Hey ladies, I desperately need your help. I need to give my husband the information (ammunition) he needs to convince my stepson's mother that homeschooling would be the best option for him. He has been having extensive behavior problems at his school and they are about to kick him out. Starting Monday he will be doing all of his work at home until other arrangements can be made (ie a new school or homeschooling etc). What I am looking for are reports/documents stating the benefits of homeschooling. I would prefer sources that are not in the homeschool community that have an objective view of the pros and the cons of homeschooling. I know there are websites that have what I need but it has been a long time since I've looked for them. Also site about different learning styles and teaching options may be helpful too. My husband and I are going to need to educate my stepson's mother on what homeschooling is, why it is beneficial, how it can/does differ from traditional school, and why it would be a better solution for our son. Ladies, I need as may facts as I can get to make a case for homeschooling. Thank you all for your help. PS By the way you don't need to convice me of hsing, I've been convinced for year, but my word isn't good enough in this situation. I need proof.
Most of the following sites are neutral, or at least list ammunition that you can use to help you word things in an appealing way. This appears to be a neutral site, listing benefits: http://il.essortment.com/homeschoolbenef_rvrn.htm This site is from 'the inside' but is an excellent list of ammunition: http://ldshomeschoolinginca.org/benefits.html This one is EXCELLENT ... a father (MIT graduate) describes the reasons they decided against public school: https://alum.mit.edu/ne/whatmatters/200407/index.html This one is neutral, and links to further sites: http://www.myparentime.com/articles/article9.shtml I hope some of this helps. May your efforts meet with success. Kathe
Mariann, Amanda has a seperate forum about homeschooling in the news. In it, she has articles that talk specifically about this and links to go to if you want more information. As for other "ammunition" - ouch! If you have colleges in your area, you might ask them for their statisitics (between home/public school). I've heard that Universities will take a home schooled child before the public school child because they tend to be academically advanced as compared to their peers. On a persoinal note, we home schooled Andrew last year for a couple months. Circumstances arose this year and I was unable to home school this year (and believe me I have shed many tears over the decision). Anyway, I taught Andrew material based on provincial standards for grade three. When Andrew began grade four this year his academic standing is far above the rest of his class because the material I was told is grade three matrial, they are just teaching in grade four (I found out that the teacher was adivised to offer extra support to Andrew because they didn't feel he would be "at par" with the rest of his class because he was home schooled - shouldn't be proud but I am - that I could basically stick it to them). No wonder Andrew hated his math so much last spring - poor thing - I was teaching him stuff that was way over his head, but he caugth on when we tried different teaching techniques. I support home schooling 199%. Even though I am unable to do so this year, I have no regrets about doing so last year and I long to do it again (maybe someday down the road). As for the little boy you refer to, taking him out of public school might be the best thing for everyone involved - we did it for Andrew's sake - he was struggling with a major bullying issue which opened the door to other issues. When we took him out of school, we saw a complete turn around in him. I have no regrets. Best of luck to all of you and we'll pray about this for you, brenda
I know you asked for specific articles to say "in your face" but...here are also some sights worth taking a peek at. http://www.texashomeeducators.com/ http://www.thsc.org/ http://www.smoothingtheway.com http://www.sethsa.org/ http://www.hslda.org/ Good luck!
http://www.thsc.org/news_and_resources/nheri_study.asp Look at the Evidence In 1997, Brian D. Ray, Ph.D., of the National Home Education Research Institute, released the findings of a nationwide study of home educated students. The purpose of the Institute is to conduct research to enhance the role of home and family in educating children. The purpose of this specific study was to examine the academic achievement and social activities of home educated students and the basic demographics of their families, to assess the relationships between student achievement and selected student and family variables, and to describe and explore certain longitudinal changes among home educated students and their families. The target population was all home schooling families in the United States. Data was collected on 1,657 families and their 5,402 children–275 of the families had participated in the author's 1990 study. These families, with an average of 3.3 children and 98% headed by married couples, were much larger than the U.S. average. Ninety-five percent of family income was earned by the fathers; 34% of them were professionals and 11% were small business owners. Eighty-eight percent of the mothers were homemakers/home educators and only 16% of the mothers worked outside the home. A wide variety of religious affiliations was evident; about 90% of the parents were Christians. The parents had higher than average educational attainment; 45% of the fathers had a bachelor’s degree or higher, and 42% of the mothers had the same. These families’ median annual income of $43,000 was a little lower than the median for all married-couple families in the U.S. The parents spent, on average, $546 per child per year for home education. The mother did 88% of the formal teaching of the children while the father did 10% of the teaching. The large majority of these children were not being taught by professionally trained and government-certified teachers. On average, the children had been taught at home for 5 years since age 5, 85% were in grades K through 8, and their parents planned to home educate them through their secondary school years. Parents hand picked curriculum materials–rather than purchasing complete programs–for 71% of the students. The social activities of these were quite varied; for example, 47% were involved in group sports, and 77% participated in Sunday school. These students scored, on the average, at high percentiles on standardized academic achievement test [The national average is the 50th percentile.]: (a) total reading–87th (b) total language–80th (c) total math–82nd (d) total listening–85th (e) science–84th (f) social studies–85th (g) study skills–81st (h) basic battery (typically, reading, language, and mathematics)–85th (i) complete battery (all subject areas in which student was tested)–87th. Several analyses were conducted to determine which independent variables were significantly related to academic achievement. There was no significant relationship between achievement and (a) whether the father was a certified teacher, (b) whether the mother was a certified teacher, (c) family income, (d) money spent on education, (e) legal status of the family, (f) time spent in formal instruction, (g) age formal instruction began, or (h) degree of state regulation of home schooling. Achievement was statistically significantly related, in some cases, to father’s education level, mother’s education level, gender of student, years home educated, use of libraries, who administered the test, and use of computers. The relationships were, however, weak and not practically significant. This and other studies indicate that very few background variables (e.g. socioeconomic status of parents or regulation by the state) explain the academic achievement of the home educated. It is possible that the home education environment has an improving effect on variables that are typically considered a detriment to students. A variety of students in a variety of home education settings have performed very well in terms of academic achievement. Strengths of Their Own - Home Schoolers Across America: Academic Achievement, Family Characteristics, and Longitudinal Traits is an engaging comprehensive report on Dr. Ray’s nationwide study, that includes statistics, analyses, and a powerful declaration about home education’s benefits to children, families, and society. “Strengths of Their Own, Brian D. Ray’s remarkable book about the home schooling movement, is must reading for educators and policy-makers alike. The book is a perfectly spiced stew; it has everything–hard data...student’s scores...statistical analysis...testing policies... and wisdom–the benefit of Dr. Ray’s long intense commitment and involvement with home education. [And] it’s in the ‘strengths of home education’ section of Strengths of Their Own that the book really takes off.”–Bruce S. Cooper, Ph.D., Professor, Division of Administration, Policy, and Urban Education, Fordham University, NY, NY. Click here to Order Strengths of Their Own or "Home Schooling on the Threshold" (covers the topics that are generally the most important to parents, educators, policy makers, and society at large)
