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Why Do People Homeschool?

Great Things About Homeschooling
There are many advantages to homeschooling children. These benefits include the following:

• Excellent education. The overriding goal of homeschooling is to educate children. In this, homeschool excels. Because of the many advantages offered by homeschooling, there is simply no better way to educate a child. That homeschooling is a great way to educate a child can be shown in several ways. First, consider the items in this list. Many of these benefits are easy to understand and the positive impact they have on children are obvious. Second, homeschooled children perform better on standardized tests. For example, in a recent comparison of SAT scores, homeschooled children averaged 568 on the verbal test and 525 on the math; the national average was 506 on verbal and 514 on math. While those differences might not seem significant for individuals, as differences in averages for populations of students, they are very significant. Third, homeschoolers are becoming sought-after for higher education. Many colleges and universities have begun to modify their admission practices to not only allow for, but to encourage, homeschoolers to apply for admission.

• Dedicated teachers with a great teacher-to-student ratio. One factor that is known to be extremely important to educating a child effectively is the teacher-to-student ratio-that is, the number of students for which a teacher is responsible. Other factors include the degree of connection present between teacher and student and the amount of dedication a teacher has to a specific child. Homeschooling excels in both these areas. Who can be more dedicated to helping a child learn successfully than that child's parent? Parents love their children and dedicate their lives to helping their children successfully grow to maturity. So, no one is more dedicated to a child than the parent. And, homeschooling is done largely on a one-on-one basis; there can't be a better teacher-to-student ratio than that. In these two areas, which are both critical to a child's education, homeschooling is simply the best scenario.

• Education tailored to a child's capabilities and personality. Because homeschool is focused on children as individuals, a child's education can be tailored to her capabilities and personality. If a child excels in a specific area, his education in that area can be accelerated. If a child struggles in a particular area, additional resources can be brought to bear to help. Also, the way children are taught can be based on how the child best learns because of the child's personality. For example, if a child is a visual learner, more visual elements can be incorporated into that child's instruction. Instead of the cookie-cutter approach to education that is required in an intuitional setting, homeschool provides the opportunity for a child's education to be designed just for that child.

• Integrated and consistent education. Because a homeschooled child's education is managed by the same person over a long period of time, that education can be consistent with a long-term plan in which each topic taught and the experience gained benefits seamlessly with those that have come before. Because the parent is intimately involved with the student over that student's life, the parent understands the child's experiences and background and uses that knowledge to design future educational activities.

• Better teaching materials. Homeschoolers have access to the best teaching materials available. And, teaching materials can be selected based on a child's individual needs and capabilities.

• More efficient use of time. Homeschools use time more efficiently than do institutional schools. The use of time in homeschools is driven the by the educational and other goals for a child rather than by a rigid schedule. Also, homeschools don't use as much of a child's time in administrative and other nonproductive activities. Homeschoolers can usually accomplish more learning in less time than those being educated in institutional schools.

• Close family relationships. Homeschooled families spend lots of time together. This intimate involvement fosters close relationships between parents and children and between siblings. One-on-one teaching, that is a natural part of the homeschool experience, naturally leads teacher and student (parent and child in this case) to have a deep and intimate relationship.

• More opportunity for children to learn, think, and act independently. Children who are homeschooled learn to work, act, and think independently. Because they don't live under the social and schedule pressure that is part of an institutional education, homeschoolers naturally become people who evaluate life and make choices based on their own decision making rather than what is expected by a social group or organization. Homeschooled children also learn independently; this training helps integrate learning into the child's life so that they don't see learning as something that is only done in a certain place and at a certain time, but rather is something that is done throughout life.

• Greater life flexibility and freedom for children and their families. Homeschool is designed and controlled by parents. This provides enormous flexibility for a family's life. Homeschooled families are not limited to living according to an institution's schedule, but are free to plan and live life as they see fit.

• More influence by adults, less by peers. It seems to make sense that children can be best helped toward maturity by those who are already mature. Unlike institutional schools in which children are mostly influenced by other children of the same age and "immaturity" level in largely unsupervised environments, in homeschool, parents and other adults have a much greater influence over a child's maturation process. Peer pressure, which is widely blamed for so many of the problems children experience, is a very minor or non-existent factor in homeschooled children's lives. Instead of peer pressure being a driving force, parent and family influence becomes a primary influence on how children develop; this is a very good thing.

• More opportunities for experiences. Homeschooled students can enjoy much greater variety and depth of experiences than can institutionally educated children. Homeschools can include field trips that aren't limited to a specific amount of time and that aren't burdened by the logistical problems of involving large numbers of children in an activity at the same time. These field trips can include those that are tied directly to a student's learning at the time. For example, while studying an historical event, students can visit a related historical site and spend a significant amount of time there (some homeschool families even plan parts of vacations as "field trips"). Other experiences that are very valuable to a child's development also can be included such as service work, part-time jobs, home projects, and others, which become a natural part of the homeschool experience. Homeschoolers learn by doing and experience much more than those being educated in institutional schools. They have more opportunity to apply what they learn to real life and to benefit from the experience that it provides (experience is the best teacher, homeschoolers get more experience).

• More opportunity for physical activity. Homeschooled children have the opportunity for lots of physical activity. From exercise to sports to playing outside to performing household chores, homeschooled children can be physically active throughout the day. This is in stark contrast to institutional settings in which children are trained (or forced) to lead largely sedentary lives.

• Safer emotional, moral, and physical environments. Because homeschool is family based and takes place to a significant extent in environments that are controlled or influenced by parents, homeschoolers enjoy protection from some of the problems of institutional environments. This protects children when they are most vulnerable and gives them a secure foundation that prepares them to handle the challenges of life as they approach the high school years and when they enter college or begin working.

• Better integration of all aspects of life including the spiritual, physical, and emotional elements. Because homeschools are managed by parents and families, important aspects of life can be integrated into a child's development. Being unfettered by government regulations, homeschools can include important spiritual and religious teaching and training along with academic subjects. Additionally, homeschools can incorporate service and volunteer work to help children have a broader perspective of life. In homeschool, all the elements of life can be integrated into a child's development.