Should parents be encouraged to home school their children? Valerie Meyers Janelle Mitchell Kristin Thomas

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Should parents be encouraged to home school their
children?Valerie MeyersJanelle
MitchellKristin Thomas
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Definition of Home Schooling

• The instruction of a student in an educational
  program outside of an established school system,
  typically in the home environment

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History of Home Schooling

• 17th-18th century
• American colonial period, majority of education
  was home schooling
• Public schools taught trades, these schools were
  used by the underprivileged
• Private tutors were used by the wealthy
• 1860s
• States began enacting compulsory attendance laws
• Requiring school attendance for all school age
  students by law of that declared state
• By 1929, compulsory attendance laws existed in
  every state
• 19th century
• Public schooling dominated, home schooling was
  not used at this time

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History of Home Schooling

• 1957
• Utah was the first state to recognize home
  schooling as an educational option to parents
• Idea of home schooling started to reemerge in
  American society
• 1970s
• Home schooling was objected to by school
  administrators, teachers, and teachers unions
• Recent history did not promote home schooling,
  though it was obvious that portions of the
  current population wanted this option
• Courts decided that children needed to be
  educated and states had the right to require
  education but it was up to the parent to decide
  the type of educational program for their child
• 1986
• All states adopted laws recognizing that parents
  had the option to home school

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Relevant Court Cases for Home Schooling

• 1923 Meyer v. Nebraska
• A 10 year old was taught German, when the
  existing law stated foreign language could not be
  taught until 8th grade
• Ruled that it is the right of the parent to give
  their child the education they see suitable
• 1925 Pierce v. Society of Sisters
• Questioned the Compulsory Education Act, which
  required school aged children to attend public
  school system
• Ruled that this violates the rights of parents to
  direct the education of their children by
  enforcing a standardized system whereby children
  are forced to be educated by public teachers only
• This case changed the state compulsory attendance
  laws, requiring inclusion of both public and
  non-public schools

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Relevant Court Cases for Home Schooling

• 1927 Farrington v. Tokushige
• Legality of foreign language schools in Hawaii
  was questioned
• Ruled Theparent has the right to direct the
  education of his own child without unreasonable
  restrictions the Constitution protects him
• 1972 Wisconsin v. Yoder
• Amish families challenged the age listed in the
  Compulsory Attendance laws
• They believed that sending their children to
  school beyond the 8th grade level endangered the
  practices and ideals of their religion
• Ruled that the First Amendment freedom of
  religion outweighed the school attendance laws
  and if the parental interests were religious,
  rather than personal or philosophical, children
  were exempt from the Compulsory Attendance law
  and did not have to attend school for the
  required number of years

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Relevant Court Cases for Home Schooling

• 1998 Brunelle v. Lynne Public Schools
• The school committee enforced a policy that
  included home visits by the superintendent or
  school representatives to observe and evaluate
  the home schooling process
• Brunelle argued that the home visits were in
  violation of his and his familys rights
• Ruled that the government may not intrude
  unnecessarily on family affairs

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Home Schooling is Dependent Upon the Individual
State Laws

• Criteria for home schooling varies across all the
  states
• States have the right to decide the
• Minimum qualifications for the home instructor
• Curriculum requirements
• Minimum amount of time spent on instruction
  (hours/day, days/year)
• Measurement of student progress
• States range from having no regulations on home
  schooling (besides compulsory school age) to
  having strict regulation requirements for home
  schooling
• Pennsylvania is a state with strict regulation
  requirements for home schooling

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Pennsylvania Home Education Law

• Compulsory school age 8-17 years
• Attendance 180 days/year (900 hrs elementary,
  990 hrs secondary)
• Parent must have a High School diploma
• The parent must inform their local superintendent
  of their decision to home school their
  child/children by August 1st
• Curriculum
• English reading, writing, spelling, language,
  literature, speech, composition
• Math general math, statistics, algebra,
  geometry
• Science basic science, biology, chemistry
• History geography, US history, PA history,
  civics, social studies, world history, economics
• Foreign language, music, art, physical education,
  health, safety, fire danger/prevention
• Evaluation portfolio of materials used,
  examples of work completed, written evaluation by
  a teacher or administrator, and standardized
  tests (submitted yearly)

