Why are so many people choosing to home-school their kids?

Question

I think there are several reasons. I know there are several possible answers to this question. I think most will revolve around: (1) religion, (2) that public schools do not do a good job of teaching; (3) that parents are scared of the influence of other students; (4) that parents are trying to protect their kids from anything negative (ie: overprotecting their kids). I taught public school for 30 years, and am a strong proponent of public education. I know many pro's and con's of public schools, but I think many parents are perhaps misinformed or misguided or led by media reports to think that public schools are somehow very bad. I think they are very good, and offer many opportunities not available to the homeschooled kids. I do not care if you agree or disagree, I just would like to hear some truthful reasons from home-schooling parents. Others may also join in. I will make no judgement of you, I just want to know the answer to this question.

Terri, I did not ask you to defend yourself, or make fun of my question. I asked a very sincere question, and all you do is defend yourself and mock me, but you never answered! So I reported you, and I hope they take your question off. I'm also surprised so few people would choose not to answer this question, and instead react so defensively. I'm not judging you at all, I made that clear. Stop judging me. Give me the truth, please.

Terri, I meant take your ANSWER off, not question.

Answer 1

A lot of the time its for number 2
Espically with smaller schools who might not get its teachers "inspected" or something like that

Answer 2

My older brother wanted to learn how to read when he was three years old, so my Mom found some books and started teaching him. When he'd learned how to read she realized that it wasn't actually that hard to teach him, and she just carried on. He did go to public schools for four years (grades 2-3 and 11-12), but I was homeschooled all the way through high school (I'm in college now), and my two sisters are currently being homeschooled. In grades 11-12 my brother was enrolled in a program where he could get high school and college credit at the same time. My last three years of homeschooling were through a correspondence school (so that I graduated with a high school diploma). I would not hesitate to homeschool my own children in the future, mainly because I've seen that homeschooling does work and in many cases homeschooled kids do far better in standardized tests that public school kids. I really think that homeschooling can provide a better education than public schools. I also think that public schools provide a whole lot of unnecessary negative influences. I should also say that I am planning on studying to become a teacher, so I do think that schools are necessary and do a lot of good in society.

Answer 3

I am sure you were a very conscientious teacher for 30 years, but you have obviously never home schooled. People seem to have the idea that parents teach the kids themselves, and all the teaching is done by the parents. This isn't so. Most of the home schooling courses are set by the Department of Education. The workbooks are assigned, and the lessons are set out, just as a classroom teacher would do lesson plans for each day, but in this case, they are provided for the parent or the supervising adult. Or, in some cases, for the students themselves in the higher grades. So it doesn't become a question of whether the parent can successfully guide the child through physics and nuclear science, but whether the parent can read and follow instructions.
Tests are sent in to the home schooling department to be marked, and on-line support is always available. Computers play an integral part in home schooling.
If you have been teaching for 30 years, you likely remember correspondence courses. Well, home schooling is something like that. By concentrating on one student, it is possible to get through a full school day's worth of material in just a few hours, leaving lots of time for extra curricular and social activities.
Home schooling, at least in our family, has been predicated upon meeting the needs of the children, recognizing the values of the family, and accommodating some special requirements, which include travel, that would have made conventional schooling a nightmare.

Answer 4

We started homeschooling because my older son was obviously gifted (his teachers and others confirmed this to us), but his public school's idea of a gifted program was to require MORE work from the students, not more CHALLENGING work.

We took him out 1/2-way through 2nd grade (nearly four years ago) and he has really excelled. He's reading at about a 12th grade level (he'd be in 6th this year) and working at an 8th grade level in math. Is he gifted in all areas? Of course not, but homeschooling allows us the opportunity to accelerate him in the areas of his gifting and keep him on pace in the other areas.

Secondary to that is the fact that we can include religion as part of our daily studies, although we were doing that even before we started homeschooling.

I guess my answer would really be: all of the above. The schools here are not terrible or horribly unsafe, but I feel my boys are getting a better education simply because they are getting more individualized attention.

I agree that public schools offer many opportunities that are not generally available to homeschoolers. But it has been my experience (over just the last four years) that the opportunities for homeschoolers (in our area, anyway) are expanding at an alarming rate - we have sports teams; chess, math, and robotics clubs; debate and other academic teams; an annual science fair (that allows students to compete in the regional and higher public school fair); art and music classes - most of the things you would find in a small to medium-sized school district.

The US DoE completed a study several years ago as to why parents choose homeschooling. The link below isn't the full report (which was published in 1999), but you can access the full report from there.

