Home-schooling
Parents often consider education as their greatest legacy for their children, whether they may have means to pay for it or not. For some who could pay for it, they take education lightly and often find themselves to be dropping out from school because of their failing grades. For those who cannot afford education, they try their best to find means to pay for schooling and excel to help their parents and family rise from poverty and hardship. However, for those with exceptional conditions due to health problems or security concerns, education comes to them through teachers or educators. Home-schooling then became an offering by some schools for students who cannot go to school by normal means. Its effectiveness in providing quality education has constantly been questioned as home-schooled students become deprived of certain services and privileges. Nevertheless, home-schooling is an excellent medium for students who strive hard to gain education despite their incapacities and shortcomings.
The idea of home-schooling was not a recent idea as it predates to the time of the first colonies in the US. Colonies had to understand their new home and brought their own methods of education to ensure that the youth would continue to understand their heritage. According to Martin (2010), colonies focus more on religious education as many of the frontiers had opted to move to the New World in full hopes to practice their religion freely without the government stopping their movements. Before the creation of a state-run educational system in the European region, it was only through the Catholic Church that people could learn basic reading and writing skills. Unknown to many, some of the known figures in American history were also home schooled like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Thomas Edison. However, there were people who found homeschooling to be a deviant norm, causing others to dismiss the benefits homeschooling offers .
Like in the United States, Canada also had some of its children homeschooled due to the influence of the colonies from Virginia. However, according to Priesnitz, like in the US, the Canadian homeschooling movements became prominent in the 1970s. Unlike the United States history on homeschooling, the topic itself is undocumented in Canada. Nevertheless, pursuance to the support in homeschooling in Canada was not openly supported by the public. Several alternative education movements slowly developed through countercultural activism in the 1960s throughout North America, calling for the change in “Free schools” and the public school system. Eventually, the 1970s welcomed alternative schools in around North America and Canada, immediately getting the jurisdiction of the education department over the idea . According to Statistics Canada (1997) Canada has accepted homeschooling positively like in the United States. According to the Charter of Rights and Freedom of 1982, each child has the right to be educated and parents have the right to pick which education their children would have. All provinces of Canada recognize this parental right in education. In both Alberta and British Columbia, they recognize homeschooling as an alternative to either private or public school attendance. There were also judicial interpretations that supported parents in selecting their child’s education. One such example is the Jones v. The Queen Supreme Court Decision in 1987 which stresses that the judge honours that parents have the right to teach their children based by their religious conviction. Canada also hosts several support groups to ensure home-schooling families around the provinces and territories are guided. One known group is the Home School Legal Defence Association of Canada or the HSLDA, who monitors each province and ensures they are in compliance with the Education Act of the country or region. The HSLDA also offers legal support for home-schooling families .
While home-schooling could be considered a third choice for parents for the education of their children, sides have divided the sentiments of many regarding the effectiveness of home-schooling. Supporters of the homeschooling argue that homeschooling allows conservative parents to select the lessons their teachers discuss, emphasizing on the parent’s ideal political and religious alignment. According to Lyman (1998), parents who often select homeschooling are the ideologues and the pedagogues. Ideologues could easily be classified as the religious conservatives, who prefer power over their children’s lessons and ensure that they can still adhere to their religious background. Children often learn fundamentalist doctrines and a conservative stance through homeschooling, establishing that the family is the key building block to any civilization. Pedagogues, on the other hand, are those parents who do not like professionalization or the bureaucratization of present education. Pedagogues would find education for their children through themselves who are under the field of education or through their friends and relatives who are educators of their own right .
Another notable argument of the supporters of homeschooling is the declining quality of private schools. According to Isenberg (2007) there are evidences that some schools in the United States reflect a poor rate of students passing their respective tests. In his 2003 study, Isenberg used test score graphs to determine the school quality in Wisconsin. The study indicated that in some towns, in Wisconsin, had the decrease in mathematics test scores per district. The decrease in math test scores reflects the possibility that these small towns incorporate homeschooling. Isenberg notes that the increase in homeschooling may also be due to the availability of schools for students to enter. Price is also a factor especially if the available schools in the vicinity do not sustain the qualities parents would want for their children. He also noted that since mothers often have disposable time in their hands each day, homeschooling would be prudent to save time and money . Nappen (2005) noted that there is even a privacy advantage when it comes to homeschooling. He noted that student liberties in public schools slowly diminish as schools do not only collect and distribute personal information of their student; they also assimilate them into organizations without permission. Nappen noted that homeschooling would allow parents and students retain a sense of privacy from the government or peers. Students can learn in the silent confines of their own homes, without distraction from their fellow students .
