Why We Are Home Schooling
After seven years of public schooling, my son is now being schooled at home. His reluctant parents made this decision with great difficulty. I want to explain why we did it, but not because I am trying to convince anyone else to do the same. I am in no position (or mood) to tell anyone else what to do. I am writing this instead as one Christian parent's testimony. More and more, public schools are confronting Christians with difficult choices; what follows is my recounting of the pressures that inspired us to make the move. [more...]
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Homeschooling - It's A Wonderful Life!
You'll find that there is no common agreement on "how to do it," and that's a good thing, because your family is like no other. Great support also comes from getting involved in homeschooling support groups in your local area and on the state level - that's where my son found a very active social life. [more...]
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Common Objections to Homeschooling
2. Children in public schools are able to meet, and get to know, many children very different from themselves. If they didn't go to public school, how would this happen?
The first part of the answer to this question has to be that it very rarely happens in public schools. Except in very small schools, of which there are few, and which tend to be one-class schools anyway, children in public schools, other than a few top athletes, have very little contact with others different from themselves, and less and less as they rise through the grades. In most large schools the children are tracked, i.e., the college track, the business track, the vocational track. Even within each major track there may be subgroupings. Large schools may often have a half-dozen or more tracks. Students in one track go to one group of classes, students in another track go to others. Very rarely will students from different tracks find themselves in the same class. But - and here is the main point - study after study has shown that these tracks correlate perfectly with family income and social status: the richest or most socially prominent kids in the top track, the next richest in the next, and so on down to the poorest kids in the bottom track. [more...]
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Does Homeschooling Prepare Kids for the Real World?
Does homeschooling prepare kids for the real world? Indeed it does. It enables kids to grow up strong and positive with the love and support of their families. It offers endless opportunities for kids to observe and participate in the real world. And it encourages families to develop a more positive perspective on the real world that opens countless doors for a lifetime of meaningful work, learning, and living. These opportunities are one more reason why families choose to homeschool, why homeschooling works, and why so many families are committed to maintaining the freedom and possibilities of homeschooling. [more...]
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The Benefits and Disadvantages of Homeschooling
Below you'll find a brief discussion of the benefits and disadvantages of homeschooling. After reading it, you should be able to better identify whether or not homeschooling may be right for you and your family. If you take time to think about each benefit and disadvantage and apply it to your personal situation, you'll learn which benefits you just can't live without... or, on the other hand, the disadvantages you know you won't be able to live with. [more..]
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Decisions, Decisions
When parents decide that school is not working for their children, or when they decide to forego schooling altogether and approach homeschooling as a continuum of living, they're seeking something different than the mainstream educational offering. They're deciding to change things for the better, and that decision will result in learning - not just about homeschooling, but about a whole new world of ideas, experiences, opportunities, challenges and more, for themselves and for their children. [more...]
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The Ten Most Important Things You Need to Know About Homeschooling
It does not take six to eight hours a day to homeschool your child. Most of the time children spend at school consists of waiting. Design a plan that works for your family and be prepared to scratch it several times and start over. Don't sacrifice your family's happiness to "school" your children. There are many ways families homeschool; find what works for you and your family. [more...]
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