Why Do People Homeschool?

People homeschool for many different reasons and these reasons range from religious beliefs to concerns about safety. Homeschooling is an option for anyone who feels that the traditional model of children attending a large institution of standardized and structured education is not conducive to their child's best interests.

Homeschooling parents are those who feel dissatisfaction with the idea of sending their children to an educational setting where there is not much room for attention to the individual student. They are willing to act on this dissatisfaction by making the commitment to being their kids' instructors. This may mean one of the parents' giving up a full time job and is a fairly big undertaking. Given the financial sacrifices and social and emotional demands of homeschooling, only people with serious convictions are likely to proceed with such an undertaking.

Parents who are convinced that their children will benefit from being educated within a religious framework are sometimes unhappy with the public school system. They believe that God and faith need to be at the core of any education and growth and this attitude is not easy to find in school systems. There are private schools or parochial schools that offer this option but they can be prohibitively expensive to many American families.

Another group of people who think of homeschooling are parents of children who can benefit from customized education. This can cover the spectrum from gifted children to kids with special needs. The average public school doe s not always have the resources to help these children who do not fall within the average range of learning in any given grade. While there are legally mandated provisions in many states, parents of these children feel that their kids are not getting the most out of the schools. So, they are motivated to create a curriculum that can stimulate and excite their children and keep them engaged with the process of learning. There is also the urge to let the child explore beyond the limitations of a set curriculum so that they are given the freedom to set their own agenda for research.

Homeschooling is an attractive option also for parents who believe that the school environment is unsafe for their children. This may be because physical safety is a concern due to incidents of bullying or worse or it can be a case of the school community not being free of drugs or other banned substances. There is the concern that one's child may be the victim of a bully also the fear that one's child may heed to peer pressure and make unwise choices. It is hard to explain to a young child sometimes the need to stay away from some influences and it is easier to raise them in a more controlled environment during the impressionable years. Homeschool offers an opportunity for avoiding unwanted school settings.

There are some families that take to homeschooling for the collective time it offers to foster healthy home relationships. The hurly burly of modern life leaves parents and children left with little time for each other. So, some parents say that they choose to take a few years to invest in these crucial relationships. They see the time spent introducing their children to the essentials of learning as a time invested in creating a child with a strong sense of self and a strong sense of commitment to family, community and learning.