Home Schooling on the Rise

Yahoo//AP ^ | 08/03/2004 | By BEN FELLER, AP Education Writer

[bejaykay]

WASHINGTON - Almost 1.1 million students were home-schooled last year, their numbers pushed higher by parents frustrated over school conditions and wanting to include morality and religion with the English and math.

The estimated figure of students taught at home has grown 29 percent since 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics,

parents offered two main reasons for choosing home schooling: 31 percent cited concerns about the environment of regular schools, and 30 percent wanted the flexibility to teach religious or moral lessons. Third, at 16 percent, was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools.

the 1.1 million home-schooled students accounts for a small part — 2.2 percent — of the school-age population in the United States, young people aged five through 17.

Ted Feinberg, assistant executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists.

Home schooling presents several questions that must be considered, he said. Among them: Do parents with no formal training as teachers know how to handle a variety of subjects or to tailor instruction for children of different ages? Do students get the same materials they would have at schools, from books to science labs? Are families with two working parents prepared to go to a single income so that one parent can teach at home?

Also, Feinberg said, parents must consider whether their children will emerge from home schooling with limited exposure to other children and various cultures. More federal research is needed to help resolve such questions about home schooling, he said.

"At some point, children are going to have to interact with the rest of the world," he said. "If they haven't had the opportunity to build their emotional muscles so they have that capacity to interact, how effective are they going to be outside their cloistered environment?"

[bejaykay]

"At some point, children are going to have to interact with the rest of the world." So, why didn't you interview just one of these children for your article? Afraid you might reveal that homeschooled children are socially and educationally adept?

[bejaykay]

My first posting of an article. I hope I did it correctly.

[Betaille]

Go moms! I intend to send my kids to religious schools, but home-schooling is another great option.
Remember... no politician can make americans strong and moral, only individual americans, on an everyday basis, can do that.

[nmh]

"So, why didn't you interview just one of these children for your article? Afraid you might reveal that homeschooled children are socially and educationally adept?"

LOL! Your hostililty to homeschoolers who have moral and superior academic performance time and time again says much about you. Maybe it's YOU who has issues! There is no need to "interview" homeschoolers. Their superior academic, spiritual and moral excellence goes without saying. Homeschoolers and private schooled kids outscore public schooled kids consistently.

[Betaille]

"If they haven't had the opportunity to build their emotional muscles so they have that capacity to interact, how effective are they going to be outside their cloistered environment?"

This shows the elites complete ignorance when it comes to religious americans. By the way... how effective at interacting are kids who dress and speak like they're in the ghetto?

[Betaille]

"Your hostililty to homeschoolers who have moral and superior academic performance time and time again says much about you."
I think you misunderstood the poster. What he was saying was that the AP twisted the story against homeschoolers by letting off the swipe that "homeschooled kids aren't socially adept", without actually looking into whether the claim was true.

[WorkingClassFilth]

You did just fine. Only thing you forgot was to comment on what a totally screwed up system the socialist educators have wrought...

[nmh]

"Home schooling is just getting started," he said. "We've gotten through the barriers of questioning the academic ability of home schools, now that we have a sizable number of graduates who are not socially isolated or awkward — they are good, high-quality citizens. We're getting that mainstream recognition and challenging the way education has been done."

Do you read what you post or simply envious of homeschooling superiority?

[secretagent]

Also, Feinberg said, parents must consider whether their children will emerge from home schooling with limited exposure to other children and various cultures. More federal research is needed to help resolve such questions about home schooling, he said.

We don't need federal research to determine if most parents can educate their own children, or if they can find people who to help them educate their own children.

If parents have the fitness to elect the school board, they have the fitness to choose to ignore the school board.

Compulsory government schooling and an adult citizenry don't mix.

[Betaille]

His post was supportive of Home-schooling... so hold your fire.

[secretagent]

find people who to help them educate their own children.

[TaxRelief]

If they haven't had the opportunity to build their emotional muscles so they have that capacity to interact, how effective are they going to be outside their cloistered environment

At the risk of sounding trite, many great men have come from "cloistered environments", yet have still significantly impacted the course of history.

