Homeschool Resource Guide

Nine Reasons to Home Educate

The decision to homeschool involves commitment, sacrifice and dedication. It requires commitment of financial resources for educational and curricula materials and time for preparation and for working with your children. You will, most likely, be different from most of your friends and neighbors. So, why would you consider doing this? What are the advantages of home education?

1. Tutorial style education is more time effective than classroom teaching.

Educators have estimated that in one and one-half to two hours a tutor can cover the same material that classroom teaching takes a whole day to cover. With home education you can give your child the precious gift of time! Time to play, to read, to draw, to observe nature, to do a project, to sing or play an instrument, to be involved with a service project, to run a cottage industry, to develop relationships and to pursue their interests.

2. Across the nation the average home-educated child achieves high scores on standardized achievement tests.

• A 1998 study by Lawrence M. Rudner, director of the Educational Resources Information Center Clearinghouse on Assessment and Evaluation at the University of Maryland, found that, “…achievement test scores of this group of homeschool students are exceptionally high—the median scores were typically in the seventieth to eightieth percentile."
• Homeschool test results for North Carolina in the 1988/1989 school year were as follows: CAT top 27%; Iowa Basic top 20%; SAT top 27%; Metropolitan top 33%. (The 1988-1989 school year was the last year test scores were compiled by the Division of Non-Public Education.)
• In 2003 the average ACT score for homeschooled students was 22.5 and 23.0 for North Carolina homeschooled students, whereas, the national average score for all students was 20.8.

3. The homeschool can be tailored to fit your child's maturity and learning styles.

Rather than your child having to fit into a graded education system, your school can be molded to fit your child's needs.

Several government funded studies in the 1920s and 1930s showed that classroom instruction and book work that requires abstract reasoning were not the most effective way to educate children nine to ten year-olds or younger. Over 7,000 early childhood studies compiled in the 1970s by Raymond and Dorothy Moore at the Hewitt Research Foundation confirmed the findings of the earlier studies. Their studies showed that many children, especially boys, were not physically, neurologically or emotionally mature enough to handle structured classroom teaching. Information about these studies may be found in School Can Wait by Raymond and Dorothy Moore.

In home education, a child has the opportunity to develop mentally and physically before he is exposed to structured bookwork. Also, in areas where the child excels, the homeschool can permit the child to learn as quickly as his ability and interest will allow.

4. Home education affords children more opportunity to learn from real-life experiences rather than exclusively learning from books.

In 1989, Dr. Sam Peavey, Professor Emeritus, University of Louisville, Kentucky, stated, "The best preparation for real life is to live it every day as home scholars do. It is the institutionalized student in the regular school who is compelled to live in an unreal setting." For example, children can learn math in the kitchen, workshop, and supermarket. This makes math more meaningful and more useful to them. Home education brings with it a natural development of life skills that are not a part of the traditional classroom curriculum.

5. Parents are the most effective agents for the positive socialization of children.

• A study by Phillips in 1969 found that, “Young children are unable to reason consistently until they are at least seven to eleven years old or even older. Therefore, risk is involved in turning them out of the singular security of the home before those ages.”
• A 1970 study by Uri Bronfenbrenner found that attachment to peers seems to be influenced by weakness at home, lack of contact or lack of attention or concern there, rather than by the strength of attraction by the peer group. “Children who have such peer orientation tend to be pessimistic about the future, to be less likely to accept responsibility and leadership and to have a greater tendency toward errant behavior. -- Little children are not carriers of sound social and moral values.”
• In 1986, using the Piers Harris Children's Self Concept Scale, John Wesley Taylor noted that 77.7% of 224 homeschooled students in grades four to twelve ranked in the top 25% in the nation. This test is nationally recognized to measure socialization skills.
• In a 1992 University of Florida study conducted by Larry Shyers, the self-esteem of the homeschooled group of seventy children was measured and was compared with that of a traditionally schooled group of children. No significant difference was found between his two groups in scores on the Children's Assertive Behavior Scale. But direct observation by trained observers, using a "blind" procedure, found that homeschooled children had significantly fewer problem behaviors, as measured by the Child Observation Checklist's Direct Observation Form, than traditionally schooled children when playing in mixed groups of children from both kinds of schooling backgrounds. Shyers said, "The results seem to show that a child's social development depends more on adult contact and less on contact with other children than previously thought."
• A study by the University of Michigan in 1993 of social development of adults who had been home educated revealed that: 100% were gainfully employed; 65% were self-employed; 0% were on welfare; 41% had attended college; 15% had a graduate degree; 79% said that homeschool had given them the ability to interact with a wide variety of people; 94% said that home education had prepared them for independence; and 96% of the respondents said they would choose homeschool again.

Children attain confidence and independent thinking when their exposure to peer pressure is reduced and interaction with their parents is increased. Home-educated children learn social behavior from their parents instead of from other children. Also, because homeschooled children typically have contact with a wide range of people, they can better relate to people of different ages and different backgrounds.

6. Parents have control over what their child is taught, and when and how it is taught.

The parent can be flexible in changing the method of educating to suit the child and the family.

