Home-schooling removes children from public school. That alone makes home-schooling worthwhile. Unlike public-school children, home-schooled kids are not prisoners of a system that can wreck their self-esteem, ability to read, and love of learning.
Home-schooled kids don't have to read dumb-downed text-books, study subjects they hate, or endure meaningless classes six to eight hours a day. Home-schooled kids won't be subject to drugs, bullies, violence, or peer pressure, as they are in public schools. Home-schooled children who are "different" in any way won't have to endure cruel jokes and taunts from other children in their classes.
Slow-learning or "special-needs" children won't be humiliated by their peers if they are put in regular classes, or further humiliated if the teacher puts them in so-called spe-cial-education classes. Faster-learning home-schooled kids won't have to sit through mind-numbing classes that are geared to the slowest-learning students in a class. They won't have to "learn" in cooperative groups where other kids in the group do nothing or are not cooperative. Home-schooled children do not have to waste their time memorizing meaningless facts about subjects that bore them, just so they can pass the next dumbed-down test to obey and please school authorities.
Home-schooled kids don't have to endure twelve years of a third-rate, public-school education that leaves many students barely able to read their own diplomas. The notion that tests tell teachers and parents what children have learned turns out to false. John Holt, teacher and author of "How Children Fail," pointed out that most children soon forget what they memorized for a test as soon as the test is over, so the entire test-taking process is usually worthless. Facts or ideas that are not useful or relevant to children pass through them like a sieve and are soon forgotten.
Home-schooled kids don't have to study an arbitrary, meaningless curriculum of subjects imposed on them by public-school authorities. They don't have to be treated like little mindless, spiritless robots that have to learn the same subjects at the same time and in the same sequence as their classmates.
Home-schooled children don't have to sit quietly in a class of twenty-five other students and pretend they like being in this mini-prison called public school, just to avoid being punished by a teacher for "acting-out" or fidgeting in their seats.
Any adult's mind would wander if they were forced to sit through a boring lecture for just one hour. Yet public schools expect children to sit still for boring lectures on subjects that are meaningless to them, for six to eight hours a day.
Home-schooled children do not have to be fearful of displeasing a teacher because they get the wrong answers on meaningless tests. They therefore do not have to be fearful of learning and have their natural joy in learning crippled as a result of this fear.
Infants and very young children embrace life and learning with a passion, which is why they learn so fast. Yet, as John Holt found out, by the time these same children have progressed to the fifth grade in school, most are listless, bored, apathetic, and often fearful in class.
Home-schooled children won't be terrorized by test grades and comparisons to their classmates, and associate learning with this terror. They won't associate learning with always having to get the right answer that school authorities insist on. They won't be made to feel that learning means passing an arbitrary test, and that failing a test is a shame or disgrace.
Home-schooling also gives parents control over the values their kids learn. It prevents school authorities from indoctrinating their children with warped values, pagan religions, or politically-correct ideas.
Unlike public-school students, home-schooled children are not forced to sit through explicit or shocking sex-education classes. School authorities also can't pressure home-schooling parents to give their kids mind-altering drugs like Ritalin.
So keeping a child out of public school is an enormous benefit in itself. Other positive benefits of home-schooling are:
1. Home-schooling lets parents give children a custom-made curriculum that makes learning a joy. Parents can expose their children to many different subjects and ultimately focus on subjects that their children enjoy and benefit from.
Children can also learn about subjects that are not taught in any school, and have time for non-academic subjects like art and music. Parents can choose from a wide range of teaching materials that not only engage and delight their kids, but bring real results.
2. Home-schooled children can learn at their own pace. Slower-learning kids will benefit by their parent's love and attention. Bright children will progress as fast as they want to. Children will learn to read or learn any other subject when they are ready, not according to a prescribed time-table.
Unlike public schools, home-schooling parents treat each child as a unique individual with his or her own special interests, talents, strengths and weaknesses. Parents can also tailor-make the instruction to each child's personality and learning style.
3. Home-schooling parents can give their kids a one-to-one teacher-student ratio. This insures that children get individualized attention from a loving, attentive parent-teacher.
In "Public Schools, Public Menace," author Joel Turtel explains 15 unique benefits of homeschooling your children.
