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Home Education Academic Program School - Who should do home education
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Home Education Acadmic Program School - Who should do home education |
Home education is not for everyone. There needs to be a firm commitment on the
part of both the parents and the children.
Home educators often claim that learning any specific subject is less important
than learning how to learn. They assert, in the words of Alec Bourne, "It is
possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely
uneducated", and in the words of Holt: "Since we can’t know what knowledge will
be most needed in the future, it is senseless to try to teach it in advance.
Instead, we should try to turn out people who love learning so much and learn so
well that they will be able to learn whatever needs to be learned."
This ability to learn on their own makes it more likely that later, when these
children are adults, they can continue to learn what they need to know to meet
newly emerging needs, interests, and goals. They can return to any subject that
they feel was not sufficiently covered or learn a completely new subject.
Many home educators disagree that there is a particular body of knowledge that
every person, regardless of the life they lead, needs to possess. They suggest
that there are countless subjects worth studying, more than anyone could learn
within a single lifetime. Since it would be impossible for a child to learn
everything, somebody must decide what subjects they are to explore. Home
educators argue that "Children... if they are given access to enough of the
world, they will see what things are truly important to themselves and to
others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world than
anyone else could make for them."
The role of parents
The child-directed nature of home educating does not mean that home education
parents will not provide their children with guidance and advice, or that they
will refrain from sharing things that they find fascinating or illuminating with
them. These parents generally believe that as adults, they have more experience
with the world and greater access to it. They believe in the importance of using
this to aid their children in accessing, navigating, and making sense of the
world. Common parental activities include sharing interesting books, articles,
and activities with their children, helping them find knowledgeable people to
explore an interest with (anyone from physics professors to automotive
mechanics), and helping them set goals and figure out what they need to do to
meet their goals. The interest-based nature of home education does not mean that
it is a "hands off" approach to education; parents tend to be quite involved,
especially with younger children (older children, unless they are new to home
education, will often need much less help finding resources and making and
carrying out plans).
Who really does home education?
Statistically, the typical American home educating parents are married and home
educate their children primarily for religious or moral reasons. They average
three or more children, and typically the mother stays home to care for them.
Home education has increased tremendously, from 15,000 students in 1970 to
500,000 in 1990. According to United States Department of Education report NCES
2003-42, "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003", there was an increase in
homeschooled students in the U.S. from 850,000 students in 1999 (1.7 percent of
the total student population) to 1.1 million students in 2003 (2.2 percent of
the total student population).
According to a National Home Education Research Institute statement, an
estimated 1.9 to 2.4 million children were home educated during 2005–2006.
During this time, home education rates increased among students whose parents
have high school or lower education, 1.6 to 2.4 percent among student in grades
6–8; and 0.7 to 1.4 percent among students with only one parent.
As in 1999, rates were highest in families with three or more children (3.1
percent), and higher in families with two children (1.5 percent) than only one
child (1.4 percent). There were more home education students from families with
two parents (2.5 percent) than only one parent (1.5 percent), and students from
two parent families where only one parent worked were more than twice as likely
to be home educated (5.6 percent).
Parents offer a variety of reasons for home educating their children. The more
common reasons can be seen in the following table. |
| Reasons for Home Education |
| Reason for home education |
Number of Home Educated Students |
Percent |
| Can give child better education at home |
415,000 |
48.9 |
| Religious reasons |
327,000 |
38.4 |
| Poor learning environment at school |
218,000 |
25.6 |
| Family reasons |
143,000 |
16.8 |
| To develop character/morality |
128,000 |
15.1 |
| Object to what school teaches |
103,000 |
12.1 |
| School does not challenge child |
98,000 |
11.6 |
| Other problems with available schools |
76,000 |
9.0 |
| Child has special needs/disability |
69,000 |
8.2 |
| Transportation/convenience |
23,000 |
2.7 |
| Child not old enough to enter school |
15,000 |
1.8 |
| Parent's career |
12,000 |
1.5 |
| Could not get into desired school |
12,000 |
1.5 |
| Other reasons * |
189,000 |
22.2 |
| * Other reasons include more flexibility in educational
practices for children with learning disabilities or illnesses, or for
children of missionaries, military families, or otherwise traveling
parents. Home education is sometimes opted for the gifted student who is
accelerated, when a child has a significant career hobby (such as
acting, circus performance, dancing or music), or for families who wish
to abstain from mandatory immunizations. |
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According to a 2003 U.S. Census survey, 33% of home education households cited
religion as a factor in their choice. The same study found that 30% felt school
had a poor learning environment, 14% objected to what the school teaches, 11%
felt their children were not being challenged at school, and 9% cited morality.
According to the U.S. DOE's "Homeschooling in the United States: 2003", 85
percent of home educating parents cited "the social environments of other forms
of schooling" (including safety, drugs, bullying and negative peer-pressure) as
an important reason why they home educate. 72 percent cited "to provide
religious or moral instruction" as an important reason, and 68 percent cited
"dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools." 7 percent cited
"Child has physical or mental health problems", 7 percent cited "Child has other
special needs", 9 percent cited "Other reasons" (including "child's choice,"
"allows parents more control of learning," and "flexibility"). |
Information source: “Homeschooling.” wikipedia.org. Article date: 20 March 2009.
Retrieved: Wikipedia. 22 March 2009 <Homeschooling>.
Information source: “Unschooling.” wikipedia.org. Article date: 19 March 2009.
Retrieved: Wikipedia. 22 March 2009 <Unschooling>. |
 What is home education?
When should you do home education?
Where should you do home education?
Why should you do home education? |
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in English by mkaymer, 29-08-10 09:42