Homeschooling's Explosive Growth

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Homeschooling’s Explosive Growth
By Bonnie Rose Hudson
Have you noticed what I’ve been noticing lately? Homeschooling isn’t just growing—it’s
exploding! It has moved from the fringe to the mainstream. onsider the following facts!
o Homeschooling is now a billion dollar industry
"
o #he past thirty years have witnessed a $"$% increase in home education
&
o 'f all school(aged children in the ).*.+ ,% are homeschooled
-
o #here are over two million homeschooled students in the )nited *tates alone
,
o Homeschooling has shown an ..-% yearly growth
/
o Homeschooling enrollment numbers are growing more than seven times faster than
traditional school enrollment numbers
0
Why the Explosive Growth?
1hat is fueling this explosive growth? 2or some families+ academics are a 3ey determining
factor. Ian *latter of the Home *chool 4egal 5efense 6ssociation 7H*4568 points to a
nationwide study of more than ""+999 homeschooled students which showed that
homeschooled children score+ on average+ -: percentile points higher than public school
students on standardi;ed achievement tests.
:
6 report compiled by the <ational =overnors
6ssociation and its partners states! >2our decades ago 6merica had the best high school
graduation rate in the world+ but by &990 it had slipped to ".th out of &, industriali;ed
countries.?
.
6nother factor that leads parents to choose homeschooling is a desire to share their
worldviews with their children+ rather than subjecting them to constant exposure to
worldviews and values that may run contrary to their own. @arents have recently raised
their voices concerning such things as evolution and climate change being taught as
undisputed science instead of contested theories
$
or teaching about world religions in an
unbalanced way.
"9

