Benefits of Homeschooling

Let's face it.  The public school of today is NOT the same as it was 30 plus years ago.  Back then, teachers had the right to control their students.  Now, they are afraid to touch a child for fear of lawsuits.  Back then, parents were not afraid to discipline their child.  Now, if a parent spanks a child, that child will "tell someone" (as the government encourages), and the parents will be investigated and possibly arrested.  The unruly behavior of problem children goes unpunished, which only perpetuates the problem.  Violence, illegal drugs, and immorality among our public school students has become so widespread that it is mind-boggling.  Police are now being called to come to school to take control of KINDERGARTEN  and  PRIMARY school-aged  kids!  They are being led out in  handcuffs because their teachers are afraid of them!!!  Parents, do you really want your kids exposed to this type of scenario (and on a regular basis)?  What good does it do to control what your children watch on TV, when they see at school the very things you are trying to keep them from watching on TV?  The bottom line is that the government controlled, public school system is not the ideal situation in which to morally (or academically) raise & educate your children.  That is why homeschooling has been becoming more  popular in recent years.

Homeschooling is legal in every state.

Homeschooling: 
                                                                                                                                                              
 1.  Encourages the family bond.

 2.   Promotes individuality and leadership qualities in your child.

 3.  Enables your child to live in the "real world" (home, community, places of business, places of
 interest/recreation, etc.) where he/she can be exposed to and interact with people of all ages &
 backgrounds on a regular basis.

 4.  The worldview (both political & religious) instilled in your child will be that of the parents & family, rather than those of some stranger who may not share your sense of morality.  (If my child becomes  "indoctrinated", then I want to be the one doing the indoctrination!) 

 5.  Costs less than public schooling.  You can homeschool for 13 years (grades K - 12) for LESS than it costs to public school for one year.  REALLY!  I recently sat down and made a list of the curriculum I plan to use with my grandson for each grade level.  I discovered that the total cost of  his curriculum for 13 years would be approximately $6,000 (not counting for inflation).  The government spends around $10,000 PER YEAR, PER CHILD for public school.  (slightly less or more, depending on the state you live in).   The average cost to homeschool a child for one year is around $460.

 6.  Enables the parents  to be able to choose curriculum that would best suit their child's individual needs.  The "one size fits all" philosopy common to public schooling does not fit the majority of children.  This is evidenced by the high numbers of  public  high school "graduates" who must take developmental/remedial courses in college.  

 7.  Keeps the focus of education on academics, career training, citizenship, and charity work (being a good neighbor), rather than on "having lots of friends, being popular, and playing sports" as one teen-age girl I know said was the reason a child should attend public school.  (Hmmmm...30 plus years ago teachers used to tell kids they did not come to school to socialize, but to learn.  Things sure have changed since I went to public school!) 

 8.  Is not restricted to only one place or location; is not restricted to certain hours of the day, days of the week, or months of the year.  It can be done anywhere, at any time that the parent prefers.  You don't have to count "sick days", and you can take your family vacations whenever you want.  Family vacations can often be turned into an educational experience and counted towards the number of school hours completed or the number of school days in attendance. 

 9.  Homeschooled students, on the average, score BETTER than public schooled students on nationally recognized standardized achievement tests.  (84th percentile vs. 50th percentile).


The benefits of homeschooling are too numerous for me to list here.  If you would like, you may leave a comment and add other benefits of homeschooling  that I have not already mentioned.