Homeschooling

The Question of Home Schooling: Do the Advantages Outweigh the Disadvantages?

The Question of Home Schooling: Do the Advantages Outweigh the Disadvantages?
To home school or not to home school, that seems to be the question of many of my peers. While taking this class, there have been many strong opinions, either for or against home schooling. Home schooling has always been controversial, but generally thought of as a good option for parents who could afford it. The results of this research was amazing to say the least, and while there is still great debate over whether home schooling is a good alternative to public or private schooling, the positive aspects of this option far outweigh the negative.

Lets first discuss the regulations that the United States has on home schooling. Regulations vary from high to low, depending on the state. “High regulation states typically require parents to inform their educational authority that they wish to begin to home school, maintain compulsory attendance laws, require that the home school curriculum be approved by the state, conduct periodic visits to the home, administer standardized tests, and require that home schooling parents be certified teachers…[while] moderate regulation states typically require parents to send notification and provide test scores and/or professional evaluation of the student‘s progress.. [and] low regulation states do not require parents to initiate any contact with the state.” (Basham, Merrifield, Hepburn, 2007)   The majority of states require families to file basic information with either the state or a local agency. “many states have additional requirements, such as the submission of a curricular plan, testing of students, or, less frequently, education or testing requirements for parents.” (Lines, 1995) There have been some lawsuits over the constitutionality of home schooling (both for and against), however the Supreme Court has only ruled on one case in 1972, Wisconsin v. Yoder.... [continues]

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