oncern over parents losing their right to be involved in their child’s education is a growing
one. 6t 5eerfield High *chool+ in 5eerfield+ Illinois+ ",(year(old freshmen were ordered to
attend a seminar after signing >a confidentiality agreement promising not to tell their
parents.?
""
6 lawsuit brought by parents in Aassachusetts concerning controversial material
being taught to their elementary(aged students resulted in a ruling by ).*. 5istrict Budge
Aar3 4. 1olf that >essentially adopted the reasoning in a brief C who said+ Dthe rights of
religious freedom and parental control over the upbringing of children C would undermine
teaching and learning.’?
"&
#he judge went on to say that the parents >may send their
children to a private school C EorF may also educate their children at home.?
"-
Gvery family has their own uniHue combination of reasons to homeschool. 'ther reasons
include a safer learning environment with respect to bullying+ substance abuse+ and
inappropriate sexual situationsI the strengthening of family relationships through more
shared experiencesI and the freedom to tailor instruction to best serve their children’s
needs.
Homeschoolers Share Why They Homeschool
#wo homeschooling families have graciously given us permission to share their personal
stories of homeschooling with you. I would li3e you to meet #ia *trasser of Aaple Jalley+
16+ and Bennifer Holden of *po3ane+ 16.
#ia shares!
Homeschooling was something that continually pulled at my heart+ and I had
struggled with the decision internally before my daughter was even preschool age.
<o one I 3new homeschooled. Ay daughter would attend the same school district my
husband and I had graduated from+ and it was ran3ed in the top "9% of the nation. I
tal3ed about my homeschool thoughts briefly with others only to receive the usual
responses such as >I could never do that! How would you have the time? 1hat about
sociali;ation??
2inally the time came when I needed to register my oldest for Kindergarten. I began
to listen to the outside voices and convinced myself my daughter needed the
interaction and public school experience. 1ithin the first wee3+ I regretted the
decision. #he elementary school she attended was extremely focused on test scores
for funding+ her teacher didnLt seem to Dclic3’ with her or myself+ and she had already
begun coming home in tears. I 3ept telling myself it would get better and to give it
time. My 5ecember+ things had not improvedI a lady I had met who did homeschool
was very encouraging. *he told me that if I felt called to homeschool+ =od would
provide what I needed. I decided to pull her out at hristmas brea3+ and we have
never loo3ed bac3. #his year we homeschool first grade and Kindergarten+ and we
love it. I love it. =od has provided+ not only with strength for me but with grace as
well.
Bennifer shares!
I had my daughter when I was very young 7"0 years old8+ and I was a drop(out who
had never finished junior high+ although I did have my =G5. I had no idea that
homeschooling was legal and had in fact never met anyone who homeschooled or
even heard of homeschooling.
2rom the beginning of 3indergarten I noticed personality changes in my child+ but I
assumed that was NnormalN because everyone else I 3new had the same
experiences. hildren who begin to Huestion the authority and wisdom of their
parents and pic3 up behaviors from other children are pretty much par for the course
in public school after all.
However+ the deciding factor for us was when my daughter was in fifth grade and
came home crying one day at the beginning of the year. Her class was given a
graphing assignment for math. #hey were supposed to go home+ find out how old
their parents were+ and come bac3 the next day to report the findings so that they
could create a class bar graph.
Ay daughter replied that she didnLt need to go home and as3 because she already
3new how old her parents were. #he teacher as3ed her how old and she replied+ NAy
mom is &0 and my dad is &..N 2irst the teacher told her she was wrong. 1hen she
insisted that she was correct the teacher told her+ N'h. Oou were a mista3e.N
*o I told her to go bac3 and tell the teacher that no matter what he thought about
the wisdom of having a child as a teenager+ she was definitely <'# an accident and
that we had tried for months to have a baby before we found out I was pregnant.
#hat at least made her feel a little bit better. *he did not want me to go tal3 to the
teacher because she was afraid that there would be repercussions to that+ and my
experiences in school told me that she was probably correct.
#he next day she came home sobbing again. *he had told the teacher what I said.
#he teacher responded by telling my ten(year(old child that I had lied to her to ma3e
her feel better and that no teenagers+ ever+ had a baby on purpose.
<eedless to say I went to the school. I was told that it was against policy for me to
be allowed to tal3 to the teacher without the presence of the principal and a mediator
and that the appointment for that could ta3e several wee3s. I as3ed to have her
switched to a different class because I did not feel it was appropriate to as3 my
daughter to continue in his classroom with the issue unresolved. I was told that the
district also had a policy against changing teachers for personal reasons and that she
would absolutely have to stay in his room for the entire year no matter what
happened.
2ortunately+ I had already researched my options and stumbled across the
homeschooling law for my state. I informed the school that I was going to pull her
out and would file my declaration of intent to homeschool on my way home.
@ulling a child out after several years of public school reHuires a lot of adjustment
and patience+ but we never regretted ta3ing her out of that situation.
Homeschooling round the World
#he explosion in the growth of homeschooling doesn’t stop at the )nited *tates border.
onsider these facts from around the world!
o anada! 6n estimated 09+999(.9+999 homeschoolers in &990 has risen to
approximately "99+999 today
",
o )nited Kingdom! <umbers of homeschoolers range from &9+999 to "99+999
children
"/
o 6ustralia! 6n estimated &9+999 homeschooling and distance education students in
"$$/ has risen to approximately -9+999 families in &9"-
"0
o Israel! Hundreds of families across the entire country have chosen to homeschool+
and the movement is growing
":
o Bapan! 6s many as "+999(/+999 families were thought to be homeschooling as of
&9""
".
o hina! <umbers range from an estimated &+999 to ".+999 homeschooled students
"$
o Mulgaria! 5espite extreme opposition+ families in Mulgaria attended the Gighth
<ational Homeschool onference in Buly+ &9"-
&9
o India! #wo hundred people from across the country attended an Indian homeschool
conference in 2ebruary+ &9"-+ and the movement is growing rapidly
&"
o @oland! #he number of homeschooled students has increased from approximately
,9(/9 students in &99$ to approximately "+/99 in Aay+ &9"-
&&
o Aalaysia! In a recent article+ a representative of 4earning Meyond *chooling told
H*456 that >Aalaysia is experiencing a vibrant Dexplosion’ of alternative education+
especially homeschooling?
&-
#he next time you sit down around the table or at the des3 to homeschool+ remember that
families just li3e yours are doing the same thing all around the world. 6nd wherever you
homeschool+ remember that your friends at The Old Schoolhouse
®
Magazine are here to
help you bring your children home where they belong.
Gndnotes!
". www.cbsnews.comPstoriesP&99.P9$P",PsundayPmain,,,:.&-.shtml
&. visual.lyPhome(advantage
-. visual.lyPhome(advantage
,. www.<HGQI.orgP
/. nces.ed.govPpubsearchPpubsinfo.asp?pubidR&99$9-9
0. nces.ed.govPfastfactsPdisplay.asp?idR$" and
http!PPnces.ed.govPprogramsPprojectionsPprojections&9&9PtablesPtableS9&.asp
:. www.hslda.orgPdocsPnewsP&99$9."99.asp and
http!PPwww.hslda.orgPdocsPstudyPray&99$Pdefault.asp
.. www.corestandards.orgPassetsP9."&MG<HA6QKI<=.pdf
$. www.foxnews.comPscienceP&9"-P9$P&:Plawsuit(filed(in(3an(to(bloc3(science(standardsP?
intcmpRlatestnews
"9. radio.foxnews.comPtoddstarnesPtop(storiesPstudents(ta3e(field(trip(to(mosHue(receive(
3oran.html
"". www.wnd.comP&99:P9-P,9/$.P
"&. Ibid
"-. Ibid
",. www.hslda.caPassetsPpdfPsummary(final.pdf and correspondence with Aember *ervices+
H*456 anada+ *eptember 0+ &9"-
"/. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalP)nitedKingdomPdefault.asp
"0. learninfreedom.orgPhomeschoolSgrowth.html and
www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalP6ustraliaPdefault.asp
":. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPIsraelPdefault.asp and israelhomeschool.orgP
".. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPBapanPdefault.asp
"$. blogs.wsj.comPchinarealtimeP&9"-P9.P&:Phomeschooling(becomes(more(popular(in(
chinaP?modR1*BMlog and www.globaltimes.cnPcontentP.90&$$.shtmlT.)i3u5uU5(A(
&9. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPMulgariaP&9"-9."/9.asp
&". hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPIndiaP&9"-9.",9.asp and
www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPIndiaP&9""9$-99.asp
&&. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPpolandP&9"-9/9$9.asp
&-. www.hslda.orgPhsPinternationalPmalaysiaP&9"-9/9.9.asp
opyright &9",+ used with permission. 6ll rights reserved by author. 'riginally appeared in
the &9", 6nnual @rint issue of The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine+ the family education
maga;ine. Qead the maga;ine free at www.#'*Aaga;ine.com or read it on the go and
download the free apps at www.#'*6pps.com to read the maga;ine on your mobile devices.

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