Myths: Home-School Myths

Real Truth
By Mimi Rothschild

Despite statistics that show facts to the contrary, home-school critics still continue to make statements about home-school with the intent of putting this educational choice in a bad light. Home-school parents and students alike know that these statements are without merit, but many people who are considering home-school and do not know the real facts may be discouraged from making the choice due what the critics are saying- and this is unfortunate.

One of the most common complaints from home-school critics is that children who are being educated through home-school are socially isolated, and become ill-prepared to deal with the real world as adults. Not only is this completely untrue, it is also more of a true statement to say that home-school students learn earlier and better how to function in all aspects of society. Home-school students socialize with their peers through clubs, recreational activities and community sports programs. In addition to this, home-school students also tend to be more active in community programs and volunteer organizations, giving them the chance to interact with people who are older and younger than they are.

Another complaint from critics is that home-school parents are not qualified to teach their children effectively. Statistics simply prove this to be untrue. The majority of home-school parents have no teaching degree, yet home-school students consistently score higher in academic tests than their publicly schooled peers. The personalized attention that a home-school student receives and the parents' desire to give their home-school children a superior education makes a teaching degree unnecessary. Home-school parents take their children's learning seriously, and they use every resource available to ensure a quality education. Statistics prove that they are succeeding quite well in reaching this goal.

Having a curriculum where faith and worship can be incorporated into learning is a choice that parents do not have with public school, which obviously helps some parents decide to home-school. However, this does not mean that these home-school parents only emphasize religious instruction to the exclusion of all other learning. Home-school parents want the best possible education for their children, and through home-school this is being successfully achieved. Many simply want the choice to include religion, and public school denies that choice.

Though home-school critics also claim that all home-school children are taught in the same manner, the opposite is actually true. One of the benefits of home-school is that it incorporates flexibility and a personal approach to learning that is advantageous for home-school students. No two home-school families are alike, and the variety of home-school methods reflect this.

More Myths about the Practice of Home School

There are many myths surrounding the practice of home school. It is incredibly difficult to separate the truth from the fiction regarding home school. Although it is a growing trend, home school makes up such a small percentage of schooling that goes on in this country that it can be difficult to make any inroads at all with the general population. Armed with a little knowledge, however, you can inform your friends, neighbors, and loved ones of the truths about the home school option for this country's children.

One of the great myths of home school is that it is primarily a bastion for upper-middle class white people. While it is true many home school kids are white and some do have a decent amount of money, the fact of the matter is that home school families often have to give up a lot financially in order for home school to be viable. Basically, home school requires that one of the parents quit his or her job and take on the responsibility of teaching the children, giving up careers, second cars and bigger houses for the sake of their kids.

Another myth about home schooling is that home school parents cannot possibly match the qualifications that teachers have and cannot possibly do as good a job educating children as certified teachers can do. While there are some dedicated teachers out there working in a long uphill battle who truly want to teach your children, the fact of the matter is that formal educational theory has little place in the real world of teaching students. All the conferences and post-graduate work can't help a teacher to teach if the teacher doesn't have the supplies and the support of the school district.

Finally, there are persistent thoughts among the larger community that home school is for reclusives and religious fanatics. This is not the case at all. Many secular people as well as modestly religious people choose alternative education like home school for any variety of reasons: from inadequate local schools to medical reasons, and many other private matters. The home school community is a diverse group. Sure, there are lots of extremely religious people of many faiths who choose to home school, but home school is also the province and the right of every American. More and more, average, middle-of-the-road people are choosing home school for their children.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

The Leading PreK-12 Online Christian Home School Program Provider

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Online Learning:

By Mimi Rothschild

Growing with Online Home-Schooling

If you've ever wished that you could home-school your children but lacked the confidence in your own academic abilities to take control of one of the most vital areas of your child's life, help is at hand. You can now home-school your children, and you don't have to be an expert teacher. Whereas parents used to have to stay home and virtually become full-time teachers if they wanted to home-school their children, online home-schools are now available so that you can stay home with your children while they benefit from a professional teacher's guidance, as well as your presence.

Online home-schools are expanding throughout America, and many parents are taking advantage of the flexibility that these institutions offer, as well as the chance to be personally involved in their children's education. Due to this change in the face of education, there is a move toward giving home-school children the same status as publicly schooled children in some states' legislatures. This would mean that online home-schools would receive state funding for the children who attend them. This is excellent news for online home-school institutions, which are at present severely limited in the number of students they can accept due to lack of funding.