Irving Berlin
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Anton Bruckner
Felix Mendelssohn
Francis Poulenc

Hans Christian Anderson
Charles Dickens
Brett Harte
Mark Twain
Sean O'Casey
Phillis Wheatley
Mercy Warren
Pearl S. Buck
Agatha Christie
C.S. Lewis
George Bernard Shaw

George Washington
Thomas Jefferson
John Quincy Adams
James Madison
William Henry Harrison
John Tyler
Abraham Lincoln
Theordore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Claude Monet
Leonardo da Vinci
Jamie Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
John Singleton Copley

Konrad Adenauer
Winston Churchill
Benjamin Franklin
Patrick Henry

Just to name a few... William Penn
Henry Clay

[bejaykay]

Thanks.
I am the homeschooling dad of seven. (Currently, five of whom are conventional school age.) My wife and I enjoy watching our children grow. The article was somewhat positive on homeschooling but concluded with the usual negative comments from the educrat. I think it sorely lacked any comment from one or two of the more than a million homeschooled students. When they are allowed to speak for themselves, they show their social and intellectual skills. nmh no hard feelings.

[liberty or death]

This is a base arguement of many who are anti-homeschool.
Our 5 children (homeschooled) have differing degrees of interaction ability. Only one of my children is introverted like myself and the rest are extroverts like their Mother.This arguement is baseless and has been destroyed over and over. The issue is money and the more kids are homeschooled the less the NEA gets to extort.

[Wonderama]

Also, Feinberg said, parents must consider whether their children will emerge from home schooling with limited exposure to other children and various cultures. More federal research is needed to help resolve such questions about home schooling, he said.

Limited exposure to other children and various cultures is a GOOD reason to homeschool. I didn't want my kids to be exposed to kids who had been raised in day-care, sexualized at a young age and have the attention span of a knat thanks to MTV.

I think home schooling is one of the best things we ever did for our kids. We only did it for one year, but it changed all our lives, for the better.

[Nateman]

Allow me to throw back one of their paragraphs with a few changes:

State schooling presents several questions that must be considered, he said. Among them: Do strangers with state approved training as teachers know how to handle a variety of subjects or to tailor instruction for children of different ages? Do students get the same materials they would have at home, from books to science labs? Is the state going to stop taxing parents for an education they don't want or use?

[nmh]

Sorry. I must have jumped the gun so as to speak.

At the moment I don't homeschool but seriously considered it. In fact during the summer I did homeschool her and plan on continuing the math and reading curriculm. I chose a internationally accredited private Christian school.

At the moment I am getting alot of grief from my local public school district. They are trying to wiggle out of paying me mileage to her school. It's not as though it matters much considering her tuition rate however I am LEGALLY entitled to it and they're giving me a hard time.

I live in NJ and they spend about 10K per student. All I'm looking for is reimbursement for 24 miles each way to her school. It's a drop in the bucket for what they SHOULD be reimbursing me -> ~10-12K.

[upchuck]

Ya done real good. Except this probably did not need to be excerpted.

Go here for the "must excerpt" list. Plus, the page where you post the article is supposed to let you know when you must excerpt.

Finally, when you must excerpt, it's nice if you can link to the printer friendly version of the story. Typically, fewer graphics to load and usually no pop up windows or ads.

[upchuck]

What you said! BUMP!!

[Salvation]

**Almost 1.1 million students were home-schooled last year, their numbers pushed higher by parents frustrated over school conditions and wanting to include morality and religion with the English and math.**

Will the NEA ever get the drift?

[Smartass]

"Judge rules fund-raising tile can mention the Almighty"

God won one. Check this web site out for a thread.

God tile

[bejaykay]

Will the NEA ever get the drift?

Oh I think they have and they are scared. They want homeschooling outlawed. They see it as a threat.

[BikerTrash]

"At some point, children are going to have to interact with the rest of the world," he said.

The best way to prepare them for that is to lock them in a room for 8 hours a day?

Seems like that gets them ready for jail.

What an idiot.

[secretagent]

I didn't want my kids to be exposed to kids who had been raised in day-care, sexualized at a young age and have the attention span of a knat thanks to MTV.

Excellent point and obvious now that you bring this up!

I never thought of it before now, but homeschoolers might get better social skills by staying out of the government schools.

[Arizona Carolyn]

They have absolutely no idea ... homeschooled kids are aceing the SAT's that can't happen unless they're learning someting!! My sister homeschooled both of her kids, my nephew at 19 is a senior in college, my 17-year-old niece going to be a sophomore. My nephew was an Eagle Scout at age 15.. my niece active in dance, both played soccer and other sports. Nice, clean cut kids without piercing and body tattoos... I would ONLY home school in this day and age.