Home education (also called homeschooling, homeschool or home learning) is the
education of children at home, typically by parents or professional tutors,
rather than in a public or private school. Although prior to the introduction of
compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education occurred within the
family or community, home education in the modern sense is an alternative in
developed countries to formal education.
In many places home education is a legal option for parents who wish to provide
their children with a different learning environment than exists in nearby
schools. The motivations for home education range from a dissatisfaction with
the schools in their area to the desire for better academic test results. It is
also an alternative for families living in isolated rural locations and those
who choose, for practical or personal reasons, not to have their children attend
school.
Home education may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision
of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. In some places, an approved
curriculum is legally required if children are to be home educated.
Home education is often considered to be synonymous with homeschooling, but some
have argued that the latter term implies the re-creation of school in the
context of the home, which they believe is philosophically at odds with
unschooling.
Unschooling contrasts with other forms of home education in that the student's
education is not directed by a teacher and curriculum. Although unschooling
students may choose to make use of teachers or curricula, they are ultimately in
control of their own education. Students choose how, when, why, and what they
pursue. Parents who unschool their children act as "facilitators," providing a
wide range of resources, helping their children access, navigate, and make sense
of the world, and aiding them in making and implementing goals and plans for
both the distant and immediate future. Unschooling expands from children's
natural curiosity as an extension of their interests, concerns, needs, goals,
and plans.
History
For much of history and in many cultures, enlisting professional teachers
(whether as tutors or in a formal academic setting) was an option available only
to a small elite. Thus, until relatively recently, the vast majority of people
were educated by parents (especially during early childhood) and in the context
of a specific type labor that they would pursue in adult life, such as working
in the fields or learning a trade.
The earliest compulsory education in the West began in the late 17th century and
early 18th century in the German states of Gotha, Calemberg and, particularly,
Prussia. However, even in the 18th century, the vast majority of people in
Europe lacked formal schooling, which means they were homeschooled or received
no education at all. The same was also true for colonial America and for the
United States until the 1850s. Formal schooling in a classroom setting has been
the most common means of schooling throughout the world, especially in developed
countries, since the early and mid 19th century. Native Americans, who
traditionally used homeschooling and apprenticeship, strenuously resisted
compulsory education in the United States.
Public schools were gradually introduced into the United States during the
course of the 19th century. The first state to issue a compulsory education law
was Massachusetts, in 1789, but not until 1852 did the state establish a "true
comprehensive statewide, modern system of compulsory schooling."
Before the introduction of public schools, many children were educated in
private schools or in the home.
After the establishment of the Massachusetts system, other states and localities
gradually began to provide public schools and to make attendance mandatory. |
in English by mkaymer, 29-08-10 09:42