All
parents want their children to receive the best education possible, but with
the public school system having the problems currently faced by private schools
and not affordable to all, many parents are turning to homeschooling.
Homeschooling is not a new idea, even our public school system is newer than parents teaching their children at home. Our founders did not discuss whether to ask the children to attend school (compulsory education), but they decided to leave the decision up to the individual families and state and local governments. In 1850, Massachusetts became the first state to require children to attend school. There are several reasons for this law, but the main reason is to keep children out of the labor force, and teaching them to be "good citizens."
Even with laws in the United States, many parents continued to homeschool their children. Homeschooling became an underground movement, but it has picked up speed. With American children falling behind in math and science and increased violence in schools, parents feel that the public system fails. Statistics show that the three main reasons parents decide to homeschool are: safety of their children, are able to teach from a religious perspective and have a program tailored to the needs of their children learn.
There are many different approaches to homeschooling. Here is a small list:
* Classical Homeschooling. People who use this approach believe that the brain has evolved in three stages - grammar, logic and rhetoric.
* Structured Homeschooling. This approach is very similar to the established school.
* Unschooling. This approach was initiated in 1960 by John Holt, an educator from Boston, who did not agree with the way children learn in school. He believed that children should be free to learn at their own pace, not dictated by the teacher.
Again, this is a small list of different approaches. Everyone has their own ideas about how children learn best.
There are many advatages homeschooling, but the flaws I see is children are not able to socialize with other children. I'm sure there are programs for children to learn at home for socialization and education that choice continues to grow, more opportunities are available.
We parents know better than anyone what is best for our children. Homeschooling may be the future of education. And perhaps we should look to our past to find the future.
Homeschooling is not a new idea, even our public school system is newer than parents teaching their children at home. Our founders did not discuss whether to ask the children to attend school (compulsory education), but they decided to leave the decision up to the individual families and state and local governments. In 1850, Massachusetts became the first state to require children to attend school. There are several reasons for this law, but the main reason is to keep children out of the labor force, and teaching them to be "good citizens."
Even with laws in the United States, many parents continued to homeschool their children. Homeschooling became an underground movement, but it has picked up speed. With American children falling behind in math and science and increased violence in schools, parents feel that the public system fails. Statistics show that the three main reasons parents decide to homeschool are: safety of their children, are able to teach from a religious perspective and have a program tailored to the needs of their children learn.
There are many different approaches to homeschooling. Here is a small list:
* Classical Homeschooling. People who use this approach believe that the brain has evolved in three stages - grammar, logic and rhetoric.
* Structured Homeschooling. This approach is very similar to the established school.
* Unschooling. This approach was initiated in 1960 by John Holt, an educator from Boston, who did not agree with the way children learn in school. He believed that children should be free to learn at their own pace, not dictated by the teacher.
Again, this is a small list of different approaches. Everyone has their own ideas about how children learn best.
There are many advatages homeschooling, but the flaws I see is children are not able to socialize with other children. I'm sure there are programs for children to learn at home for socialization and education that choice continues to grow, more opportunities are available.
We parents know better than anyone what is best for our children. Homeschooling may be the future of education. And perhaps we should look to our past to find the future.