More and more parents are choosing to home school their children. They do so for a variety of reasons. Some feel they can give their children a better education at home, that the uniform teaching methods required for classes of 30 or 40 students do not sufficiently account for each student’s different learning styles and aptitudes.

Others home school for religious reasons, preferring to include religious information in the curriculum, which is not found in public schools. Still others prefer to inform their children about various education topics from their own point of view, rather than what they would receive in public schools. Some parents may be choosing home schooling because they fear for their children’s safety. We do hear many reports of violence in our schools.

Obviously, home schooling is not new. Public schools are really the new kid on the block. According to Patrick Farenga, in his article “A Brief History of Homeschooling,” compulsory education, as we know it, is less than 200 years old. He points out that education used to be handled by parents, the church and the occasional tutor for special subjects. He also mentions that education was intentionally left up to parents by our founding fathers. There is no mention of it in the Declaration, Bill of

Farenga dates the current trend toward home schooling from the 1970’s, particularly from a book called “Deschooling Society,” written by Ivan Illich that year. You can find his article at www.hsc.org, which features many, such articles and resources for home schooling. There is also a page of home schooling jokes. Some of them are hilarious.

If you are considering home schooling your own children, you can find many more resources on the web. There are articles, curriculums, stories from other parents, textbook recommendations, school projects, and more. Home schooling families usually interact with other home schooling families so that children do get social time with other children. They may get together to put on a play, practice music or learn a sport.

It seems like there is a good chance that home schooling is a trend that will only increase over the coming years. Check hslda.org for information on home schooling laws in your home st

About this writer - Ethan Mettaroy is a self-made expert on home schooling and has, with his wife, home schooled their own 7 children, 3 of whom they adopted. You can read more on the subject or home schooling at KC Home Schoolers

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