2. SARAH SULLIVANLIBRARY 264 Pros and Cons of: Homeschooling

3. Department of Education Statistics: Homeschooling is Growing 1970s: Between 10,000 and 15,000 children, aged 5 – 18 were homeschooled in U.S. 1983: 60,000 to 125,000 children estimated as homeschooled. Rise due to increase of religion in U.S. and growing dissatisfaction with public schools. 2008: 1.5 to 2 million children estimated as homeschooled.

4. Considerations Why are parents choosing to do this? How will this affect academic performance? What effect will this have on the social development of adolescents and teens?

5. Main Parental Considerations 72%: Religious reasons. 21 %: Dissatisfaction with school environment. 17%: Academic considerations. 2%: Child has mental or physical problems. 4%: Other special needs. 14%: Other needs: travel, location, time, money, etc.

6. Academic Issues Home schooling standards vary dramatically between states. 3 Main methods of regulating homeschools: Yearly, standardized testing. Education requirements: Teaching certification and at least a high school education. Regular, periodic visits to classroom/monitoring students work. States have different combinations of thesesome are much stricter than others.

7. Legal Religious Exemptions Parents may obtain waivers so for the classroom monitoring and teacher education standards if they claim the state requirements interfere with their free exercise of religion. Problem: Secular homeschooled children more likely to have credentialed, teachers/academic monitoring. Religious homeschooled children more likely to have teachers w/o credential or high school education. Disparity in educational opportunities for children based on religious beliefs of parents.

8. Home School Conventional School Friends in a variety of age groupsolder & younger. Less aggressive/more cooperative in groups. More guarded with friends. Less likely to confide true feelings. Majority of friends in own peer/age group. More aggressive/competitive in groups. More likely to share feelings/problems with friends & teachers. Social Development: Home v. Conventional Schooling

9. Tweens (9 – 13) Teens (14 – 18) Missed friends. Felt left out of dances/other school activities. Worried about not knowing current fashions/trends. Happy socializing on internet & out of school. Liked not having to worry about clothes/fashion. Relieved not to have to go to dances/football games. Homeschool Perspectives: Tweens v. Teens

10. Online Resources U.S. Department of Education: www.edpubs.orgwww.edpubs.org Black Homeschoolers Magazine: www.blackhomeschoolers.com www.blackhomeschoolers.com Homeschooling Research: ncess.ed.gov/nhes The Secular Homeschool Community: www.secularhomeschool.com www.secularhomeschool.com

11. Sources Bergstrom, L., (2012).What effect does homeschooling have on test scores and socialization of children? Partial fulfillment for degree in Masters of Science Education at University of Wisconsin, Superior. Retrieved at: http://www.minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/61574; http://www.minds.wisconsin.edu/handle/1793/61574 Greenfield, L.A., (2007). Religious homeschooling: Thats not a monkey on your back, its a compelling state interest. 9 Rutgers J.L. & Religion 4. Retrieved at: http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journal s/rjlr9&div=6&id=&page http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?collection=journals&handle=hein.journal s/rjlr9&div=6&id=&page Medlin, R. G., (2000). Homeschooling and the question of socialization, Peabody Journal of Education, 75 (1&2), 107 – 123. Retrieved from: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0161956X.2000.9681937 US Department of Education Homeschooling Study from 2007 (NCES 2009-030; Issue Brief, December 2008). Retrieved at: http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2009/2009030.pdf Yuracko, K.A. Education off the Grid: Constitutional Constraints on Homeschooling; 96 Cal. L. Rev. 123 (2008). Retrieved at: http://www.jstor.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/stable/pdfplus/20439172.pdf?acceptTC =true http://www.jstor.org.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/stable/pdfplus/20439172.pdf?acceptTC =true