However, some experts and parents also see that there are downsides to homeschooling children, whether they may be normal or children with special cases. West (2009) noted that homeschooling presents dangers as it unregulated by the government or educational institutions. According to some studies, children who are home schooled are most likely victims of unreported physical abuse by their parents. Isolation from the public would enable some parents to shield their activities with their children, especially hide the evidences that would reflect the abuse done to their children. There is also a risk on how many facts and theories students could learn while being home schooled. With the lack of resources such as library books, visual aids, and access to seminars or symposiums, students would have to rely to internet access to gain information. However, the dangers with internet access often lead to incomplete and incorrect information that may cause confusion .
Reich (2005) also noted that unregulated homeschooling would bring risks to the children as they are supported only by a few skills taught by their home teachers. He noted that regulation of home schooling would enable parents to receive syllabus or programmes, to ensure that children would still be educated with the right skills that would be crucial once they leave the confines of their own homes. Unregulated home schooling may also restrict students with the curriculum provided to them as it may only concentrate in one position, restricting them to understand the other sides of the argument. This is mostly prominent in communities wherein religion plays more importance than political or sociological arguments and theories. With regards to child abuse and truancy, regulation would enable the public to determine which are truants and which are home schooled . Lee (2005) also pointed out that income would also be crucial in homeschooling children. He cites that most families with two parents would have to rely on a joint income that could sustain two people. Since one parent would need to stay behind to educate their child, the loss of income would be visible in their budget. There would also be a problem motivating the child to learn as they are learning in a place where other forms of distractions are located – toys, television, and the internet. Health risks would also be a disadvantage for homeschooled children as they would have to pay for the vaccines which are normally offered for free in regular schools across the country .
Education is a right of everyone, not just for children but also for those who wishes to understand how the world works and how one could help it transform. Homeschooling is an excellent alternative for children or adults who wish to study despite their incapacity. Although it is deprived with certain elements that would complete the whole learning experience, it is still a medium for people who cannot go to normal schools for learning. Nevertheless, the shortcomings of home-schooling should also be considered in improving the progress of children as they develop through the program. Parents must be given proper alternatives to compensate the shortcomings of home-schooling, and develop homeschooling for those who benefit from it. Homeschooling has the potential to develop much like normal schooling, and with the changing technological world; it is only but a matter of time that homeschooling and be considered one of the best alternatives for learning.
References
Isenberg, E. (2007). What have we Learned about Homeschooling? Peabody Journal of Education, 82(2-3), 387-409.
Jeynes, W., & Robinson, D. (2012). International Handbook of Protestant Education. New York: Springer.
Lee, S. W. (2005). Encyclopedia of School Psychology. London: SAGE Publications.
Lyman, I. (1998). Homeschooling: Back to the Future. Washington, DC: CATO Institution.
Martin, A. (2010). Homeschooling in Germany and the United States. Arizona Journal of International and Comparative Law, 27(1), 225-282.
Nappen, L. (2005). The Privacy Advantages of Homeschooling. Chapman Law Review, 9, 73-109.
Priesnitz, W. (n.d.). A History of the Modern Canadian Homeschooling/Unschooling Movement. Retrieved July 15, 2012, from Life Learning Canadian Home-Based Learning Resources: http://www.lifelearning.ca/articles/history_of_Canadian_homeschooling_movement.htm
Reich, R. (2005). Why Homeschooling Should be Regulated? In B. Cooper, Homeschooling in Full View: A Reader (pp. 109-120). Greenwich: Information Age Publishing.
Statistics Canada. (1997). Education Quarterly Review. Ottawa: Centre for Education Statistics Canada.
Van Galen, J. (1991). Ideologues and Pedagogues: Parents who Teach their Children at Home. In J. Van Galen, & M. A. Pittman, Homeschooling: Political, Historical, and Pedagogical Perspectives (p. 67). Norwood: Ablex Publishing.
West, R. (2009). The Harms of Homeschooling. Philosophy and Public Policy Quarterly, 29(3-4), 7-11.
