Home schooling is a progressive movement around the country and the world, in which parents educate their children at home instead of sending them to a traditional public or private school. Families choose to home school for a variety of reasons, including dissatisfaction with the educational options available, different religious or educational philosophies, and the belief that children are not progressing within the traditional school structure. The home schooling movement began growing in the 1970s, when some popular authors and researchers—such as John Holt and Dorothy and Raymond Moore—started writing about educational reform. They suggested home schooling as an alternative educational option.
What are the Requirements for Home schooling Your Kids?
Legal requirements for home schooling vary from place to place. Some have few or no requirements; others ask for portfolio reviews or standardized testing at certain intervals.
According to Holt, author of the best-selling book Teach Your Own, the most important thing parents need to home school their children is "to like them, enjoy their company, their physical presence, their energy, foolishness, and passion. They have to enjoy all their talk and questions, and enjoy equally trying to answer those questions." For the majority of parents who home school, the only prerequisite is the desire to do so, along with a dedication to the educational process.
How Do You Get Started with Home schooling?
In almost all areas of the country, parents do not need an education degree to home school. Those with young children who have never attended a traditional classroom can begin a home education program when their child turns school age. At that time they will start adhering to the requirements in their particular state.
The process is slightly different for parents who have kids in school already and then decide to home school. They must first write a letter of withdrawal to the school principal or local superintendent. The letter should describe the parents' intent to remove a child from school to begin home schooling.
