by Deborah Lawwill

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 12, 2009

Home-schooling is a wonderful option for parents who want to be able to teach their children things that aren't taught in public schools or who can't afford to place their children in private schools. Children who are home schooled tend to do better than children in public school, often because the parent can give more attention to their child than a teacher can give in a class of 25 or more students.

I had a personal experience indirectly with homeschooling in high school. Florida isn't necessarily known for it's academic excellency, in fact it's known for just the opposite. My family couldn't move though, so my parents wanted to seek out alternative options. I had a friend at the time who's mother had pulled her out of public school because the principal refused to do anything about a student attacking her and she was discriminated against because she was overweight.

Her mother's boyfriend home schooled her while her mother was away. I sat in on the lessons, often taking notes and asking questions. I felt I had learned more from these short two hour sessions in two weeks than I had ever learned at school. We could openly talk about religion and the comic book art I was working on, things that just couldn't happen in a public school setting. This man was brilliant, but it doesn't take a genius to home school a child. It just takes a few hours of your day at most and some dedication and research.

It's also a perfect option for people of a certain faith that may want to teach their children about their religion. I have discussed with my partner on several occasions about homeschooling our future child. I'm a Spiritualist and I would like to give my child access to the life that I was denied to me when I was younger.

There are a lot of things that only a parent can really give their child. Having that special bond through teaching is an amazing experience. Not all parents have enough free time for this so there are also other options. You can hire a nanny who is also a teacher while you're working. That way you don't have to worry about what your child does while your away. If you can't afford to hire anyone, see if it's possible to work part-time and try to make up for the rest by freelancing or working from home. Many customer service, data entry, and other office positions can now be done from your home office and some companies are more than willing to give a working parent this option.

Mostly, I believe homeschooling has gained popularity due to the fact that parents want to know what is going on with their children. They want to feel like they have some control over what their child is learning, or like me, they may not agree with some of the things that are taught in schools or the way that the schools go about handling situations regarding their children. Home schooling can be a fulfilling, rewarding, and cost-effective way to educate your children.

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