Homeschooling

Homeschooling (or home schooling; also called home education) is the education of children at home and in the community, in contrast to education in an institution such as a public or parochial school. It is also in contrast to those who are self-taught.

Public opinion of homeschooling

Gallup polls of American voters have shown a significant change in attitude in the last twenty years, from 73% opposed in 1985 to 54% opposed in 2001 http://eric.uoregon.edu/trends_issues/choice/home_schooling.html.

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Opposition to homeschooling comes from varied sources, including organizations of teachers and school districts. For example, the National Education Association, the largest teachers' union (in fact, the largest labor union) in the United States, is on record as opposing homeschooling outright, though in recent years they have not been outspoken in this opposition. Opponents' stated concerns fall into several broad categories, including: academic quality and completeness; reduced government money for the public schools; socialization of children with peers; lack of political correctness; and fear of religious or social extremism. However, recent studies tend to dispute this claim. http://www.hslda.org/docs/study/comp2001/default.asphttp://www.hslda.org/research/ray2003/ Opponents view homeschooling parents as sheltering their children and denying them opportunities that are their children's right, lowering the amount of government money public schools would receive if more children were attending the publicly-funded school, and providing an unfair advantage to homeschooled children over students whose parents lack the time or money for homeschooling.

Related Topics:
National Education Association - Labor union

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