Learning at Home: Navigating the World of Home Schooling
By Michele Blandino
While certainly not a new concept, home schooling has enjoyed an increase in popularity over the last few years. According to statistics released by the U.S. Department of Education, 850,000 children in the United States received at least part of their education at home during 1999. By 2002, this number had increased to 1.1 million and some experts estimate continued increases of 11% each year.
Why Home School?
The reasons behind these increases are varied. Some experts say the string of school shootings that occurred in the mid-1990’s served as the launching pad for the increased interest in home schooling. Some parents decide to teach their children at home for religious reasons, others do it to foster a less hectic lifestyle for their family, and others make the decision because they don’t want their children subjected to the intense peer pressure that pervades the traditional school environment. In the end, the decision to home school is unique to each family, making it too complex an issue to tackle in the space of this article.
To be sure, the decision to home school your child is not one that should be made without first researching issues such as: the regulations governing home schooling in your state, the curriculum you will use, the costs you will need to incur, and the extent to which you want your child to continue to attend the local public school (if at all).
Where to Learn More
To get you started on your way, we’ve provided some resources for you to check out:
- National Home Education Network - The National Home Education Network (NHEN) was formed, in part, to provide support and encouragement to families choosing to home school. The NHEN site contains information and resources for home school regulations for every state. There are also plenty of informative articles that discuss the pros and cons of home schooling as well as articles that give you information on how to get started.
- American Home School Association - The American Home School Association (AHA) is a service created in 1995 that provides the opportunity for home schooling families to network on a national level. In addition to dozens of articles that can help you in your decision making process, there are links to resources such as book services, study materials and home school publications.
- Home Education Magazine - one of the first magazines devoted exclusively to home schooling parents, Home Education Magazine offers readers a variety of articles, columns and news specific to the needs of families educating their children at home. While the website only contains select articles, you can visit your local public library to peruse back issues. The website does, however, contain Networking and Discussion boards in which members can voice their opinions or ask questions on a number of home schooling topics.
- Homeschool World - This site is the “official website of Practical Homeschooling Magazine”. In addition to articles on the subject of home schooling, this site contains hundreds of links to home school organizations in every state. There are also Discussion areas in which you can post specific subject-matter related questions to the site’s resident experts.
It is important to keep in mind that these resources only represent the tip of a very big iceberg; there are literally thousands of resources available to you that should help in making your decision. Be sure to take the time to investigate as many as you need to make you comfortable with your ultimate decision.
