ISSUE 4 >» € Should Parents Homeschool Their Children? | YES: Chris Jeub, from “Homeschool” and "Reasons for Home: schooling.” Focus on the Family (2006) NO: Carole Moore, from “Why It’s Not Right for Us,” Scholastic.com (2006) ISSUE SUMMARY YES: Chris Jeub, writer and president of Training Minds Ministries, is a former public school teacher with 11 children, all of whom he and his wife have homeschooled, Naming several famous homeschoole individuals, such as Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, an Florence Nightingale, he argues that the home is the best environ: ment in which to teach children, for social, academic, family strengthening, and religious reasons. Homeschooling, he main: tains, frees parents to impart their own values to their children without concern for how these beliefs might clash with what is presented in the public school system. NO: Carole Moo the options of home vs. public schooling and argues that even though homeschooling offer some benefits to children, in the end, children who are homeschooled provides a distorted view of the world at large, Children will, she writes, make good decisions and bad decisions as a part of growing up, and whether they are homeschooled or public schooled is not the determining factor in whether they grow up healthy and well-adjusted ¢, a freelance writer, discusses how she weighe Eesccaton for chitcren inthe United States was not originally required t Including whether to send them fo school. In 1880, however, Massachusetts this took place in school bulldngs, and some was de by parents at home ho believed that schoo based ediaton failed chien, were proponents and that childre 70According to the Home School Association of California, the home- senooling that took place between then and the 1970s tended to be a bit gore clandestine and to be found in rural areas. The early 1980s saw the Emergence of homeschooling publications and groups that were associated specifically with conservative and religious (in particular, Christian) ideo} gies. Fearing the “godiessness” of public school, members of these groups feceived ongoing support for teaching their children at home, As we moved into the 1990s, homeschooled children in the United States increased, with a federal government survey in 1999 estimating that nearly 900,000 children fe being homeschooled in this country, a number that can only have increased over the past eight years. In your opinion, what are the benefits to children attending school with sther children and being taught by a trained teacher that they can‘t receive being taught at home? What are some of the benefits, do you think, of teach: ing children at home, within the context of one’s own family values, and wnithout the distractions of other people, noise, and social pressures? There are clear arguments on each side, some of which are expressed in the follow. ig selections. Chris Jeub’s reasoning is outlined by topic areas, in which he describes perceptions—having been a schoolteacher himself-of the ways in which homeschooling benefits children, as well as parents, more than traditional education in a shared classroom environment. Homeschooling, he argues, gives children much more freedom to pursue Individual interests, and par ents much more leeway to integrate religious messages into their teaching, something a public school is not allowed to do. Carole Moore considered homeschooling very carefully, and acknowledges some of the potential strengths, some of which center around safety issues for young people. In the end, however, she chose not to homeschool her own child, and argues that doing so creates a much more sheltered life for young people, which does not reflect the reality of the world at larg:YES @ Chris Jeub Homeschool Introduction She innocently asked, “So, where do your children go to school?” Of all casual questions one teacher could ask another, this one always creates butterflies in my stomach, Well, ub, my wife and I tutor them,” I say. Then I try to think of some thing to change the subject. But I never think of anything quick enough. “Tutor them?” she might say, squinting her nose and ruffling her brows as if | had held a cockroach up to her face. “You mean, you home school them?’ These situations inevitably lead to an hour-long apologetic on why we educate our kids at home. This should not surprise me, Home schooling is still al. Teachers and others in educationor in any field, for that matter—naturally question new, innovative practices. But home education is not so rare anymo ars ago there were roughly 15,000 home-schooled stuclents in the United States, By 1991 the U.S. Department of Education figured there were 350,000 home schools in the U.S. and 40,000 in Canak nationwide, The world of education has had to adjust to this exploding movement There are many magazines and newspapers for home schools, numerous home-school curriculum distributors and countless home-school network and contact groups. Why do parents choose to teach their children at home? vent} Today estimates stretch over 2 million home schools Social Reasons Home-schooling parents believe that children can learn basic life skills-working er, sharing, showing respect for others-without formal classroom experi: ence. The students can develop social graces by being involved in community and church activities. Pat Farenga, publisher of Growing Without Schooling, a catalog of home-school resources, has written: “Group experiences are a big part of edu. cation, and home schoolers have plenty of them. They write to us about how they form or join writing clubs, book discus sion groups and local home-schooling geoups. Home schoolers also take part in school sports teams and music groups [in nearby public schools), as well as Taken from the Focus on the Family website (wena fay). Copyright All ight reserved, Internationa copyright secured. Used by permission : int Thes field have and blag child whil that t tutor Charl Ediso Wrig! dents to tea selves will t ahott Englis oldest for mi the Hi admir 1 teachi