Reasons for Homeschooling

There are many reasons for homeschooling. Each homeschooling family has their own reason for doing so. Many have several. For us, we wanted a less stressful learning environment than the one our children were already encountering. We wanted them to love to learn. Here are some of the many reasons homeschoolers have taken education on themselves and why.

Love for learning is a good reason to homeschool: “Children are naturally curious and have a built-in desire to learn first-hand about the world around them” (www.naturalchild.org). The classroom can be a hostile environment for a child who learns to love. They may be ridiculed, targeted as “teachers pet”, or classroom disruptions may leave them frustrated.

Marketable Skills is a good reason to homeschool: The majority of high school graduates have no marketable skills. They do not know how to interact with customers, they have no proof previous responsibilities and they certainly cannot handle their own money. “The 1991 report Crisis in American Education reported that 29 percent of American high school graduates lack the skills required to function in today’s workplace.” (http://www.cpa.state.tx.us)

Spiritual Growth is a good reason to homeschool: Spiritual growth, is not allowed, wanted, or fostered in schools. It is even difficult in private schools afraid of disenfranchising parents who may not hold the same values.

Academic Excellence is a good reason to homeschool: Academic Excellence means different things to different people. For the schooled bunch, it means getting higher scores than everyone else does. This kind of excellence has little to do with learning facts and figures however. In most cases, it means figuring out what a teacher expects and delivering it. By removing the teacher, the child is scored against his or her own weaknesses. If they can eliminate those academic weaknesses, then they have achieved academic excellence.

Outside Endeavors is a good reason to homeschool: A well-rounded child will have outside endeavors. With a full school schedule, there is little time to excel at any of those activities. For children interested in Acting, music, theatre, or sports excellence, homeschooling is an excellent choice. Most child actors are homeschooled as well as Olympic Athletes. More well known homeschooled people in the media would be Venus and Serena Williams, as well as Lindsay Lohan (Herbie, Freaky Friday), Raven Symone (That’s So Raven), and Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) (www.homeschool.com)

Community Involvement is a good reason to homeschool: Education does not only happen in the classroom. The community is rich with educational opportunities like learning compassion, interaction, and participating in everyday life. For homeschoolers, “71% of subjects take part in continuing community service, compared to 37% of the general population.” (abba home school.com)

If two or more of these values are important to you, and you don’t homeschool, you may want to consider it.