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 Homeschooling has an interesting history, that varies somewhat depending upon who’s telling that history. Some see modern homeschooling as an outgrowth of secular education reform movements started by John Holt and Ivan Illich in the 1960s. Others identify religious origins. However it sprouted, homeschooling, the practice of fully family directed learning, has blossomed into a vibrant and thriving educational choice for well over a million students.
Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states, although laws vary widely by state. According to recent figures the number of home-schooled students has tripled since 1994, from 345,000 to 1,100,000 in 2003 (Heritage Foundation). On average, home school students show high academic achievement , increased civic involvement and greater maturity than many of their peers. And yet there are no hard or fast rules for providing an effective home education for your children.
Homeschooling can be as expensive, or as inexpensive, as you make it. There’s plenty of prepackaged curricula available, and there are innumerable community learning opportunities in libraries, at museums and nature parks, and through informal learning cooperatives shared with other home learning families. Like any other educational choice, it’s important to be fully informed about homeschooling.
Some good articles and research about Home Education include, in no particular order:
Trends and Issues: Homeschooling
Modeling School Choice: A Comparison of Public, Private-Independent, Private-Religious
And Home-Schooled Students
How Home Schooling Will Change Public Education
Education Commission of the States: Homeschooling
The first thing you need to understand if you’re thinking about homeschooling is the laws in your state. You can find your state department of education here: Directory listing of state DOEs
If you live outside the US and are interested in exploring home education as a learning option, a good resource is Anne Zeise’s A to Z Home’s Cool Regional and Worldwide Homeschooling . Another good resource is Wikipedia, where readers have cobbled together an impressive, and fairly accurate overview of home education.
Please Note: LIFE Inc. does not endorse or necessarily agree with or support the views of any of these organizations, but provides mention of them in the interest of helping families be as informed as possible about available resources, and learning and networking opportunities. Please be sure to read and understand organizational mission statements and goals, and be prepared to cross reference any information, especially legal information.
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