Many Americans harbor an erroneous preset conception of the typical homeschool student. Too many people still imagine homeschool as an extension of religious fanaticism. They view parents who homeschool as devoted to the point of paranoia over sending their children to public schools. There is also a preconceived notion that homeschool parents are an exhausted bunch who struggle far into the night with lesson plans and can barely stay awake to teach their children. Homeschool children do not escape this false stereotyping, either; they are often seen as lonely, friendless and overly sheltered, or ill-equipped to deal with the real world.
However, the modern homeschool reality is a far cry from this common viewpoint. Today's parents who choose to homeschool come from all walks of life, all faiths and cultures and family types. The only completely common thread they share is the desire to provide their children with a better education than what they would be able to receive through public education. There are many myths about homeschooling that are prevalent in public opinion today, and these myths should be addressed and dispelled so homeschool can be seen as the beneficial alternative that it is.
One common homeschool myth is that the move toward homeschool environments is a fringe campaign observed by a handful of parents. In reality, the number of households using homeschool in the United States surpassed two million in 2001, and that number has continued to rise at rates of 15 to 20 percent each year. Also, homeschool does not routinely occur for religious reasons. Only 33 percent of families who homeschool reported religion as their primary deciding factor.
Another common misconception about homeschooling is that homeschool children are undereducated. The reality is that students who are homeschooled typically score as well as or better than their publicly educated peers. In fact, homeschool students have been known to dominate national spelling and geography bees. It is also a myth that parents who homeschool use a formal curriculum to teach. Some of them do, but many favor interactive methods of teaching and creative combinations of formal education and hands-on learning. This enables homeschool students to better meet the challenges of the real world.
Finally, homeschool students rarely lack for social interaction with other children. Parents who homeschool recognize the need for socialization, and often enroll their children in extracurricular activities at public schools or arrange networking groups with other homeschool parents. Homeschool is no longer a shadowy subject; millions of parents have brought this exceptional educational method to light.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Home Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.
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