My daughter is about to enter the world of college and this is such an exciting time for her. My youngest (12 year old) is thriving in a homeschool environment. My decision to remove him from public schools because he wasn't as happy & learning to his highest capacity, was the best thing I could I done. Yesterday while recieving a healthy child check up his pediatrician stated that this was the best thing I could have done for him!
Many folks don't know much about the world of homeschoolers, what is available to families and even if it's a viable option. Here's some information for those who want to know a little more:
FACT: The typical homeschooled pupil engages in 5.2 extracurricular social activities outside the home like sports, church groups, dance, scouts, play groups, etc. (Basham, 2001, 13).
FACT: 71% of homeschooled adults actively participate in ongoing community service projects compared to 39% of the general population (Ray, 2004).
Many of our presidents including: "George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt" were all homeschooled. Many other historical icons also had the benefit of a home education including: "inventor Thomas Edison, General Robert E. Lee, civil rights activist Booker T. Washington, writer Mark Twain, and industrialist Andrew Carnegie" to name a few (Basham, 2001, 5).
FACT: Homeschool students are performing at one or more grade levels above their age-level public and private school peers (Rudner, 1999).
FACT: By eighth grade, the average home-educated student "performs four grade levels above the national average" (Basham, 2001, 12).
FACT: Homeschool students have consistently surpassed the national averages for ACT (22.7 vs. 21) and SAT scores (1,083 vs. 1,016) (Basham, 2001, 12).
FACT: Of the general U.S. population ages 18 to 24, "46.2% had attained some college courses or higher" while "74.2% of the home-educated had attained some college courses or higher" (Ray, 2004).
FACT: Over 900 public and private colleges and universities readily accept homeschool applicants including many prestigious institutions such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale (Bunday, 2000).
FACT: Home-educated students have significantly lower behavioral problems than their conventional school peers and have a higher self-esteem (NHERI, 2004).
FACT: Homeschooled children are "more mature and better socialized than are those sent to either public or private school" and data suggests they are "friendlier than their public school peers, as well as more independent of peer values as they grow older." They are also found to be "happier, better adjusted, more thoughtful, competent, and sociable children" (Basham, 2001.
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14).
FACT: Each state has at least one homeschool association and 85% of homeschoolers either belong to one or plan to join one. Such organizations "offer students the chance to interact with other homeschoolers" of various ages (Basham, 2001, 14).
FACT: Dr. Knowles, from the University of Michigan, found that of the home-educated adults he interviewed for his study, none were unemployed or on welfare. 94% stated that their homeschooling had prepared them for life as an independent person. 79% indicated that they were better able to "interact with individuals form different levels of society," and nearly all would home school their own children (NHERI, 2004).
Basham, P. (2001). Home schooling: from the extreme to the mainstream. Public Policy Sources, 51, pp. 1-18.
Bunday, K. M. (2000). Colleges that admit homeschoolers. Retrieved September 15, 2004, http://learninfreedom.org/colleges_4_hmsc.html
NHERI, (2004). Home education research FACT SHEET I. Retrieved September 15, 2004, http://www.nheri.org/content/view/177/54/
NHERI, (2004). Home education research FACT SHEET III. Retrieved September 15, 2004, http://www.nheri.org/content/view/179/55/
Ray, B. Ph.D. (2004). Home educated and now adults: their community and civic involvement, views about homeschooling, and other traits. Retrieved September 15, 2004,
Rudner, L. M. (1999, March 23). Scholastic achievement and demographic characteristics of home school students in 1998. Retrieved September 15, 2004, http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/
This was written from articles and information taken from this site:
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/socialization/Socialization_How_to_deal_with_it.htm