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength. These commandments which I give you this day are to be kept in your heart; you shall repeat them to your sons, and speak of them indoors and out of doors, when you lie down and when you rise.” (New English Bible)

As a Christian, I have been given the responsibility to train my children in the wisdom of the Lord. Whether my children are educated in public school, in private school, or in homeschool, I must answer to God for what my children are taught. I am also responsible for how my children are taught. Home education allows parents to pass their values and their worldview to their children without interference from a school or teacher that does not share the parents’ views.

Ephesians 6:4 “You fathers, again, must not goad your children to resentment, but give them the instruction and correction, which belong to a Christian upbringing.” (New English Bible)

The Bible states that fathers are not to goad or exasperate their children in the educational process. If one method of educating vexes the child, the parent should change the method of instruction to one that is more productive. This shift in instructional method is more easily accomplished in a homeschool setting.

7. Home education can be planned around the family's schedule.

Homeschool does not have to be scheduled during normal school hours. Many home educators have educational activities during the evening hours when both parents can be involved.

Occasionally, my family accompanies me on a business trip. For them, it is a field trip. Learning opportunities can happen at any time of the day, and the experienced home educator will recognize these opportunities and take advantage of them.

8. Home education provides a vehicle for strengthening the family.

Typical homeschool families experience greater closeness, deeper commitment to one another and more open communications. Our family has enjoyed learning together through reading, projects, sports, the arts and spiritual development. Children feel secure enough with their parents to be open about such important issues as dating, sex, drugs, gossip and other sensitive, but important issues.

9. Parents learn with their children.

An unexpected by-product of home education has been that the parent has an opportunity to learn with the children. The homeschool parent often has a greater understanding of history, politics, science, geography, and other subjects as a result of the home education process.

Ten Things I Wish I Knew When I Began Homeschooling

1. I don’t have to know everything. I thought when I began homeschooling that I needed to know everything (the all-knowing teacher) and then impart that knowledge to my children. I have since learned that if I don’t know it, we can learn together—or I can find a resource to help them with it—or they can learn it independently.
2. My children don’t have to know everything, either. Just because someone, somewhere included it in a curriculum does not mean we have to master it or even cover the material. I have loosened up quite a bit in this area and applied common sense to decide what needs to be covered.
3. No curriculum is perfect. They all have advantages and disadvantages, and after I set my goals, I just need to decide which curriculum will help me reach them. It is a great time to be homeschooling, with the wealth of curriculums and materials available, but we shouldn't feel like we need to look at everything before we decide. We should trust ourselves and not be afraid to modify the curriculum that we have chosen to make it work for us.
4. I have the experience and wisdom to make good decisions regarding my children's education, and they shouldn’t question every decision I make. I made a huge mistake in this area when I began (and nearly quit because of the questions). Children won’t always understand or agree with your choices. They need to be taught to obey willingly and cheerfully. Life in the homeschool will be so much more pleasant.
5. Conversely, I should be willing to listen to my children. I invite their input each year regarding what they enjoy or dislike and why. As they get older, especially high school age, I ask for their agreement on the courses they will study, the curriculum we will use and what will constitute a passing grade and completion of the course. I am the teacher and will decide when they have reached my standards for graduation, but they get a say in what those standards are and how they will be met. To a certain extent, this method produces a contract between you and the student that needs to be negotiated before the year starts. Then it is a simple matter of whether the student has fulfilled the terms or not. This eliminates the nagging on your part.
6. If I deal with character problems first, learning will come much easier. We should make it a priority to always deal with character issues before dealing with academic issues. Perseverance, integrity, diligence, obedience, responsibility, et cetera, must all be addressed before we will be successful with the academics. Homeschool is an excellent opportunity to make sure our children not only have the knowledge and skills to be successful as adults, but the character to succeed.
7. I need to be flexible. There are no substitute teachers for the homeschooling mom. Every homeschool will at some time or another have a crisis that must be handled. I think it is an excellent learning experience for our children to be involved. They can help and sometimes may exhibit skills that might not have been required of them otherwise. A crisis also gives the parent a chance to model how to handle all the things that life throws at us.
8. If I remember the big goals, I won’t lose sight of the forest for all the trees. I needed to set some overreaching goals at the beginning of my homeschool experience. Besides helping me chose curriculum, goals also help each and everyday as I make choices about lessons, activities, a co-op group and other opportunities. I feel more confident that I am accomplishing what I set out to do. Reviewing goals helps to remind me on certain days why I am doing this.
9. I am responsible for teaching, but my children are responsible for learning. I need to be disciplined and take responsibility for the learning environment. For younger children, I will need to set the goals. As the children grow older they need to set goals for themselves and take the necessary steps to reach those goals. I am there to guide and support, but it is not my life. Homeschooling moms tend to feel overly responsible and therefore guilty about the choices of their children. This is not healthy.
10. All home education situations are different, and I have yet to find one that successfully mimics the public schools. Each family will set its own goals and must find what works best for them. Beware the comparison monster. The successful homeschools that I know tend to develop a lifestyle of education and none of them looks like a traditional classroom. Learning is the goal, not checking off the box or completing the worksheet.

I have learned that education is less about a worksheet or a particular problem and more about rearing children to be God-fearing, well-rounded adults with a positive attitude towards learning. This doesn’t happen over night and requires patience, so do not become weary in your well-doing. We celebrated the marriage of our eldest and the graduation of our third student this spring. I believe that if you will be faithful and diligent each and every day about the education of your children, someday you will be able to look back on this process with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that all the hard work was worth it.