When I first started blogging, I had a blogger friend ask me to answer some questions that she got from a Chinese journalist. He was interested in statistics in the United States regarding homeschooling. Now days homeschooling is under fire in Europe even though many positive laws have been passed here in the states. Even with the sometimes negative press (anyone see that awful Saturday Night Live skit?) swelling numbers of homeschooling families in America give proof that many parents see homeschooling as a viable education choice. In the answers below, I shared my personal views about why I believe homeschooling has become so popular. I’m certainly no expert; so please check your hard facts out elsewhere!
Here are the questions that were asked:
1. How many Homeschoolers are there according to the government?
2. How many by your estimate?
3. Why do you see the growth?
4. Is there any age group trend?
5. What is the biggest challenge from a “homeschool expert” perspective?
6. What is the biggest challenge from a parent perspective?
7. Is income a factor to the growth/decline in homeschooling over the past few years?
Here are my answers, below. If you care to chime in with a point I may have forgotten, please leave your notes in the comments! I’m sure that there will be a few non-homeschooling bloggers and those looking in to homeschooling that may stumble upon this post in the future.
1. How many Homeschoolers are there according to the government?
According to the National Home Education Research Institute…
“The U.S. Department of Education (USDE; National Center for Education Statistics, NCES) released in December 2008 a report entitled “1.5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007” (by Stacey Bielick) in which the author estimates the number of homeschooled students in the United States (i.e., homeschool population size) to be 1.28 to 1.74 million in spring 2007. Dr. Ray, of NHERI, on the other hand (read Dr. Ray’s brief review here), estimates that there were more than 2.0 million K-12 homeschool students in the U.S. during the spring of 2008 (see Research Facts on Homeschooling ). Consistent with Dr. Ray’s estimates, the NCES researcher found that the homeschool population has grown about 8% per year during the 4 years since the NCES’s previous study.”
2. How many by your estimate?
I would estimate that the number is higher than 2 million. Since I began homeschooling 7 years ago, three other families in my own family circle (6 children total) have begun to homeschool, or are planning to start soon. That presents a jump from 2 to 8 children in just a few years. A few of my friends who were not homeschooling 7 years ago have also begun to do it (3 more kids). I suspect that the averages are similar in the state, and even in the country. Many families are not required to register with their state, making tracking very difficult for researchers. In Texas (where we are from), you are NEVER required to register your child with the public education system or government. This means that there is absolutely no way the government can count how many children are homeschooled aside from another Census that specifically asks the question (and not everyone participates in census questionnaires). Sadly, a number of my homeschooling friends have had their older children return to school as well, so to be honest – you have to include the number of those leaving the ranks. I know of 6 kids in the past 2 years who are returning to a classroom environment – but only 4 of those to a public school.
I would say probably closer to 2.5 to 3 million in America is where we register on the homeschooling meter (and growing at an amazing rate)! Homeschool laws are different in every American state and recently they have been getting better in some regions. You would have a much better estimate from states where you are required to register than you would in non-reporting states such as Texas, Alaska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Idaho, Michigan, Connecticut and New Jersey (also the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico).
3. Why do you see the growth?
The reason for the growth is personal to each individual homeschool family in America. Some are seeking a better education (academics) from schools that are in less affluent areas where they feel their children are not getting enough one-on-one attention. Some families are wary of the social skills they learn in the public arena (drugs, sex, rock-n-roll), and are afraid that their children are not safe at schools where the teacher ratio is so high and teachers are unable to monitor everything that goes on in the halls and before and after school. Some families are seeing that homeschool has worked so well for so many others that it is tempting them away from the ‘norm’. As the first wave of Homeschool Graduates are showing the world that Homeschoolers are really smart and well-adjusted (and colleges are beginning to recruit homeschoolers by the droves), society at large is waking up to see that this ‘movement’ really has some wonderful benefits. I can’t tell you how many times in my own personal experience that my children have drawn the praise of people in public. Some seem surprised when I tell them that they are homeschooled (those are the ones who probably misunderstood homeschooling and assumed that homeschool children are somehow “missing out”), and more often now, they say things like: “Oh! That’s why your kids have such a great vocabulary!”
