Pros and Cons of: Homeschooling

1. Pros and Cons of:Homeschooling Sarah Sullivan—Library 264

2. Department of Education Statistics: Homeschooling is Growing • 1970s: Between 10,000 and 15,000 children, aged 5 – 18 were homeschooled in U.S. • 1983: 60,000 to 125,000 children estimated as homeschooled. Rise due to increase of religion in U.S. and growing dissatisfaction with public schools. • 2008: 1.5 to 2 million children estimated as homeschooled.

3. Considerations Why are parents choosing to do this? How will this affect academic performance? What effect will this have on the social development of adolescents and teens?

4. Main Parental Considerations • 72%: Religious reasons. • 21 %: Dissatisfaction with school environment. • 17%: Academic considerations. • 2%: Child has mental or physical problems. • 4%: Other special needs. • 14%: Other needs: travel, location, time, money, etc.

5. Academic Issues Home schooling standards vary dramatically between states. 3 Main methods of regulating homeschools: • Yearly, standardized testing. • Education requirements: Teaching certification and at least a high school education. • Regular, periodic visits to classroom/monitoring student’s work. • States have different combinations of these—some are much stricter than others.

6. Problem: • Secular homeschooled children more likely to have credentialed, teachers/academic monitoring. • Religious homeschooled children more likely to have teachers w/o credential or high school education. • Disparity in educational opportunities for children based on religious beliefs of parents. Legal Religious Exemptions Parents may obtain waivers so for the classroom monitoring and teacher education standards if they claim the state requirements interfere with their free exercise of religion.

7. Social Development: Home v. Conventional Schooling Home School Conventional School Friends in a variety of age groups—older & younger. Less aggressive/more cooperative in groups. More guarded with friends. Less likely to confide “true feelings.” Majority of friends in own peer/age group. More aggressive/competitive in groups. More likely to share feelings/problems with friends & teachers.

8. Homeschool Perspectives: Tweens v. Teens Tweens (9 – 13) Teens (14 – 18) Missed friends. Felt left out of dances/other school activities. Worried about not knowing current fashions/trends. Happy socializing on internet & out of school. Liked not having to worry about clothes/fashion. Relieved not to have to go to dances/football games.

9. Online Resources U.S. Department of Education: www.edpubs.org Black Homeschoolers Magazine: www.blackhomeschoolers.com Homeschooling Research: ncess.ed.gov/nhes The Secular Homeschool Community: www.secularhomeschool.com

10. Sources Bergstrom, L., (2012).What effect does homeschooling have on test scores and socialization of children? Partial fulfillment for degree in Masters of Science—Education at University of Wisconsin, Superior. Retrieved at: http://www.minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/61574; Greenfield, L.A., (2007). Religious homeschooling: That’s not a monkey on your back, it’s a compelling state interest. 9 Rutgers J.L. & Religion 4. Retrieved at: http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journals/rjlr9&div=6&id=&page Medlin, R. G., (2000). Homeschooling and the question of socialization, Peabody Journal of Education, 75 (1&2), 107 – 123. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0161956X.2000.9681937 US Department of Education Homeschooling Study from 2007 (NCES 2009-030; Issue Brief, December 2008). Retrieved at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf Yuracko, K.A. Education off the Grid: Constitutional Constraints on Homeschooling; 96 Cal. L. Rev. 123 (2008). Retrieved at: http://www.jstor.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/stable/pdfplus/20439172.pdf?acceptTC=true