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Reasons for Home Schooling

• Parent occupations involve extended stays outside
  of a school system
• Families live in rural areas where the
  educational options are limited or not available
• Parent educational experience influenced their
  decision to home school their kids
• Political and/or religious beliefs
• Belief that the one-size-fits-all concept used
  in public schools is not beneficial to their
  children

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ADVANTAGES

• Of Home Schooling

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Main Advantages of Home Schooling

• The main advantages of home schooling involve a
  parents increased control influence in the
  following areas
• Religious/Philosophical Beliefs
• Socialization
• Academics
• As well as increasing a childs family time.

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Religion

• Home schooling allows a family to weave their
  convictions into every aspect of their
  "curriculum." They are now in control of the
  subject matter and in control of the topics.
• Provides students with proper social, moral,
  and religious values
• Avoid problem ridden public schools
• Some parents are under the impression that public
  schools are crime-ridden, drug-filled, dangerous
  environments
• This allows them to incorporate a religious basis
  to the educational curriculum
• Fastest growing group of home schoolers (2/3 of
  families choose it for this reason)

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Socialization

• Fewer behavioral problems
• Less negative influences from peers
• More respectful
• Removes them from confinement with their
  age-mates.
• With students of the same age, opposed to
  students at the same academic level.
• Increased interactions w/ parents (adults)
• Promotes more mature and poised youth

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Academics

• Custom-Designed Curriculum
• Flexible schedule to teach desired curriculum.
• Follow interests with a passion, which provides a
  profound love of learning
• Foreign languages
• Music
• Other special skills/academic interests
• Spend as little or as much time on a desired
  subject
• Learn things when ready
• Encourages strengthens a childs individual
  potential
• (B) Children can learn at their own pace.
• Move as fast or as slow as needed
• Encourages self-motivation
• Encourages thinking for themselves

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Academics

• (C) Working with the Childs Learning Style
• Many parents are under the impression that public
  schools are graduating illiterate students who
  are unprepared for the work force due to a lack
  of individualized attention
• Students of average ability, who are able to
  input process information according to their
  natural learning style, become great learners
• a parent is better able to discover the child's
  learning style
• The traditional classroom is teacher-driven,
  whereas the home school can be student-driven,
  and the child allowed to master areas in the best
  way at the best time for the best results

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Do home schooled children actually do better than
public school children?

• On most academic measures, home schooled students
  outperform public school students on standardized
  tests.
• The largest study so far, authorized for the Home
  School Legal Defense Association, by University
  of Maryland statistician Lawrence M. Rudner,
  examined 20,000 home schooled students from 50
  states.
• The data gathered in this study is consistent
  with information found in the Education Policy
  Analysis Archives.
• These students scored higher on standardized
  tests than public and private school students in
  every subject and at every grade level.
• The longer their parents had home schooled them,
  the better they did.

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Results

• Standardized national tests of skills
  achievement
• Home schoolers scored better than 70-80 of all
  test takers
• By 8th grade, the median performance of home
  school students is almost 4 grade levels above
  that of students nationwide.
• By 12th grade, home schooled students scored in
  92nd percentile in reading.
• In 1999, when the SATs began tracking its scores,
  home schooled students scored an average of 1083,
  67 points above the national average
• They also scored an average of 22.7 on the ACT,
  which is higher than the national average of 21.