Joel Turtel is an education policy analyst, and author of "Public Schools, Public Menace: How Public Schools Lie To Parents and Betray Our Children."
Contact Information:
Website: http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com,
Email: lbooksusa@aol.com,
Phone: 718-447-7348.
Article Copyrighted © 2005 by Joel Turtel
NOTE: You may post this Article on another website only if you set up a hyperlink to Joel Turtel's email address and website URL, http://www.mykidsdeservebetter.com
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
Results of the Spanking Poll on Rexanne.com: Voters - 233Percentage... Read More
When it comes to the treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity... Read More
We all scream for ice cream. Or, we don't, at... Read More
She slipped her small, soft eight-year-old hand into mine. Her... Read More
It has been a long day. Home from work, you... Read More
"Will my doubts and fears affect my child?" This father... Read More
Life is full of competition -- even in childhood. Kids... Read More
Elana, born in Russia, was told "We really don't know... Read More
For the first year or two of life outside the... Read More
Let's face it.The job market is getting tougher every day.Computerization... Read More
1. Encourage your babysitter by keeping their favorite foods/snacks on... Read More
Although it's hard to say when the first stuffed dogs... Read More
Before going further into choosing computers for children, I believe... Read More
Today the little red school house is not what it... Read More
Most of us when asked what we want our children... Read More
Teenagers are a work-in-progress, and parenting teenagers can be tricky... Read More
Having a babysitter take care of your kids is sometimes... Read More
By not planning for the future we guarantee that we... Read More
The back-to-school shopping is done. Brand new pencils, colored markers,... Read More
Sometime the most effective training tool in rapidly accelerating the... Read More
You know that children can get into trouble. The older... Read More
Self-reliance and potential are two very important values that I'd... Read More
Volunteering together is a fantastic way to spend time as... Read More
I wanted to share with you one of the most... Read More
Do any other reality TV junkies remember a show on... Read More
Many public schools not only fail to educate our children,... Read More
"I WON'T DO IT!" "YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!"Whether parent or... Read More
You do what you can to keep your little ones... Read More
What should the goals for counseling be when the patient... Read More
"The greatest gift I ever had Came from God, and... Read More
It's that time of year when mom and dad look... Read More
One of the most prevalent problems of the computer age... Read More
It is extraordinary times that we find ourselves in. Change... Read More
Teri was 5. As younger siblings do, she looked up... Read More
Do you think you really know your child? I don't... Read More
Ah, there is nothing like being an expectant mom. Along... Read More
Back in college, I wrote for a five-day-a-week, award-winning campus... Read More
Parents are in a unique position to "monitor" their children's... Read More
The Internet is one of the greatest inventions of all... Read More
Congratulations on your new baby! You have just brought your... Read More
While most fathers aspire to become the best Dads they... Read More
As the new school year begins, parents play a pivotal... Read More
Being in a competitive world, the lowest qualification to secure... Read More
It was blisteringly hot last Saturday. As I took that... Read More
Our children are growing up bilingual in the French part... Read More
Imagine having no television for an entire season. Such was... Read More
Your child's first year of school should be a fun... Read More
Single parents are not often thought of as good parents.I... Read More
Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read... Read More
Imagine yourself lying flat on your back, totally strapped down... Read More
Q. How do we decide what our teens should be... Read More
Picture this. Your child comes home with a special assignment... Read More
If you had to spend 4 or 5 hours in... Read More
Do you remember how you first learned the alphabet? I... Read More
In school, kids are encouraged to create, draw, color, paint... Read More
As a parent, are you at your wits end? Does... Read More
At the ADHD Information Library we are big believers that... Read More
Until about the age of six, children do not generally... Read More
Are you a parent concerned about passing values on to... Read More
Now I know that is not how the song goes,... Read More
For most children, it is easy to learn to read... Read More
Moms and dads, are there times you think that parenting... Read More
What you say and do about money has a profound... Read More
Homework. It doesn't have to be a daily battle of... Read More
Why are more people, especially parents not outraged?I call it... Read More
When we consider that the word allowance means, "allowing for,"... Read More
Parenting |