Many parents find home-school to be a valuable alternative to public school. Often this is due to their children being involved in activities that prevent them from attending a public school regularly, as in the case of children who may be involved in sports, acting or music. Home-school can also be vital in ensuring that a sick child does not fall too far behind even if he or she has to stay at home for long periods of time. Other parents simply prefer their own influences being the primary ones in their child's life rather than the ones they would find in the public school system.

Online home-school allows the parent to use online lesson plans and tools to assist their child's learning, but they also give them the independent assessment that comes with having their children's work graded by a professional. There are also some extra benefits to online home-school: some home-school institutions provide computers and printers free to their students.

The expansion of home-school onto the Internet has heralded a revolution in home-schooling. It is now easier than ever to ensure that your children are learning the skills they need to get along in the world, and to be even more enriched by their home-school experience.

How Virtual Learning Enhances Home Schooling Efforts

Virtual learning is a growing trend in the United States today. Home schoolers are adopting virtual learning as a supplement to the home school curriculum, and some are even embracing an entire virtual learning experience. Virtual learning involves “classrooms” that are entirely online, with interaction between students and instructors taking place through e-mails, Internet message boards and online chat rooms. Home schoolers are quickly discovering the benefits of virtual learning, and many home schooling parents incorporate this method into their daily home school routine.

The process of virtual learning is a powerful and exciting alternative for home schoolers and public educators alike. Virtual classrooms can combine home schoolers and public school students in an environment that nurtures learning and facilitates a love for education. Online classes meet the challenge of social interaction many home schooling families face by allowing for connectivity with other students. This exposes home schoolers to new instructors with different ideas. Can virtual learning be considered the wave of the future for home schooling?

Signs point to yes. Virtual learning is becoming more acceptable by the public at large as well as the home schooling community. Parents are quick to realize that a virtual learning environment is well suited to the goals of the home school setting. In order to succeed in an online class, students must be self-directed, self-disciplined learners who are able to stay on target and do the necessary work for the class: all thing home schooling parents attempt to instill in their children. Therefore, virtual learning becomes a natural extension of the home schooling principles. Many parents who home school have already overcome their initial worry and find that online classes do not prove more distracting than enriching, and therefore are embracing this new teaching method.

Educators who use virtual learning in public settings point to parental involvement as one of the deciding factors in the success of an online student. Again, home schooling has a natural advantage: parents who home school are automatically involved in their children's education. Virtual learning can open up possibilities to home schooled students that their parents might not have otherwise been able to offer. There are online classes on just about every subject imaginable, and home school students can take advantage of this wealth of resources available on the Internet to enhance the quality of education they receive. The barriers previously presented through the challenges of home schooling are being knocked down one by one, and virtual learning goes a long way toward this goal. Home schooling parents should not neglect the possibilities presented by online classes.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

Blogs Directory

Three Good Reasons to Choose Home School

By Mimi Rothschild
Posted By Bobby Cole, A Learning By Grace Affiliate

Opponents of home school cite a hundred and one reasons why home school is a bad idea. However, most of these reasons are based on pure myth. Home school is an excellent way to instill quality education and values in children, particularly for the Christian family who may be disillusioned with the public school system's purposeful disregard of God and faith-based teaching. Each of the reasons put forth by home school opponents can be dismissed as hearsay and bunk by the realities of the home school environment.

The issue of socialization represents perhaps the loudest murmur of discontent among detractors of home school. According to the misinformed, home school children lack the opportunity to interact with society and develop healthy social skills. However, take a look at the typical day of a home school student and it becomes clear that the opposite is true: home school children are generally more social than their publicly educated counterparts. Most home school students spend quite a bit of time out and about in the community, interacting not only with children their age, but also with adults, seniors, and older or younger children as well. The traditional public school system creates an unnatural atmosphere with twenty to thirty children of the same age spending six to eight hours a day together. Nowhere else in society is this anomaly found.

Another point that strengthens the argument for home school is the atmosphere in which children learn. It is true that school-age children lack social skills—but the public school system is not the best place for them to learn these skills. Children can be cruel to other children. Often in public schools this cruelty goes unnoticed by teachers charged with controlling dozens of children at once. In a home school setting, natural childhood squabbles are noticed and dealt with accordingly. Parents who home school are presented with the opportunity to develop character and instill Christian morals in their children on an individual level.

