- Benefits of Home Schooling in Today's World
Christina took the plunge. She pulled her children out of the system and turned to home school. To do this, she had
to beat off the doomsayers who predicted her kids would end-up social misfits. She had to convince her
overworked husband who hadn’t yet noticed the decline in public education. And, she had to work out how and
what she was going to teach her children.
What prompted such a drastic decision? Christina had been attentively listening to what her children were saying.
Edward was having difficulty with reading and math and his teacher didn’t have time to help him. He didn’t have
many friends and he was unhappy. Although his sister Shelly was popular and had lots of friends, she hated every
subject in school except physical education. Jonathan, the oldest, had gotten good grades since kindergarten, but
now that he was in high school, he not only found school boring, it was beginning to scare him. He didn’t like the
metal detectors or the police cars parked out front of the school. He had seen two officers treat a boy roughly for
bringing a pocketknife to school and learned the offense had gotten the boy expelled. Since Jonathan enjoyed
whittling, he was fearful that he might suffer the same fate if he were to accidentally bring a woodworking tool to
school.
Like Christina, all parents want their children to be safe, happy and well educated. When this is not happening,
many take their children’s schooling into their own hands. Indeed, the status of home schooling has gone from
practically illegal to mainstream in just a few decades. While such a change of attitude could be attributed to the
poor performance of public education, it might be far wiser to attribute it to the advantages of homeschooling.
After all, home school presents an opportunity for each student to move at his or her own pace. If a student is
having difficulty, the trouble area can be located and missing basics filled in one step at a time preventing the child
from “falling through the cracks.” For the student way ahead of his peers, individualized challenges can be
presented that would not be possible in a classroom setting; challenges inviting enough to prevent the child from
becoming “bored stiff.” And since parents know their children’s interests and the activities their children love, these
can be incorporated into lesson plans to add greater meaning and purpose to every area of study. For example, a
budding actor might enjoy using maps to locate movie studios and find his way to potential auditions.
Another reason to home school is the freedom it affords parents to teach courses in ethics, morals and family
values. Many public educators avoid such topics for fear of crossing the line that separates state and religion. Then
too, if a parent wishes his child’s education to be free of the psychological “standards” that have seeped into most
state schools, this can easily be accomplished with home school.
But perhaps the greatest benefit of all, it shows your child that you think education is so valuable you are willing to
take on the extra obligation of teaching him yourself.
Submitted by California Ranch School
2009 California Ranch School All Rights Reserved. California Ranch School admits students of any race, color and national or ethnic origin.
California Ranch School
HomeGrad of America
21135 Olympia Ave.
Perris, CA 92570
Phone: 951-943-6644
Fax 951-943-2470
HomeGradofAmerica.org
Californiaranchschool@msn.com