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Home Schooled Students Attending College

• 69 of home schoolers go on to college
• Parents put together portfolios w/ samples of
  work lists of accomplishments
• More then 2/3 of American colleges now accept
  such transcripts
• If other standardized tests are required,
  students simply take them
• Harvard, for example, accepts approximately 10
  each year

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Home Schooled Students Attending College

• Home schooled students do well in college, after
  the initial adjustment
• A 1997 study reports that home school students
  are in fact academically, emotionally, socially
  prepared to excel in college.
• Also in 1997, for example, a four-year study of
  students at Bob Jones University found home
  schooled children scored higher in campus
  leadership activities than students from either
  the public school system or private schools.
• Home school graduates average a 3.3 GPA their
  freshman year, compared to the average 3.12 GPA
  received by public school graduates
• "Home schoolers bring certain skills --
  motivation, curiosity, the capacity to be
  responsible for their education -- that high
  schools don't induce very well," says Jon Reider,
  Stanford's senior associate director of
  admissions.

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Family Time

• Brings families closer together.
• Parents feel that children need to learn from
  people who care deeply about them.
• After a child enters the public school system,
  they begin spending more awake time with peers
  than parents.
• Less emphasis on parent-child relationship
• Parents become the main role-model in a home
  schooling environment.
• Easier to instill values morals
• Improved language development
• Minimizes friction between teens parents

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What Can Public Schools Do?

• In a study conducted in Kentucky in 1998, the
  question, What can public schools do to
  re-attract families who home school their
  children? was asked.
• The 1 answer received was
• Infuse religion into the practices and
  curriculum of the public schools.

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Five Main Disadvantages of Home Schooling

• Time and Effort
• Limits of the Teacher
• Lack of Recognition
• Financial
• Socialization

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Time and Effort

• Time consuming for parents
• Designing the curriculum
• Getting the materials
• Teaching the curriculum
• Effort
• Energy to stay informed

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Limits of the Teacher

• Feel inadequate to teach subject in coherent and
  skillful manner.
• Sciences
• Languages
• Multicultural awareness
• Lack of resources
• Enrichment activities
• Books
• Fundamental Materials

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Lack of Recognition from Public/Community

• Academically
• SAT scores
• Spelling Bees
• Athletics

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Financial

• School Districts
• They are funded by the number of students
  enrolled. When students are pulled out, the
  school loses that funding.
• Without funding, other effects could happen
• Extra curricular programs like sports, music, and
  arts.

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Financial

• Parents/Family
• They have to buy the materials
• Provide transportation for field trips
• Lost of income since one parent stays home.

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Socialization

• Diversity
• Not exposed to diversity
• Religious views
• Cultures
• Customs
• Languages
• Political

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Socialization

• Becky Martin, 17, stated
• I feel the school setting is providing a ground
  for what lies ahead.
• She was home schooled, went to catholic school,
  then home schooled again because she couldnt
  conform to the teachers method of teaching.

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Groups Conclusion

• As a group, we feel that parents should not be
  encouraged to home school their children
  however, we do acknowledge that home schooling is
  a viable option for parents.
• Questions?

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Resources

• http//www.oakmeadow.com/resources/articles/Social
  .htm
• http//www.epc.msu.edu/issues/homeschool.htm
• http//education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/en
  try?idh0253050
• http//www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0112617.html
• http//www.iatdp.org/Articles/Journal20Article20
  Attendance20Violations.htm
• http//ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/JWCRAWFOR
  D/meyer.htm
• http//www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/305/
• http//www.mainstream.com/nhpolitics/getcase.farri
  ngton.html
• http//www.oyez.org/oyez/resource/case/449/
• http//www.txjf.org/mschs.html
• http//www.hslda.org/

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Resources

• http//www.city-journal.org/html/10_3_an_a_for_hom
  e.html 
• http//www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file/ch
  ronicle/archive/1999/01/29/NB66774.D.html
•  http//epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v7n8/
• http//www.cato.org/cgi-bin/scripts/printtech.cgi/
  pubs/pas/pa-294.html
• Homeschooling Parents Reactions by Margaret
  Martin