Just One of the Many Reasons to

Choose Homeschooling for Your Family

By Linda Dobson

Have you ever asked yourself “why” the practice of homeschooling is spreading such a wide swath through the core of America, encompassing families from every economic, religious, geographical and age spectrum?

Today’s parents didn’t attend the schools their parents attended. Today’s children do not attend the schools today’s parents attended. There has been a progressive and steady decline in value of any education received inside school doors.

In his insightful blog named “Unschooling Rules,” Clark Aldrich sums up public school today thusly: “If you read a lot of schools’ mission statements or PR statements, you have to be impressed with the amount of effort and clarity of vision. Nowhere do they write ‘we teach pre-calculus better than anyone else.’ Instead, they say something like, ‘We strive to serve the individual needs of each student, developing all aspects of their personality, preparing them to be leaders and stewards of the future.’

“Of course, the bloom is quickly off the rose when you see what public and private schools actually do. But that is just quibbling.

“So if you have to take just one thing from schools to emulate, don’t take their schedule, or methodologies, or teacher-student relationships, or curricula, or textbooks. Take their brochures.”

Public Schools Are Going Broke; Homeschooling Isn’t

The first step in understanding why so many families turn to homeschooling today is to look at what the heck has happened to public schools. Here is a brief look at one of the currently most pressing reasons: The government is broke, and its schools are rapidly following suit.

“As the states run out of money and the federal deficit falls off the cliff, public schooling will be broke.” Judy Breck, April 10, 2010, handschooling.com

“As a math major, it totally boggles my mind that no one has noticed or cares that in two short years we have stopped talking about millions at all, talk billions routinely, and no one flinches when trillions are mentioned. No one seems to realize, or perhaps even care, that you can only borrow and print funny money so long and then the system collapses.” Anonymous

“Are cutbacks and program reductions in public schools having an affect on homeschooling? About two million children nationwide are home schooled. That number grows 5-12 percent each year.” http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=12160194

“Everyday, 14-year-old Katrina Griffith goes to class in her living room. Wednesday she worked on music, science, and cooking. On Thursday she’ll study all the core classes important for any 9th grader. But Katrina says she prefers the freedom of learning from home over a public school.

“Her mother, Lori, now her teacher, pulled her out of public schools this year. She says it was because of some of the decisions the district was making. Now, with all of the budget cuts and program reductions most districts are faced with, Griffith says she’s glad she did it. “Took her out before the end of the semester. It just got to be more of an issue and hard on her,” said Lori Griffith. Griffith says she’s seen too many districts letting teachers go, cutting programs like arts, and even closing schools altogether.

“Katrina remarked, ‘They also sometimes overcrowd the classes which is kind of hard because you sometimes need the one-on-one with your teacher.’

“But with home schooling, despite the responsibility, her mother doesn’t have to worry about that, and she predicts more parents will go that route.”

If you have school-aged children, it’s beyond time to ask the question of “why homeschool.” It’s time to get started!

The Homeschooling Decision Is Huge, But YOU CAN DO IT!

I’ve yet to meet a homeschooling parent – and I’ve met thousands – who wasn’t aware of the enormity of the decision when she took responsibility for a child’s education into her own hands. (Limiting myself to using one sex here for simplicity’s sake; absolutely no offense to the many men who are frequently involved in their family’s home education!) Homeschooling parents are, first and foremost, only human, so self-doubt and worry and stress and fear of really messing up their kids forever weigh heavily in both hearts and minds. It’s human nature.

Recognize the feelings as human, and don’t be afraid of them. I assure you, you aren’t going to do any worse to destroy your kids than the public school system is!

See also “A Brief History of American Homeschooling“

As with learning how to drive a car, bake a cake, change a diaper or use a computer, your confidence builds with time and experience. The love for your children will keep you moving forward.

Today there is a plethora of information and a huge variety of materials about different methods of homeschooling. You don’t have to study them all to death in order to pick one to get started homeschooling. The more important thing at the beginning is simply to jump in and get going – even if it doesn’t look, feel, or smell like “school” as you know it. (And it’s terrific if it doesn’t!) You’ll have plenty of time to tweak your homeschooling approach as you grow more informed and confident.

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