Why is there so much home schooling?

If I had the patience to homeschool my kids, I totally would. As long as you make sure they are still socialized, it would be so much better. You don't have to worry about keeping your kid motivated when they have to learn at the same relative pace as twenty other kids, they can learn as slowly or quickly as it is upon themselves. My son's "recess" consists of walking in a circle in the school yard, it's a JOKE. I just don't think I have it in me to homeschool and never EVER get a break from them lol

I have a list of my pros and cons for homeschooling on my fridge, mostly for when my mother in law comes over and starts talking her nonsense about homeschooling

A few reasons of mine: Common Core, state standards, standardized testing, etc. We are Christian and it does play a part for us. I don't think it's a trend. And I didn't realize how many homeschoolers there actually were in my small area until I went to a convention last year.

1. Yes, there are many "secular" homeschoolers. There are also Christian homeschoolers who chose homeschooling for non-religious reasons.

2. Not all public schools are "that bad". Some of us just feel that homeschooling is "that good".

3. Socialization is a red herring. Spending time with family, friends, neighbors, and community members offers ample practice at coping skills and self mastery.

It seems to be a trend, but I wouldn't call it a fad as it has always existed (children educated in their home by parents or somebody chosen by them). And I hope it isn't "the way of the future" because parents need choices. Not everybody can or should homeschool.

very much agree!

children are not identical in the way they learn. but the pulic school system only has the resources to teach one way and hope the slow ones get it faster and the fast ones can wait a bit for others to catch up.

Homeschooling allows flexability in learning styles and subject matter. It also allows for interactions with people of many different ages and backgrounds. your not just socialized with your peer group, but most homeschool parents make sure their kids get socialization everywhere.

My daughter has a very high IQ but is bipolar, was dx at age 5. She tried public schools and private school thru 3rd grade. Neither was able to keep up with her, and both wanted to keep her with her peer group instead of putting her in the grade she was best able to learn. So we started homeschooling. She's found so many outside interests. She was strictly homeschooled thru 8th grade, and is now in a distance high school, in honors and AP classes with a 4.0 GPA. She does 4H, volunteering, interns at the local library, does door-to-door volunteer work, helps out at the local homeschool group for kids in the elementary grades, helps work around our farm, has taught herself to sew and design clothes and is on her way to publishing her first book of poetry.

If she was going to school for 6+ hours a day, waiting for others in her peer group to learn waht she already knew, then expected to finish a few hours of homework a night, she wouldnt be able to accomplish all she is now, nor would her quality of life be as good as it is. She loves talking to people, is comfortable around any/all age groups and loves public speaking.

Homeschooling isnt for everyone. Its a serious investment of time, energy and sometimes money. You have to make sure you child is learning what they need to know, the 3 R's, how to socialize and connect with others and how to keep their interest and love of learning alive. Its a choice im thankful people have. Its not the only option, and for many not the best option.

There is a lot of bad stuff promoted and accepted at schools now - you don't need to be a Christian to want to keep your kids away from it - but you have to pay the price. I did it for 6 months...then too hard, another family member got sick. School should be the 3 Rs but it is really social engineering out here in California...don't know about other places.....

If I was in the US, I would homeschool my kid. I would not want my kid being shot up by some psychotic person while getting a mediocre education.

I am Canadian though.

Because every school in the US has horrible teachers and gun toting criminals. Seriously???

The percentage of home-schooled students across the United States is only about 4% of the total student population.

Lots of speculation going on in this thread, I see.

I have four grandchildren state another who are home schooled by my daughter. Her reasons, while we are a religious family, are for non religious reasons. She simply wants to be able to educate the kids with her moral values. Many schools have assumed roles to influence children with a low standard of morals which, to her, is completely unacceptable.

My wife is a Middle School teacher and has no concerns for home schooling where the parent is capable and actually does the job they have taken on.

I home schooled my son for two reasons. He had migraine headaches that cause him to miss a lot of school. The school district said that I need to have him tested for add. the doctor that tested him said he was not add and did not need to be on medication. the school said he could not come back to school without it. when I went to check him out the vice principal said that they had done a IQ test and he scored at the end of 5th grade.( he was in second) that he needed medication to bring him to the level of the rest of the class.

If I was in the US, I would homeschool my kid. I would not want my kid being shot up by some psychotic person while getting a mediocre education.

I am Canadian though.

Yeah.. ok. :yawn:

I am Canadian and I will be raising my kids in the US. This is a legitimate concern of mine.

As for "socialization and intro to the world 101" Home-schooling is the BEGINNING of all that, but you will never grasp it, until you do it.

In regards to the social skills argument of homeschooling, I will say that I went to public school k-12 and I'm the most awkward person you'll ever meet. Yeah, being around other peers sure did help me. Ha.

I do plan on homeschooling my kids for many reasons, though.

I'd just like to point out that the chances of your child being shot in school are far less than them being killed in a car accident, or choking to death, or shot by a gun in the home, or pretty much any other way they might be killed. Purely from a statistical perspective, school is one of the safest places they can be- physically, at least (mentally is another issue altogether). If you don't believe me, feel free to look up the stats yourself.

i unschooled my 2 boys for a number of reasons. 1 being i felt that if i had to spend 5 hours fighting with them to do teacher assigned homework i may as well spend 5 hours homeschooling them. 2 my youngest HATED reading because the teacher assigned him juney b jones series to read. i let him choose what to read and it was a much easier fight for me to win ( he chose the red wall series and read every one as well as several other popular series ). and 3 when we got re sectioned into a new district and the first thing the new school asked was if i had them tested for ADHD even b4 their ages etc i knew that public school for my kids was over. it was hard, but we had 4H and the local public library and other home school families to share and socialize with. it worked for us.

Growing up, I was homeschooled and my sisters were too.

One of the main reasons for homeschooling is that the kid can go at their own pace. They also have opportunities that many public schoolers do not have, such as world traveling and being flexible with their times schedules.

All of my sisters are now out of college, and are very high up in the workforce. They were in honor societies in college and graduated with their bachelors/masters with a very high GPA-- almost a 4.0.

Even though homeschooling has worked out well for my family, most of the friends I had when I was younger who were homeschooled did lack in social skills, and were not always ready for college. This is the same way for public schoolers too, however.

While many do homeschool for religious reasons, academic reasons are on the rise in popularity, given how the public school system is falling apart.