Stigma Against Homeschoolers Continues to Dissolve
Many parents aren't happy with public schools today and for a variety of reasons. Whether it be because of problems surrounding bullying, concerns for the academic material that's being taught, disappointment with performance outcome, issues with administrators, or worries about the opportunity for exposure to violence.
Maybe they just want a little more time with their child and the opportunity to allow their child a little more freedom with their educational journey.
And because public schools have been failing to meet the needs of so many, it's continued to prompt a growing number of parents to look toward homeschooling as an option for their family.
At the end of 2017, the NCES (National Center for Educational Statistics) released some controversial statistics about homeschooling in the US.
Their figures indicate that this area of schooling has seen explosive growth, to the point of representing roughly 3.4 percent of all children educated in the US by 2012. However, they suggest that the numbers have somewhat stalled.
Around 2016, it's estimated that there were at least 1.7 million students in the US that are home-schooled.
Critics say that the recently released stats might be underestimating the true numbers by a lot. And this is because it's very difficult to get an accurate picture of just how many home-schooled kids are out there.
Many states don't keep any official registration of homeschoolers and that impedes the process of finding out just how many are out there. For the few states that do keep some official data, they've seen significant growth in this area in recent years.
Dissolving Stigma...
You've got families from all different backgrounds engaging in homeschooling, both the well-off and the not-so-affluent, people of varying religion beliefs and ethnicity, different political beliefs, and so on. It's not just one specific segment that is interested in this avenue of learning.
The reasons for choosing homeschooling for your own family are diverse, though one thing it does provide for certain is an education alternative in the market for parents.
More parents are utilizing the technology available today to connect with other homeschoolers out there and form a community for their children to learn. And homeschooled children have frequently been seen to outperform public schooled children on standardized tests.
Homeschooling provides families with an opportunity to incorporate the community into the learning process.
The belief that homeschooled children cannot be “properly socialized” just simply isn't true.
Today there are many ways for homeschooled families to get involved in extracurricular activities that compliment their learning plans and unique interests. And it's very easy to use online resources to connect with others in the community and network in order to try and foster more success for the educational journey of the child overall.
The true value is the freedom that homeschooling affords both children and families.
Pics:
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njfuture.org
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Sources:
https://www.heartland.org/news-opinion/news/federal-estimates-of-homeschooling-numbers-at-odds-with-organizations-experience
https://www.thechronicle.com.au/news/why-more-toowoomba-parents-are-homeschooling-their/3305974/
http://theconversation.com/heres-how-homeschooling-is-changing-in-america-63175
http://www.businessinsider.com/homeschooling-is-the-new-path-to-harvard-2015-9
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2017/12/10/homeschool-harvard/
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/oklahoma/articles/2018-01-10/survey-bullying-leads-students-to-enroll-in-virtual-schools
https://thenextweb.com/insider/2011/12/26/in-2011-how-the-internet-revolutionized-education/
http://news.mit.edu/2015/ahaan-rungta-mit-opencourseware-mitx-1116
http://ideas.time.com/2012/10/24/the-single-largest-advantage-parents-can-give-their-kids/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2973328/
http://www.vocativ.com/224951/back-to-home-school-homeschool-kids-share-images-of-their-first-day/index.html
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/30/home-schooling-outstanding-results-national-tests/
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Thanks for this post @doitvoluntarily! Homeschooling is something that I have thought about very seriously. Currently my 4 kids are all under the age of 9 and adore going to our local public school (in Australia) but as they get older I am starting to do more and more research and keeping my awareness up about what they are really learning and the things I need to be teaching them at home. Thanks again for all the links and information here, I will definitely be having a read :)
Wish I could give this article a huge upvote!
I was homeschooled and my wife and I homeschool our children. It's become a culture of freedom for our family. Our children can learn from us and have conversations that would probably not happen if they had to spend most of their day stuck in school.
Homeschooling, as it is commonly done, isn't perfect. It has the potential to be so much better than traditional schooling, though. Most traditional schools are a bad environment, even bad for the teachers and adults.
The more we take on the responsibility of educating ourselves and our families, the more independence and freedom we will gain.
Of course, not every child needs to be schooled in public OR private school. Actually, at times I think schools are detrimental to child's creative and growth development. Done methodically, homeschooling can be great for kids!
So much yes to this post!
I actually stopped going to highschool and took the initiative to homeschool myself the last few years of highschool through an online homeschooling program. I did assignments and textbook stuff for a couple courses, had weekly class meetings online, and for the last year I was in an innovations course where I actually got to design my own course, projects, due dates and source my own material.
This experience was incredibly valuable to me, I have so much more confidence in my ability to learn anything, and was able to learn from life and my experiences well completing highschool. When I was actually in public school I was quite insecure and unconfident, and by the end of my homeschooling I am very confident and secure!
I will also homeschool my kids when that time comes! I totally support homeschooling of all ages, even for adults and for secondary education. I want to support learning and teaching everywhere, which is something that makes Steemit so attractive!
Thank you for this post <3
Public schooling Ruined me...lol If I ever have children they will be Home Schooled! Great Post as Usual!
I am a public school teacher. I hope you will be healed with your bad experience of your days in public school. I still believe you make a good decisions for your kids.
I know a couple here in Kelowna that home schooled 9 of their children , and out in Beaverdell because the commute to high school is an hour and a half each way on the school bus a lot chose to home school instead useing video and internet ! in most cases they learned more and all that is required by the school board , passing with As in most cases ! If I could have done it back when my boys were younger , I would have ! Im All For It !!
homeschooling is the future it should become a law
Some of the best behaved and brightest kids I've meet have been home schooled. I think it helps with technology more home schoolers are able to get together and make their own class room so to speak.
I home school my son and his state test results have improved, compared to brick and mortar school he attended.
Today I'm a big fan of homeschooling. I cannot say I always was but you change and grow and gain wisdom. I would be afraid that if the state kept a directory of kids being homeschooled that families would be targeted and it's better they don't. It just seems like homeschooling is a win-win on so many levels. Government-run schools are getting worse. They look more like prisons than schools and our children do not deserve to be prisoners.