Posted on 07/12/2008 2:33:09 PM PDT by wagglebee
When it comes to getting a good education, apparently, there's no place like home.
When homeschooling first came into prominence in the late 1980’s many viewed it with skepticism, but it has proved itself over and over the past two decades.
Whether the average homeschooled student is getting as good an education as the average public school student is no longer a question. The verdict is in. The results of numerous studies show the average homeschooler is receiving a better education than the average public or private school student.
In a 1997 study, Strengths of Their Own, Dr. Brian Ray examined a sample of over 5,402 homeschooled students. On average, they scored 30 to 37 percentile points higher than the average public school student in all subjects.
A separate test done in 1991 by the Home School Legal Defense Association in conjunction with the Psychological Corporation found that a sampling of 5,124 homeschooled students across all grades scored 18 to 28 percentile points higher on the Stanford Achievement Test than the average public school student.
Finally, the 7,858 students who declared themselves to be homeschooled on the 2004 ACT scored an average of 1.7 points higher, on a scale of 1-32, than the national average.
The academic success of homeschooled students is impressive and, no doubt, attributable to the hard work these students put into their education; but the hard work put in by their parents (many of whom do not even hold a bachelor's degree) is equally impressive. Parental involvement is key and appears to outweigh factors such as race and government regulation on one's education at home.
The success of homeschooling is breaking down the cultural barriers that once restricted the efforts of parents to educate their own children. Most people now have a friend or relative who teaches their children at home. The number of homeschoolers in the United States is currently estimated at over 2,000,000 and growing. The reasons parents choose to homeschool are varied, but they generally center on the belief that they can provide their children with a better academic education, a safer environment, or a stronger set of moral values.
One of the most commonly-raised objections to homeschooling is that children who are homeschooled will not have opportunities for socialization. This objection, however, is contradicted by the facts. Homeschooled students tend to be very involved in a myriad of activities (including community service, service in their church, sports programs, and groups such as the Boy Scouts and 4-H). Moreover, studies show that adults who have been homeschooled are more likely to participate in community service, vote, and succeed in college. Dr. Gary Knowles at the University of Michigan polled a sampling of adults who were homeschooled and found that 94% said that their education "prepared them to be independent persons," and 79% said that "it helped them interact with individuals from different levels of society."
Of course, homeschooling is not for everyone. Many parents will not feel that they are able to provide their children with an adequate education at home, and others may not have the financial means to homeschool their children. Additionally, students who are taught by parents without college degrees score significantly lower than those who are taught by one or more parents with a college education, and those in the lowest income brackets score lower than those in the middle class (although the average student in each of these groups scores higher than the national average on standardized tests).
Nevertheless, it is a great testament to the parents of homeschoolers that so many of them are willing to sacrifice their time and treasure to ensure that their children receive a high level of education, a proper sense of civic responsibility, and a sound set of moral values to prepare them for adulthood. America has benefited and will continue to benefit from their hard work and sacrifice.
At the same time, the success of homeschoolers is made possible in large measure because of the freedoms we enjoy in our democratic society. The freedom of parents to teach their children at home (a freedom not granted in many other countries) has produced a smarter, more civic-minded generation of young people.
In a day when many adults define themselves in terms of their "job" or "career," the number of mothers and fathers who are willing to sacrifice both to ensure the quality of their children's education is impressive. Many of these parents will have a more positive impact on our country than a host of the most successful business people and politicians.
Abraham Lincoln reportedly said, "The philosophy of the school room in one generation is the philosophy of government in the next." If that's true, let’s hope that in the future our government will be populated with plenty of homeschool grads. ___________________________________________________
Ken Connor is Chairman of the Center for a Just Society in Washington, DC and a nationally recognized trial lawyer who represented Governor Jeb Bush in the Terri Schiavo case. Connor was formally President of the Family Research Council, Chairman of the Board of CareNet, and Vice Chairman of Americans United for Life. For more articles and resources from Mr. Connor and the Center for a Just Society, go to www.ajustsociety.org. Your feedback is welcome; please email info@ajustsociety.org.
Hopefully this will be the case.
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Lacking, however, are statistics showing how many youths are homeschooled because they are whiney babies who can't cut it in the real world.
This is especially impressive since it is likely that homeschoolers take the ACT and start college earlier than their government schooled peers.
My own kids matriculated in college at the ages of 13, 12, and 13.
Hm?...Is this the “real” world were people are sorted by age to within 12 months of each other?
Just ignore him.
I do believe that there are a number of professional NEA public relations people posting on Free Republic. These are the smart government school defenders (probably lawyers in their real lives). The other government school defenders are government teachers or their spouses.
Yeah, they’re on here every time, and their nonsense gets tiresome real quick.
Well, I've never had to ask permission to use the bathroom in the "real" world. I've not routinely faced the probability of physical assault, day after day, in the "real" world. I've never been slotted with other soils technicians or technical writers on the basis of a common age in the "real" world.
Whoops, I forgot. The "real" world is a government program, run by government employees, at public expense, where "the facts are made up and the results don't matter." Where bullies serve the same function as prison rapists, of enforcing despairing conformity.
I can think of a certain dark place where you can shove your version of the "real" world.
Read tagline...and I’m going to fight ANYONE who declares that HOMESCHOOLING is ILLEGAL!!
One of the most commonly-raised objections to homeschooling is that children who are homeschooled will not have opportunities for socialization. This objection, however, is contradicted by the facts. Homeschooled students tend to be very involved in a myriad of activities (including community service, service in their church, sports programs, and groups such as the Boy Scouts and 4-H). Moreover, studies show that adults who have been homeschooled are more likely to participate in community service, vote, and succeed in college. Dr. Gary Knowles at the University of Michigan polled a sampling of adults who were homeschooled and found that 94% said that their education "prepared them to be independent persons," and 79% said that "it helped them interact with individuals from different levels of society."
Liberals - Be afraid, be very afraid.
Are you a NUTCASE? Whiney babies?? You TROLL, go back to the DU...or KOS where you came from!!
Facts are sticky things. Every home schooler I've come in contact with is one that I would hire in a heartbeat for any job requiring real understanding. In the REAL WORLD. Where facts matter.
/johnny
If anything, the homeschoolers benefit from the “lack of socialization” of their publicly schooled peers. It’s an open secret in the psychiatric community that many people’s emotional and psychological hangups are caused and/or exaserbated by their experiences in school. Unfortunately, few psychiatrists have spoken of it publicly.
the statistics comparing the drug use, teenage pregnancy, sexual abuse by teachers, and mass killings in public school vs home schoolers, is reason enough to dump public school.
Yet we have abundant evidence that the public schools, especially for inner city kids, are a a disaster. My oldest had undiagnosed dyslexia and couldn’t read in the sixth grade. As gifted as he is I see gaping holes in his education. You bet your but we started homeschooling my daughter when she was doing sixth grade math on the computer in the second grade, and her ‘gifted’ teacher couldn’t find a way not to bore her with 2 + 5.
Public schools are based on the turn of the century industrial model, with a heaping spoonful of failing PC educational theories. Homeschoolers are not whiners, they know dysfunction when they see it, and get out.
tyme for the gubmint to get out of the skool bidnez!
My daughters (who attend a private Christian school) are part of a summer theater program and another private Christian school. About a quarter of the kids are homeschooled including several of the stars of the show.
The homeschooled kids seem friendly and well-adjusted to me. Then on top of that they can sing and act in front of a huge audience. My kids are just part of the chorus.
I’m sure there are bad homeschooled kids, but I have yet to meet any. My kids get along better with homeschooled kids than they do with kids in public school.
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