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Is Home Schooling Right for You?
Making the Decision to Home School
By Heather Johnson Durocher
From field trips and outings to traditional textbook reading and workbook assignments, families practice a variety of teaching methods. They may impose a rigid daily schedule or conduct a more relaxed routine. Some follow a mixture of the two approaches.
For Suzie Eads of Rantoul, Kan., teaching during the evening hours works best for her 15-year-old daughter, Rachel, who began home schooling three years ago after developing juvenile diabetes and missing seven weeks of school. Mornings are homework time, giving Rachel the afternoon to work on a beading jewelry business she started or to spend time with her younger siblings.
"Rachel seems to be learning really well," says Eads, a former PTA president at the school Rachel used to attend. "I can see she's much more in tune with what's going on in life and around the world."
Proponents of home schooling stress families' freedom to educate their children how they see fit. "Generally, parents are in charge of the home schooling program," says Laura Derrick, spokeswoman for the National Home Education Network, an organization that promotes efforts of state and local home schooling groups and individuals. "They set the program, they design it. They decide when a child is promoted."
Home schooling is legal in every state and relatively easy to initiate, says Derrick, who home schools her 9-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter. Some states, however, require steps including reporting the decision, outlining a plan and providing periodic reports and testing, she says. In rare instances, a parent must have certai qualifications to home school. The National Home Education Network provides legal information as well as contacts for each state.