Perhaps the most compelling argument in favor of home school is the constant battle against peer pressure and conformity. Peer pressure thrives in a public school atmosphere. Peer pressure often has consequences for children: from low self-esteem to deadly violence. In public schools, children learn more than the basics of education. They learn to fit in and follow society's directions—or else. The home school environment is one of family and values. When children are raised in a setting that allows them to develop in their own ways, guided by conscientious parents, they tend to become comfortable, intelligent and responsible adults capable of making decisions to thrive in the real world. After all, isn't that what we all want for our children?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling mother, writer, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of home education company Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of 28 years reside with their 8 children right outside Philadelphia, PA.

Rothschild launched Learning By Grace, Inc. because she believed that our nation's public school system has failed parents and students. Learning By Grace, Inc. offers online education through a multimedia-rich curriculum to PreK-12 children across the country and throughout the world.

An accomplished author, Rothschild has written books regarding education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Homeschooling News Café Blog consists of the most current and relevant education news.

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Christian Home School Programs

Learning By Grace Christian Home School Programs

Posted By Bobby Cole, a Learning By Grace Affiliate

Learning By Grace, Inc. is a provider of on line educational solutions for Christian home school families. Through several on line Christian schools offering PreK-12 curriculum for home schooling, Learning By Grace is changing the way people view education.

Learning By Grace is dedicated to providing an affordable Christian home education to families all over the world. The home school curriculum used is comprised of engaging multimedia activities through etexts, workbooks, on line education assignments, video, audio, interactive field trips, and so much more. By providing children with a quality home education, parents can take an active role in instilling Godly values in their children. With just a computer and internet connection, parents are now able to offer their children something more.

Because the Learning By Grace home school curriculum is so flexible, students are able to work at their own pace. Special needs students and quick learners both are able to achieve academic success by taking as much time as they need to comprehend the course material - no more, no less. Learning By Grace provides an alternative to the negative influences that permeate the nation’s public schools such as worldly thinking, humanist teaching, and moral relativism. Free from peer pressures, distractions, and a rigid educational formula, our home school students can pursue educational excellence.

Christian Home School Programs Managed By Learning By Grace

The Morningstar Academy Home School Program Online. MorningStar's comprehensive Christian on line program provides a state-of-the-art, multimedia-rich interactive experience. Traditional texts are accompanied by CD-ROMS, videos, web adventures make us the most outstanding Christian home school program available.

Home School Program is Safest. Secular influences can rob your children. Our Christian on line program cultivates Biblical values. Keep your precious children safe! Help them to develop a Biblical worldview by educating them in an on line Christian program. Our Christian on line program has been designed to meet all of your home schooling needs!

Home School Program offers Biblical Curriculum. The K-12 MorningStar Academy provides not only the best on line education program but everything you need to give your child a world-class Christian education. Earn your High School Diploma on line at our Online High School Program. We Encourage You to Visit The MorningStar Academy Online Home School

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Students interact with one another through our state of the art learning management system. Kids love our Social Center where they socialize in a safe and Christian environment. Our Teacher/Parent Message Board enables parents to have unlimited interaction with their student's teachers and other Jubilee Academy parents. Parents are always in complete control of your child's education at Jubilee.

The Jubilee Academy offers over 150 accredited preschool through Grade 12 multimedia-rich on line courses, including preschool through high school. The Jubilee Academy gives you up to six courses. Each course contains 180 lessons and runs for 36 weeks. All of our courses are designed from a Christian worldview and include a rich collection of videos, graphs, audio files, and offline activities.

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The Grace Academy is more than just a school. We provide a fully-featured educational framework that is changing the way that people think about education. Our cutting-edge technology allows parents to provide their children with a world-class private Christian education at a fraction of the cost of traditional brick-and-mortar schools. Unlike other homeschooling curricula, we do not just provide textbooks. We provide a variety of educational tools, materials, and services which homeschoolers all over the world use to achieve academic excellence.

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Our Learning Management System enables us to synthesize all of the branches of our organization so that we can provide an efficient, quality, hassle-free service to you. This on line home schooling system coordinates all of our course material, scheduling, grading, administrative tasks, record-keeping, progress reporting, and other efforts. With this cutting-edge technology, we are able to provide parents with all the information they need for a top-tier on line home schooling experience.

Visit us and make a wise decision for you student today. Select a Learning By Grace today for your child's future tomorrow. Click on the banner or link of your choice.