| Why Parents Choose a Home School Education An | | | | give a child a home school education. The |
| increasing number of children today are | | | | person taking on the responsibility of |
| receiving a home school education. The | | | | homeschooling must be certified to be a home |
| reasons for making the choice to homeschool | | | | teacher, the curriculum must follow the state |
| their kids varies from family to family but | | | | curriculum, and the text books and other |
| there are three main reasons why parents are | | | | educational materials to be used must be |
| removing their children from the public | | | | approved by the state. Although this might |
| school system and giving them a home school | | | | seen like undue interference in what is a |
| education. The first reason is that the | | | | matter of personal choice, the state has a |
| public education system in the United States | | | | responsibility to ensure that all children |
| is struggling to provide a proper education | | | | receive an adequate standard of education and |
| for the nation's children with out of date | | | | checks will be made to ensure that any child |
| text books, run down school buildings and | | | | being kept away from public school is being |
| inadequate equipment. Provision of a home | | | | properly educated. A home school education |
| school education enables the parents to have | | | | might mean that a child is deprived of |
| control over the quality of the educational | | | | certain opportunities which would have been |
| materials used by their children and the | | | | available within the public school system. |
| general conditions in which they are | | | | There could be difficulties in providing |
| educated. The second reason is that parents | | | | facilities for athletic children to realize |
| wish to assume more control over the | | | | their potential. Musically talented children |
| influences their children will be exposed to. | | | | could be similarly disadvantaged. In some |
| This is often on the basis of religious | | | | states there is provision for children |
| grounds but, very often, it is simply because | | | | receiving a home school education to take |
| a home school education will ensure the child | | | | part in amenities such as being able to |
| learns the values upheld by the family and is | | | | attend sports lessons and join after-school |
| taught from an early age what behavior is | | | | clubs. However, the level of assistance |
| appropriate. Unfortunately, many public | | | | provided to homeschooling parents is not |
| schools have a poor reputation for instilling | | | | uniform and varies a lot from state to state. |
| good discipline in students. This often | | | | The final potential disadvantage to affect |
| results in badly behaved children disrupting | | | | children receiving a home school education is |
| lessons and preventing their peers from | | | | that they will not develop the social skills |
| getting the full benefit of classes. | | | | which will be important as they grow up. |
| Discipline and the upholding of proper | | | | Social interaction with their peers and with |
| standards of behavior is an important part of | | | | adults outside the family is essential if a |
| a home school education. The third reason | | | | child is going to grow up with a properly |
| many parents choose to give their children a | | | | balance personality and a reasonable level of |
| home school education is fear for their | | | | social skills. These developmental issues can |
| safety. Violence is on the increase | | | | be fairly easily overcome if the child lives |
| everywhere and the public school system has | | | | in a state where homeschooling parents are |
| not escaped this trend. Violence in the | | | | given support and the child receiving a home |
| public education system is getting worse and | | | | school education is accepted into classes and |
| the individual acts of violence are more | | | | extra-curricular activities. The decision to |
| serious. Since the shocking events at | | | | keep a child out of the public education |
| Columbine High School there have been further | | | | system is not one any parent would make |
| tragedies involving firearms where teachers | | | | lightly and any weighing up of the pros and |
| and students have been injured or killed. A | | | | cons must take into account the level of |
| home school education ensures the safety of | | | | support the state will provide. However, if |
| children who would otherwise be seriously at | | | | the public school system continues to |
| risk of harm. The Disadvantages of Opting For | | | | deteriorate, the number of children receiving |
| Homeschooling Providing a home school | | | | a home school education is bound to increase. |
| education is not simply a matter of parental | | | | |
| choice. In most cases the state education | | | | Tammy Carter reviews Home School Education at |
| board of the state in which the family | | | | HomeSchoolResourcesOnline. |
| resides will have to approve a decision to | | | | |