Answer 5

Hello there. There are many many anwers to your question.Every person you could talk to would give you a reason that was specific to thier child or situation. Some will have come out of the public system,some will have come out of the private system, some will have always home schooled. What ever the reasons that caused them to make this decision, it seems that worldwide people are homeschooling successfully.There are no opportunities that any school (private,public or community) offers that home educated students don't have access to. There are so many homeschool networks that what ever the students interest, they can access information and courses in that area.All of my children are homeschooled, the eldest having come out of the private school system at high school level.Due to the failure of the private school sysyem to educate him. He now is an aviation engineer and a pilot.My second son came out of the private system in yr 5, again due to the failings of the system. He is now a qualified mechanic, and apprentice of the year nominee(he was awarded 2nd place)he also won 2 scholarships during his aprenticeship and was sent on training exchanges with overseas colleges.My other children have always been home educated and are in high school and primary. All love life and are involved in many outside school activities, are musical(singing in choirs and playing instruments)are sporting(running,long distance bike riding,swimming etc), are learning other languages,and sponsor children from underdeveloped countries(so that these children will have the opportunity to advance thier lives through education) and have friends,- local,national and international that they keep in contact with .I think as in all situations in life there are many reasons for people choosing different ways to do things. Just as there is no one way to learn to type, there is no one way to educate but quite a few different systems, all that seem to have slightly different ways to learn, and all that have success and failure rates. different strokes for different folks. You say that you taught public school for 30 years, does that mean you are retired now? I'm sure your skills as an educator would be greatly appreciated by the homeschool community, as the knowledge you have would be invalueable to those needing extra help, and this would allow you do do further study into the area of homeschooling and further your study of educational differences.I wish you success as you further your knowledge and hope you get many answers that take the time to answer your question properly.

Answer 6

There are many reasons I chose to homeschool. I pulled my kids out of public school. and have been homeschooling 2 years now. I have 3 kids two of which were in the public school system
1) We live in a big city and there were 32-34 kids in a class room with one teacher.(who by the way could not control some of the kids which meant some days barely any teaching was going on.)
2) Both of my children were on the honor roll in school. My daughter could not do simple math (like multiply), she didn't do her homework (because she did not bring it home) and the teacher never once called me or said anything about it. If I was home and she was at school how could I "make" her bring it home, by the time I realized she wasn't bringing all her homework home it was the middle of the school year. My son was very bored in school he would do all his school work way faster than any other kid in his class and then get into everything else (I would get a call daily about the mischief he was getting into, and he is not bad, he was bored to death)
3) My kids were teased and pushed around because they are smaller than most kids their age. My daughter was sexually harassed by a first grader when she was in second grade(things I wouldn't even repeat, and if some one said those words to me I would have Hauled off and knocked them a good one)My son would get pushed and teased about being a baby.
4)Lastly, While I was researching homeschooling and talking to some good friends this happens.... I guy with a gun gets on my kids bus and wouldn't let anyone off. It is one of the scariest things my kids have ever had to go through.
But to be honest homeschooling really works for my family.
My youngest daughter is 4 and she is doing kindergarten this year, My son is in 3rd grade and he is doing 4th and 5th grade work, My oldest daughter is 10 and she is doing 5th - 8th grade work. the school tested the two oldest for the mentally gifted program My daughter tested in the 95% and my son tested in the 99%. They did great on their standardized tests. And I think they are so smart.
By the way if you asked my kids they would tell you they don't want to go back to school, and they have been there.
P.S. We don't do only workbooks and 2 hours of school, the work they are doing is very challenging.
Religion does play a part in it too.

Answer 7

In addition to your four reasons, I think a lot of parents also want their kids to be educated along with a moral system -- why it is wrong to practice pre-marital sex, do illegal drugs, smoking, breaking the law, drinking alcohol, learning to bully (which seems to be the #1 social activity for public schoolers nowadays), playing with knives and guns, etc. Plus many parents don't want their kids doing what their peers are doing, especially if the parents are very family oriented. I mean, if Susie jumps off a cliff, should your Billy do the same thing? and so on.

For the record, if and when I do have kids, yes, they will be homeschooled; I don't believe in turning my child over to some educational "experts" just because the NEA says to do so. As for my qualifications, I have a B.A. and am working towards a Masters. As for "socialization", my kids can do the same activities I did when a kid -- Girl Scouts (or Boy Scouts if I have a son), the local Children's Club, and library activities.

Answer 8

The top reason I began homeschooling my child was because I had been teaching at his (private) school and while I loved my students, I was afraid of missing out on watching my son grow up. Already I had left him at 3 months of age to return to work. I was fortunate that my husband was able to be home with him during those early years and when my son started preschool he was attending school where I worked.

