by Jill Patterson

Created on: August 29, 2007

I believe that homeschooling is an excellent option for many families for several reasons. First, in most cases the academic environment is better in a home school situation. Our public school system beats the thrill and enjoyment out of learning for most students with unchallenging assignments and boring drills. In a homeschool environment a parent can tailor the learning to the individual child and better teach the tools of learning. Our schools try to drill a proscribed body of knowledge into our children, but they do not give students the tools to learn on their own. Once a student knows how to approach and learn any new subject, they can continue their education throughout life, not just through the 12 years of public schooling.

A second reason that I support home schooling is that parents can better present all sides of a view in a homeschool rather than in a public school where only the current politically correct view is presented. One of the detractors of home schooling said that home schoolers will only present one side of an issue such as creationism rather than evolution. I submit that it is our public schools that only present one side of a view. I do not know of many public schools that teach about the biblical story of creation, but most of the home schoolers I have gotten to know in my career as a high school teacher know quite a bit about evolution as well as creation so that they can judge between the two.

A third reason that I am a strong supporter of homeschooling, despite the fact that I am a high school teacher, is that homeschoolers always have a teacher who cares about their learning and their growth on an individual level. Our public schools are so overcrowded and teachers so overworked that many students just constantly fall through the cracks. I have come across sixth and seventh grade students with severe learning disabilities such as dyslexia that were undiagnosed in the public schools. These students were failing but since they were quiet, no one bothered to check. In a homeschool situation a parent will see if their child is not learning in an area and can quickly seek out professional assistance if needed, avoiding many lost years and much heartache.

As a teacher in a private school that takes in many homeschooled children as they reach the high school level, I have found that in general, homeschooled children are more excited about learning, have better tools for learning, and have a better work ethic than the students we get out of the public schools or other private schools.

Just as a note, anyone who is interested in giving their children better tools for learning should check out Dorothy Sayers article on the "Lost Tools of Learning."

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