Homeschooling is the process of educating children at home rather than inside a public school classroom. Homeschooled children are taught by their parents the same subjects that are taught in the standard public school environment. There are pros and cons to homeschooling, and it is important to remember that homeschooling is not for everyone and takes a lot of commitment. There are several motivating factors behind parents choosing to homeschool their children and the pros seem to outweigh the cons in many instances. When a child is homeschooled the parent can concentrate on the child's interest one-one and can tailor education for the child's learning level and style. Parents who home school often believe they are bettering their child since homeschoolers have better test scores, more flexibility, and the opportunity to participate in many diverse knowledge enriched activities.
Homeschooling is becoming more and more popular. Many used to view homeschooling as an isolating activity that took social skills away from a child but now many parents choose to homeschool to separate their children from bad influences and allow them to participate in fun activities of learning. Homeschooled kids in New York have the opportunity to learn American history from Broadway musicals through The New-York Historical Society, they can earn PE credits from Wayfinders which is a role-playing game where they cant run away from central park playing an epic and educational game of capture the flag. At Robofun homeschoolers can learn about robotics and can even build their own, many parents who choose to homeschool love how their child can learn knowledge through hands-on activities while also having fun.
One of the biggest reasons parents are choosing to homeschool is because Homeschoolers achieve higher test scores than students of public schools. Martin-Chang from the Home School Legal Defense Association states “That the homeschooled children were functioning at a higher level than traditionally schooled children in every grade and overall the curricular areas tested, which is reading, language arts, math, social studies, science, and information services” (Martin-Chang et al). Students who are homeschooled are more successful because they are receiving one on one instruction that can be tailored to their education needs. Israel Wayne Author of “Benefits of Homeschooling” states, “Home-educated students have repeatedly won the National Geographic Bee, the Scripps National Spelling Bee, The Inte. International Science &Engineering Fair, the GSN National Vocabulary Championship, the Nation Mock Trial Championship, National Nerite Scholarship awards, and many other honors, as well as soring top placement at leading universities” (Israel Wayne). On average, homeschool students score 2 points higher on the ACT than students that are in traditional public schools and homeschool students have better test scores in standardizing testing above the public school student, the research shows that homeschool students have excelled above public-school students in many academic competitions which earned them many awards and honors and have encouraged many parents to take on homeschooling.
Parents often choose to have their children homeschooled so they are not exposed to the negative environment many kids are exposed to every day in public schools. John Larabell author of “Homeschooling” states, “The sex, drugs, and violence prevalent in public schools are practically a non-issue for most homeschool families and homeschooled children often have a much closer relationship with their parents than their public-school counterparts” (Larabell). When a child is homeschooled parents don’t have to worry about school shootings, bullies, or if their child is being disrespectfully by a teacher. The Department of Justice Documents author of “United State Attorney’s Office and Royal Oak Public School Welcome the Detroit Tigers Winter Caravan to Hold a Forum on Ani-Bullying” states, “Bullying creates a climate of fear in school, playgrounds, and neighborhoods. Victims of bullying suffer from a wide range of psychological and school-related problems including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and even suicide” (The Department of Justice). Many parents are also concerned with their child's emotions and mental stability which can be affected when in public schools by other students or situations they are exposed to. Depending on who you ask when a child is homeschooled, some feel the child is being raised sheltered but others will tell you the parents are just trying to protect their child from the scary world.