After a few months of homeschooling I realized he is dyslexic and that a flexible learning program with 1:1 instruction was a heaven-sent for my child. Fast forward five years later, he is a very happy, very social boy with manners that so many people compliment, a gentle soul, and a kick-butt soccer player. He is also two belt levels from a black belt in karate, a decent piano player, and very responsible with all his pets. I mention this because we may not been able to pursue all the activities and interests with a full day at a regular school (one after school sport would take enough time out of his schedule on top of homework, so he would have to choose one sport and maybe no piano, no art class, etc.), but with the flexibility of homeschooling we have learned how he best learns and we can make adjustments to his learning plan.

In the beginning I did worry that he was somehow missing out of the good stuff that a regular classroom and peers offer, but we balance his life and experiences well that he has not seemed to miss it and he has the option of returning to regular school at anytime, though so far he has not wanted to.

As for the religious reason, we are Christian and I did teach at a Christian school. I like that I can incorporate the Word into our daily learning, but we are a very realistic family and we know that we can not (and do not) shelter our children from everything. My son is bound to hear a bad word on the soccer field or be exposed to a dangerous situation just being out and about, so of course we prepare our son for this. He is not overly protected. We do let him experience life--one day he will need to navigate life on his own and we are preparing him for that.

I went to public school and did fine. Our school district is very bad though (I don't want to disclose the district though because it is my community and I also taught in this district) and public school was never an option for us, thus, private school. But in our case, homeschooling was a very wonderful option and we have had zero regrets.

I hope this was the honest answer you were seeking.

Answer 9

I am a librarian and many of my patrons are home-schooling parents and home-schooled children. Some of them are religious, but not all. One family that I know has 3 children. The oldest has received so many scholarships that she is actually being paid to attend college. The middle child has been to the national spelling bee twice. She is at an 11th grade level although she is only 13. I don't know too much about the youngest. All of the children have basically normal social lives. You may argue that highly intelligent children will learn and achieve no matter where they get their education. I disagree. I believe that if parents have the time and educational background to privately teach their children, the children will be able to move at whatever pace is right for them and parents can really help to make learning more hands on by taking extra field trips and doing more experiments.

I know that there are many home-schooled children who are not getting this type of treatment and attention. I believe that municipal government is responsible to check and make sure that curriculum goals are being met.

BTW: I have a couple of patrons who are now in cyber school. It is sort of like half home-school and half online school. It is an interesting concept. Teachers have more students but less behavior problems and a whole lot more parent participation and enthusiasm.

Answer 10

My kids are 3 1/2 and 4 1/2, so we're just starting out with homeschooling. I have 2 reasons for teaching them myself:

1) They're MY kids, and I should be their role model for morals/values, etc., not some teacher I don't know, and definately not a bunch of kids.

2) My 4 1/2 year old is speech delayed. He was is a state-mandated "Birth-to-Three" program for 2 years, where he was LABELED "delayed" and "retarded"! He learned nothing in said program, except 4 words in Sign Language. When he turned 3, he graduated the program, no better off than when he started it. Since I've been working with him myself the last year and a half, he has learned to speak in full sentences, and can now initiate and participate in conversations. He's very bright , despite the labels he was given. I just don't trust the public school system after this business!

Answer 11

Bless you for asking this!
My reason is that my child has learning problems and the school fought to no end to NOT help her for three years!!
they lie, cheat, violate laws, and everything else to make parents think your child is 'doing fine'.
It took a while, but I learned the tricks the schools do because they dont' want to help children with special education.
And my case is not an isolated one, this is rampant all across the country.
My school told me my child could NOT learn and not sure if she EVER would.
In the very first week of homeschooling, my child improved drastically. I coulnd't believe it was the same child.
I still cry wondering what would have happened to her if I left her in that god forsaken place.
And this is a school that is considered the best in our area.
Yea, right. I hope soon they will learn the truth....

Other reasons are that NCLB law forces teachers to teach only certain things. What about the other things kids need to learn? And, teachers teach ONLY what is going to be on these stupid tests. Just so the schools can get MORE MONEY!!
How many parents know about that, huh???
And, a lot of schools are lying and not counting the low scores students make, so they can get MORE MONEY.
It was on the front page of the yahoo website that in my state GA, the STATE departement of education is ALLOWING schools to do this!!!!!!
A 'stipulation' of the NCLB is that schools who have fewest disclipline reports get MORE MONEY.
So,,, schools are IGNORING the bullying and trouble making kids, and let this continue so they can GET MORE MONEY.
How many parents know about that, huh??
When you consider all the times that it's the GOOD kids who get in trouble instead of the trouble maker, it's all starting to make sense HHHNMMMMMMMM

Please go to www.schwablearning.org and sign up for free to ask your questions on their 'parent to parent' message board, and find out all about it!!!