Homeschooling is a mode of educating children from home or anywhere away from school. Parents do it at home through an organized program funded by the state.
The major homeschooling states in the US are; Alaska, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Kansas. In these states, homeschooling works almost similarly, although there are unnoticeable differences.
Table of Contents
Is homeschooling in the US legal?
Homeschooling in the United States is lawful in all states. The supreme court in the US has never explicitly ruled on homeschooling.
However, Wisconsin v. Yoder supported keeping children out of public schools by the Amish parents due to religious reasons.
In Alaska, 6% of children aged between 1 to 18 years are homeschooled, maybe because of the large size of this state; hence some children may not have access to normal school attendance.
What is the rate of homeschoolers in the US?
51% of the female students are homeschooled, while only 49% of the male students are homeschooled. The homeschooled white students have the highest rate of 68%.
A report from the federal government showed that about 3% to 4% of schoolers are homeschooled in the US.
Why is homeschooling so important?
Homeschool offers specialized education attention for children with special needs. Homeschooled children progress faster than in public or private schools.
Homeschooling promotes a close familial relationship, as parents enjoy spending much time with their kids.
What is the performance of homeschoolers?
Schooling at home allows the kids to complete assignments they understand quickly, creating more time for challenging subjects. Therefore, homeschoolers will always perform better on standardized tests than those attending classes at school.
Most homeschooled children attend traditional classes as they grow older. This gives them more experience in completing typical homework assignments.
Some public schools will allow homeschoolers to attend the classes they choose.
Can Homeschoolers apply to Harvard College?
Every student who applies to Harvard College is considered to be great care, and homeschoolers are treated the same as other applicants.
The relevant information based on education and personal background is required. Hence there is no special process to be followed by homeschoolers.
How do colleges view homeschoolers’ applications?
Most colleges are interested in homeschoolers’ applications as they have unique experiences that those attending schools rarely acquire. Hence colleges don’t view homeschoolers negatively.
Homeschoolers have a GPA on the homeschool transcript. The counselor account question in the Common Application also requires the GPA. The GPA is included in the homeschool college application.
Do homeschoolers access Ivy league?
Homeschoolers can get into Ivy League, although it is competitive for all students.
If the students start early and carefully build their academic profile, especially in high school, they will succeed in highly selective admissions.
There is more education flexibility and freedom for homeschoolers.
What are the rights of homeschoolers?
Homeschooling students can participate in public school activities without being denied these rights.
They can participate in extra curriculum activities and participate in public school teams.
Homeschoolers in the US will take nationally standardized tests annually or in regular intervals. The SAT and ACTs meet these requirements.
How are homeschoolers admitted to colleges?
Homeschoolers go directly from high school to college, although most colleges and universities have a set of admission rules.
Homeschooling children in the US gives parents much control over learning. Most homeschooling parents believe that public schools do not provide the right skills and knowledge children should have—homeschooled children who join college graduate at 66.8%.
The graduation rate of homeschoolers is 10% higher than those from public schools, whose graduation rate is 57.6%.
What is the difference between homeschools and public schools?
Homeschooled students take several short breaks, which are spaced throughout the year.
The public and private schools have a vacation in summer while the homeschoolers are with their parents at work.
Homeschooling during the summer is at a slower pace giving much freedom throughout the year.
Therefore, children homeschool at a relaxed pace, take a lot of breaks, and are spontaneous throughout the year.
Can homeschoolers skip a grade?
Homeschoolers can skip a grade as a parent must include part of the letter of intent that they are missing their student to the next grade. This allows the student to work better as they match their abilities. As long as learning is ongoing, the grades are irrelevant for the homeschoolers.
What do parents benefit from homeschooling their children?
Parents don’t gain anything from homeschooling in the US. However, some families within some states receive a tax credit, deduction, and a stipend if homeschooling under an umbrella school.
What is the curriculum followed by homeschoolers?
There is a typical curriculum for homeschoolers across methods and subjects. Homeschooling takes between 30 to 36 weeks per year.
Some US states are responsible for regulating the days stay in attendance, and these days are usually 180, equal to 36 weeks, though conventional schools vary.
The hours and days children homeschool per week vary based on the students. Based on the state homeschooling requirements, homeschooling from anywhere within the US is three to five days or more per week.
What are the disadvantages of homeschooling?
Despite the many advantages of educating children from home, homeschooling has disadvantages. These disadvantages give a reason to avoid homeschooling as there may be problems ahead after homeschooling.
- The child cannot be able to socialize effectively with other people. This method requires more organization.
- There are no big events to look forward to for the homeschooler.
- Homeschooling materials can be expensive and hence be limited to some people.
- The homeschoolers cannot access some essential facilities during the learning process.
- Homeschooling requires more discipline.
- There are few breaks for kids and their parents.
- It is difficult for homeschoolers to deal with criticism.
- It is stressful for the parents as homeschooling has much to take on. Hence if a child cannot grasp anything, the parents blame themselves.
- It is difficult to take things personally if anything goes wrong.
- It is also challenging to keep records of the child’s performance, unlike at school, where they take care of all records and provide everything the child requires after graduation.
Conclusion
Homeschooling is a personal choice made by parents in the US. Hence parents are not paid for homeschooling their children. Homeschooled children gain between 15 to 30 points more in standardized academic achievement tests. The homeschooled students score better on the SAT/ACT and score higher with up to 30% than those learning from public schools. This is the reason homeschooling is better in the US.