Homeschooling is beginning to have a much better reputation in America. This is great, but also causes concern when the government schools are seeing us as a rival. Over the past few years (in larger Texas cities), there have been many schools that have shut down. Children were transferred to other nearby schools. Some of the reasons for this have to do with lack of funding, but then again, you are forced to wonder why they had a lack of funding? In a poor funded school, you would most likely have a higher desire to choose alternative education for your children! I looked at a number of ISD websites in Texas and found closed schools. This was nearly un-heard of when I was growing up as a public school child a few decades ago.
I wrote about the reasons why I chose to homeschool in a previous post on my personal blog.).
4. Is there any age group trend?
While I don’t have official figures on this, there seems to be a trend: many homeschoolers do send their children back to a classroom environment in the higher grades. I suspect the reason for this rests with feelings of inadequacy of the parent to teach a higher level subject for the most part. There are some parents that don’t begin homeschooling until high school, though. It isn’t until some of the negative environmental factors, which are often more prevalent in high school, that some parents take their children out of a public school environment.
5. What is the biggest challenge from a “homeschool expert” perspective?
I believe that the biggest challenge to homeschooling as a movement is the perception of the public. However, as homeschooling increases in popularity, this becomes less of a concern. I don’t like what I see happening in Europe and believe that we, as homeschoolers, can not ever be apathetic towards our freedoms – even in states like Texas that are very friendly towards homeschoolers.
On a personal level, the biggest challenges homeschooling poses for me as the stay-at-home teacher:
1. managing to get all the book-work/sit-down work done while life tends to interrupt
2. managing to live on one income
3. managing to keep the school clutter from driving me crazy (when you live at home all day, there are MESSES)
4. managing to take care of the baby and also give 100% to schooling (this is a new challenge for me this year!)
I think most moms would shy away from calling themselves “homeschool experts”. We as moms are learning as much as our children are. Homeschooling, like parenting, is touch and go. Each day is a new experience. I gather up my wisdom one mistake at a time. I try and learn from other moms as well. One of the best ways to increase your skills in homeschooling is to join co-ops, e-mail groups, and church groups that are supportive and have veteran moms there to help and answer questions. There are city-wide, county-wide, and state-wide email lists that you can join. Some are categorized by titles such as “unschoolers”, “classical homeschoolers”, “Christian homeschoolers”, etc. There are many, many different sects within homeschooling. With a little online research, you can find a perfect group for your own needs. Many homeschool curriculums offer their own ‘e-loop’ (email mailing list) as well. Keeping in contact with other moms is a big boost in your confidence and moral. I know that through the years, I have gleaned so much from other homeschooling moms. I’m still at it today – with a 6th and 7th grader this year – because of the support of other homeschooling parents… and the answered prayers I have sent up daily for strength and provision!
6. What is the biggest challenge from a parent perspective?
I think my biggest challenge from a parental perspective is just burn-out. Moms/Dads who are home all day (24-7) with their children (even those who are involved in many extra curricular activities outside the home and with their churches/communities) are likely to need time to re-charge. With a limited income, it’s hard to plan get-aways (especially when your spouse can’t take off work, and you are living far from family who could baby-sit). I like to plan weekends for my husband and I to get away so that we can both re-charge without the children a few times each year. We also enjoy taking months off from schooling, either at Christmas time, or in the summer, to let the children have free time without “Teacher” led activities. Even kids need to re-charge their batteries.
7. Is income a factor to the growth/decline in homeschooling over the past few years?
“Most Homeschoolers come from two parent families where one parent can afford to stay at home and teach the children. While this isn’t always the case, it probably is the norm.”
I agree completely with my friend, Linda, in what she says (quoted above). While my family has been able to afford to stay home and homeschool our kids on one income, we have had to sacrifice and ‘follow the paycheck’ wherever it leads. That has meant selling homes, moving out of state, giving up luxuries like cable TV and gym memberships, etc. We look back and see that we are still homeschooling today in astonishment – because it never looked as if we would be able to afford it on paper! Truly it is a miracle of epic financial proportions. Many families that I know of are barely able to squeak by financially each month (living paycheck-to-paycheck), and are still making the choice to sacrifice their second income for the educational, physical and spiritual growth of their children. I think that if worse came to worse, and I was forced to go back to work full time to help make ends meet, I would take an evening job, and continue to homeschool my children in the mornings and early afternoons. I also know of many single parent families in which the mothers have continued to homeschool, even after they have divorced.
What do you think? Share your answers with us and link back to this post! Make sure to leave a link or a comment below.
Love in Him,
