Posted on 06/26/2013 6:33:03 PM PDT by Coleus
As dissatisfaction with the U.S. public school system grows, apparently so has the appeal of homeschooling. Educational researchers, in fact, are expecting a surge in the number of students educated at home by their parents over the next ten years, as more parents reject public schools.
A recent report in Education News states that, since 1999, the number of children who are homeschooled has increased by 75%. Though homeschooled children represent only 4% of all school-age children nationwide, the number of children whose parents choose to educate them at home rather than a traditional academic setting is growing seven times faster than the number of children enrolling in grades K-12 every year.
As homeschooling has become increasingly popular, common myths that have long been associated with the practice of homeschooling have been debunked.
Any concerns about the quality of education children receive by their parents can be put to rest by the consistently high placement of homeschooled students on standardized assessment exams. Data demonstrates that those who are independently educated generally score between the 65th and 89th percentile on these measures, while those in traditional academic settings average at around the 50th percentile. In addition, achievement gaps between sexes, income levels, or ethnicity—all of which have plagued public schools around the country—do not exist in homeschooling environments.
According to the report:
Recent studies laud homeschoolers’ academic success, noting their significantly higher ACT-Composite scores as high schoolers and higher grade point averages as college students. Yet surprisingly, the average expenditure for the education of a homeschooled child, per year, is $500 to $600, compared to an average expenditure of $10,000 per child, per year, for public school students.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
...ping....
Joe Sobran once said about taxes that liberals don’t want to golden eggs, they want the goose.
I believe the liberals would much rather indoctrinate homeschool children than to just take their parents’ tax money for nothing.
The dogs dont like it ....and they’re a votin’ with their paws....
bookmark
I not so sure.
Public schooling gives the state the tax dollars without having to provide the education.
That’s pretty irresistable to a bureaucrat.
I'm so glad and so grateful (despite all my faults --- thank you Jesus) that we homeschooled!
I believe home schooling is outlawed in Germany right now...so it’s been done.
I went to Catholic school. Props to you from a grateful student :).
I was recently asked at an American Heritage Girls’ meeting (conservative alternative to the Girl Scouts), “What kind of schooling do you do?” I was confused by the question. “Public, private or home schooling?”
That was instead of “Where do your kids go to school?”
Yeah, but it never took off in Germany like it did here.
So let them try it here.
Remember HR6!!!
Same here. We're looking at two girls who are very successful in the hard sciences and a son who has had four job offers right out of college for a very respectable pay and he just got married.
I got no end of grief for how I raised the kids, constant accusations of over-protecting them from all quarters and yet for young twenty year olds, they are all morally responsible, strongly pro-life, and have not abandoned their faith.
Those people who criticized me the most can't say as much.
Homeschooling rocks.
Oh, I just got started so I can’t get credit for folks I didn’t teach. You are quite welcome!
While we homeschooled our two daughters, ( and they started JC at 13 and 15 respectively,) I have to admit that homeschooling is probably the most expensive form of schooling due to the lack of 1 income. There are many great reasons to homeschool, but an affordable private school with high standards and morals could be an excellent alternative.
The problem is how do you, as a parent, know that the liberal BS is cut out? Most teachers graduate from liberal indoctrination centers. The required teaching credentials also skew the teaching pool to the left.
I’m so glad and so grateful (despite all my faults -— thank you Jesus) that we homeschooled!
Same here. We’re looking at two girls who are very successful in the hard sciences and a son who has had four job offers right out of college for a very respectable pay and he just got married.
I got no end of grief for how I raised the kids, constant accusations of over-protecting them from all quarters and yet for young twenty year olds, they are all morally responsible, strongly pro-life, and have not abandoned their faith.
Those people who criticized me the most can’t say as much.
Homeschooling rocks.
**
It does. I am glad we did it, too ..our oldest who is almost 26 now is a lot like your kids — successful, working, independent, and still faithful ... homeschooled kids do NOT turn out to be religious zealots or Little House on the Prairie girls with braids down their backs ...they turn out to be morally upright employed, independent NORMAL kids without mental or physical pathologies.
I also endured so much crap from people while I did it ..and the ones who ribbed me the most have kids who turned out the worst. I knew in my heart at the time the rewards would come ...
But the greatest reward is the bond between us. My daughter and I are close, and she calls me almost every day from where she lives. We still discuss issues, moral issues, issues of faith, family, life choices ... there is a mutual respect.
The very short time anyone homeschools is nothing but a fleeting moment. You will NEVER EVER regret the time spent with your kids. I am here to pound that into anyone’s head who is trying to decide what to do.
My only regret is that I didn’t homeschool them through high school. High school did a number on my middle son .. .wished I’d just kept him out of it.
I don't have the exact figures, as I am a scientist not an accountant, but I have been told that two income families acutally bring in less income than a one income family with a stay at home parent who does the domestic stuff.
There are fewer expenses as far as child care, extra work clothes, there is more money spent on take out food and other conveniences, and the extra income pushes the couple into a higher tax bracket, meaning paying more taxes.
My kids are geeks, all three of them I'd be hard pressed to say that my girls are *normal*, but that's not such a bad thing either these days.
But the rest of what you said applies to us as well, except for the high school part.
My kids all did a bit of a stint in the local public school, just for the experience, but we wouldn't let them unless we felt they could handle it.
Plus, we're in a really SMALL school district with a Christian superintendent, and EVERYBODY knows everyone else. There are NO secrets in this town and the town's social life revolves around the school and the local churches.
Right on. Keep those pedarest in the schools away.
“I wonder if other places are encountering the same thing.”
In my part of Colorado, I would guess homeschooling is growing by leaps and bounds. All of the school districts (greedy bastards)have some sort of homeschool program (k-12) so they can try and get at least some of the monies lost from the state. For the elementary level students, I think the program primarily targets the specials programs (art, gym, music, foreign language). Not sure what the middle school or high school programs target.
They are running similar ads in Michigan. There are a few school districts that do not have to do that, mostly the ones that have a decent academic and a stellar athletic program, but if you move to those districts your child can not join the school team for a year.
They are killing the few public schools that are actually decent.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.