Education

Homeschooling was far from a nationally-recognized educational approach in 1969 when my parents chose homeschooling for their 6 children. Since then the movement has burgeoned to from a handful of participants to several million nation-wide.

Although still making up only 3% of the school-aged children, homeschooled students took home the top awards in both the national spelling bee and the geography bee this year. The academic success of this educational approach has captured the attention of a nation. Twenty years ago only 16% of Americans considered it "a good idea." Now 42 % are favorably inclined to it, according to a USA Today poll.

Dr. Lawrence Rudner and the ERIC Clearinghouse studied the academic performance of 21,000 homeschooled students on standardized tests and found that the average home educated eighth-grade student tested 4 grade levels above the national average. On average, homeschoolers tested above their public and private school counterparts in every grade and in every subject, ranking between the 75^th and 85^th percentile.

Interestingly, the economic status and race of the parents had little effect on the academic performance of the students in these studies. But the statistical index that shifts the "it-takes-a-professional… don't-try-this-at-home" paradigm more than any other is the study which considered the value of a teacher certification for homeschool teachers. There is zero statistical significant difference between the academic performance of those children whose parents are teacher certified and those whose parents are not. (Ref. Dr. Brain D. Ray, Strengths of their Own, 1997).

The old argument challenging the socialization of home school students is fading with multiple studies concluding that homeschoolers are equally or better socialized then their counterparts from private and public schools (www.nheri.org). For a holistic analysis of the effect of home education in the social milieu, I would commend the latest study from Dr. Brain Ray, "Homeschooling Grows Up." Looking at 7,200 home school graduates, Dr. Ray found homeschoolers almost 3 times as likely to get masters degrees, 3 times less likely to be "dissatisfied with life," 3.5 times less likely to be "dissatisfied with their financial condition," and 70% more likely to be involved in community service. Interestingly, the greatest disparity between homeschool graduates and the national average was in the area of political involvement. Homeschoolers, aged 18-24, were 14 times more likely to be engaged in politics than the average high school graduate, (Reference, "Homeschooling Grows Up," www.hslda.org).

We would not want to minimize the value or importance of a teaching degree or professional certification. But the involvement of parents in education seems to transcend all. What we find is that there are factors that are far more powerful and fruitful in the education of a child than what a four year degree, CSAP Testing, certified teachers, or state-standardized programs could accomplish. Any one of these might add 100 watts of luminescence to the light of knowledge contributed by the state education system. But nothing could compare to the 10,000 watts afforded by the benefit of parental involvement.

In the homeschooling circles, we speak of the power of long term mentor-child relationship, the benefit of a tailor-made education that maximizes on the individuality of each child, and the preeminence of training character in and through the education of a child. All of those factors work powerfully, not just to fill a brain with academic facts, but to produce young men and women of sterling character and faith for the next generation.

Parental involvement requires parental rights. And parents do have the legal right to homeschool their children in all fifty states, thanks largely to multiple court decisions and legislative actions of the last twenty years that have favored parental rights in this area. Ironically, just the opposite trend is taking place for parents who opt for public school education. For example, in the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision Fields v. Palmdale School District (where parents objected to a psychological survey involving explicit sexual questions for 8-9 year old children), the court ruled that parental rights "[do] not extend beyond the threshold of the school door." This recent decision only confirmed rulings from other courts, such as the First Circuit Court decision Brown v. Hot, Sexy, and Safer Productions in 1995 or the Sixth Circuit Mozert v. Hawkins County Public Schools of 1987 (reference http://www.hslda.org/parentalrights/courtreport22_4). The recent Morse v. Frederick Supreme Court decision maintained the same trend. But in the same ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas specifically acknowledged homeschooling as an appropriate venue for the exercise of parental control in education.

Parents have every reason to be concerned with their children's education. No longer can they assume that the first public school that offers itself to them will provide the best education for their children. International comparisons with American public school performance have found that "the longer one stays in American public schools the worse he does " (reference John Stossel's recent "Stupid in America" program). Parents everywhere are being pressed to make their own educated, careful choices for their families, and that is a very good thing.

What homeschoolers are adding to the educational discussion is a simple message to parents: "Get more involved." If they don't, education will suffer, children will suffer, and so will our nation.

For more information on this educational alternative, parents may contact our full time office in Parker, Colorado at 877-842-CHEC or visit us online at www.chec.org.

About Kevin Swanson

Homeschooled himself in the 1960’s and 1970’s, Kevin Swanson has over 35 years of experience in the homeschooling movement and serves as the Executive Director of Christian Home Educators of Colorado and Generations with Vision. Today, Kevin is a homeschool father of five, host of a daily radio program broadcast around the world, and is a published author of several books, including Upgrade - 10 Secrets to the Best Education for Your Child. Serving as a passionate supporter of home education, he has been interviewed on hundreds of media outlets, including Dr. James’ Dobson’s Focus on the Family and the Fox News Network.