Homeschooling has gone from relatively nothing in the 1970s to around two million homeschoolers in 2009. With this increase in children being taught at home there has been an increase in scrutiny on whether these children are receiving an education that is comparable with those that attend public/private schools. The biggest debates involve social interactions and whether the parents are qualified to teach their children at a reasonable academic level.

Dr. Brian D. Ray of the National Home Education Research surveyed 11,739 homeschooling students and their families from all 50 states through 15 independent testing services during 2008-2009, these studies have shown some startling results. In all subjects the children outperformed their public school counterparts, in reading, math, language, science, and social studies for the public schools the scores where in the 50 percentile, while for homeschooled students they ranked in the 84 to 89 percentile. While there are some demographic statistics that were found that suggest there may be more involved than just better scores, such as income, parents have a higher education, and more home school students come from two parent household. But with that being said these are issues that are dealt with when deciding to homeschool, budget, time to As our public schools increasingly fail the needs of students, parents, and communities, home schooling is appealing to a major group of stakeholders, the moms and dads of the students. No Child Left Behind legislation has led to much frustration for the teachers in public schools, but I would imagine that the frustration is ten-fold for the parents and students attending those public schools. The pressure and stress of "the test" have both been wearing down all parties involved for years. Homeschooling is a practical answer for those who have had it with the teaching to the test mentality that has developed in the past decade.

Academic Advantages of Home Schooling

Picture a classroom of 30-35 students. These kids come from different environments and come with so many different learning abilities and levels. The teacher stands at the door on the first day of school and greets each child as he/she enters the room. This teacher knows nothing of each child who crosses the threshold. It will take her/him weeks to get to know names, backgrounds, and abilities (unless, of course, the teacher from the previous year has given a heads-up on behavior or difficulties in learning). Any prior knowledge is most likely the negative opinions of previous teachers and previous experiences.

Now picture your child coming in to the kitchen, dining room, living room (wherever lessons are going to take place). You know your child. You know his/her interests. You know his/her strengths and weaknesses. You know when he/she has had enough and has tuned out.

The above visualizations are reality.

There are so many academic advantages to home schooling.

1. The "one size fits all" mentality is gone. You know your child. You know when he/she has mastered a concept. You make the decision how to teach a certain concept. A public school teacher rarely has the time or resources to individualize instruction in this manner.

2. Flexibility, freedom, and creativity. Public schools have pacing guides which dictate how long to spend on a concept and the resources to be used to teach that concept. Then they must move on in order to fit it all in. You have the ability to take more or less time on certain concepts based on your child’s needs. You have the freedom to use creative learning experiences for your child. If a field trip to the park is going to help you teach a concept in math, science, language arts, or social studies, you have the choice to do so without having to prove to the administration that said field trip covers a certain "standard" of learning.

3. Immediate feedback. Unlike the experience of a school teacher responsible for a multitude of students, you have the ability to recognize immediately the mastery or the need for further instruction. It won’t take you hours of grading papers to realize that a concept hasn’t reached your child.

4. Teachable moments. Learning can take place at any hour, during any activity. The concepts of science can be taught while cooking dinner. The concepts of math can be taught during a trip to the grocery store. The concepts of character and plot can be taught while reading a book together at bedtime.

5. Freedom. I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but it’s a BIG one! Decisions that lessons should take place at the museum or during a trip to a historical park are yours to make. Public schools don’t offer that freedom to their teachers. Inertia and force of gravity can be taught on a roller coaster!

6. Individual attention. What is the typical teacher/student ratio in a classroom? Most likely it is around 30:1. What is the ratio at home? One on one instruction is an invaluable thing.

7. Assessment. While the schools use the mandated standardized testing as a final assessment, home school educators can administer tests to identify weaknesses and use that knowledge to modify instruction. In public schools, standardized tests are generally administered at the end of the year and scores are made available during summer hours. There is no opportunity to use that information for remediation.

Social Advantages of Home Schooling

Peer pressure and bullying has been headlining the news for quite some time. Reports of students being afraid to go to school, afraid to show how smart they are, and afraid to be themselves have alerted us to a major problem in the public schools.

Many of these problems are alleviated through home schooling.

1. Students are often labeled socially in the public schools and are bullied due to those labels. Home schooling takes that off the board.

2. Those labels have been attributed to poor performance in academics. Home schooling your child takes that pressure away. Without worrying about what clothes they are wearing, if other students are "talking about them," and worrying about fitting in, your child is capable of concentrating on the learning taking place.

3. Peer pressure, especially during the middle school years, can be extremely detrimental for kids’ self-esteem. During the time when they are trying to learn and become young adults, home schooling takes away that added stress.

4. Family values. Public schools cannot, by law, teach the values that you may believe to be essential to your child’s learning. There are home school curriculums available that offer lessons and instruction that incorporate your beliefs and your specific values. You have the freedom to teach what the morals and values that YOU consider important. If you want to use a religious aspect in the education of your child, you are free to do so. Public schools are not.

5. Discipline. You know your child best. You know best how to get your child to accomplish what he/she needs to accomplish. In public schools, the teachers spend a great deal of time with discipline and classroom management, thus wasting precious teaching and learning time. That is greatly reduced in the home schooling situation.

In conclusion, there are many advantages of home schooling. Parents have maximum input and have freedom to monitor their children’s learning. Plus, lunch is ALWAYS better at home than in a public school!