Home School Or Not? Essay, Research Paper

Every day 1.5 million United States children are being taught their education at home. But while that seems like it is a lot, it is only about two percent of all United States school-aged children. But is it ethical to take your kids out of public schools to teach them at home? Having home school deprives kids of a healthy social life and specialty subjects taught by highly trained educators through public schooling.

Home school started when Christian parents wanted to start shielding their children from outside influences that were exposing their children to thoughts and ideas different from their religious beliefs. In today’s world, home school is taught for much the same reasons, but home schooling has increased, even more, because of the recent school violence. The odds of getting shot in school are about as good as getting struck by lightening, but the thought still readily frightens parents. The parents feel that they can protect their child from everything that they see as bad and wrong. It is not a bad idea, but there is no way to completely get rid of everything and everyone that they don’t want their child to be exposed to. It would be nice if everyone could live in their own little sheltered world their whole life. Their children need to get out and interact with the people of the world, or they will not understand the beliefs, rights, and feelings of other people and cultures. They will not interact and be able to express themselves very well, because they have not had the experience of mingling with other people. When they meet the real world and they move out on their own or go to college they are more easily persuaded by their piers because they have never had to stand up for themselves or develop a set of values.

Home schooling is becoming more and more popular and is now recognized as a legal practice in all fifty states, ages six through eighteen. Now that home schooling is a legal practice and their kids can stay home, parents are complaining because they want their children to be able to use the athletic equipment and the science laboratory supplies that they offer through the school. The parents argue that it is their tax money too, so their children should be able to have what ever they want. It shouldn’t work that way. The parents made the decision to withdrawal their children from public schooling, so that was their own decision to limit the accessibility of the help, services and supplies offered, to their children, through the public school system.

The quality of education offered through public school is superb to home schooling. The fact is that parents are just not educated in every subject such as chemistry, calculus, physiology, computer repair, etc. They also can not have effective band and orchestra classes because part of these classes is learning how to conform and play as a group. So they can not teach their children the skills and group effort idea that they need to know and use to get a high paying job and keep on top of the advancing technological and social world. Teachers have to go to years of school and college just to specifically teach one subject. How could a parent with no college possibly teach one school subject let alone five? Their children might not learn enough to make it into college for their own selves. They may go to college if they can pass the legal tests that the school offers to their students of the same grade. If a parent is not trained as a teacher they will not have the proper knowledge, education, teaching techniques, classroom supplies, or training to properly educate their child.

I feel strongly along with many other Americans, that through home schooling, your children are only being held back from what they can learn, achieve, and accomplish. Parents simply do not understand that times are changing and becoming more advanced and hi-tech. Sure, it would be nice if you could protect your children from all the bad elements of the world, but someday they will not have their parents to survive off of and run to. Why not start them off on the right foot, and leave their education in the hands of someone who is highly trained and knows how to effectively teach what they have been trained and taught to teach. Let your taxes help you and your kids for the best.

32e