge time commitment on your part. And that commitment depends on the level of homeschooling you do. The subject that is being taught and even the ages of the children involved. One question that always seems to come up, particularly from outside influences, is whether the parent is qualified to teach or not. If not the parent, then who? Who better to teach and homeschool the child? No one wants their child to be successful more than a parent. Plus, nobody would argue against a one to one teaching relationship between teacher and pupil and for the vast number of cases this is exactly the teaching environment in the homeschool classroom.

There is no right or wrong curriculum you can choose to homeschool. You have choices of anything from text books to home school computer software packages. The learning tools that you choose can be based on the children’s ages or even the subject matter that is being taught. You can get text or software directly through the publisher, or at book fairs, or even flea markets and garage sales. Homeschool learning material is everywhere. And don’t forget your public library. It’s free!

Although the cost of all the materials you will need and use does require a significant investment, I think, however, that you’ll find that homeschooling demands more of your time than it does your pocket book.

Be creative, and use your resources. Homeschool information is plentiful. Get out on the internet a just do some basic searching on homeschooling. You will find more information, ideas and support than you could ever need to use.

Mary Joyce is a former educator, successful homeschool parent, and has written many articles on teaching your child at home for the Homeschool-Curriculum-4u website. Please visit (http://www.homeschool-curriculum-4u.com) for more of Mary's articles, resources on homeschool, ideas, and curriculum information.
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