The home-schooling movement stands as one of the most significant educational developments of the century. The number of American children being taught at home, although minuscule compared to public school enrollments, had grown by the late 1990s from near zero to a near million” (Wagner, 2001, p. 58). Indeed, the rise of homeschooling is one of the most significant trends of the past half-century. The main reason for this reemergence of an old practice is a desire to gain control from the education bureaucrats and reestablish the family as central to a child’s learning (Lines, 2000). The homeschooling movement surprised the professional education establishment with its rapid growth. The number of homeschoolers nearly tripled in the five years from 1990-91 to 1995-96 when there were approximately 700,000 homeschoolers (Lines, 2000). Patricia Lines conservatively estimates the number of homeschooled children at approximately 1 million, while less conservative appraisals among homeschooling researchers and associations place the number of homeschooled childre

Most certainly the most convencing reason to home school is just the raw data on academic scores for the home schooled. The largest study so far by University of Maryland statistician Lawrence M. Rudner, examined some 20,000 home-schooled students from 50 states. These students scored higher on standardized tests than public and private school students in every subject and at every grade level. The longer their parents had home schooled them, the better they did. The results shocked Rudner himself, who initially believed that home schoolers were a bunch of "conservative nuts." He has since changed his mind.

Still, family comes first for many homeschoolers. For many, home schooling gives family life an unexpected richness. Historian McClay, who watched his teenage son Mark develop a love for classical music and accel academically when removed from school, describes the "transformative" impact that home schooling had on his family, "We've seen a bonding in our family that we wouldn't have seen if we didn't home school," stresses McClay. "When you become the teacher, you're really aware of the incredible responsibility you have toward your children." Also, home schooling seems to minimize the friction between teens and their parents. "Life with our home-schooled teens has been a joy—heaven," Laurie Runnion-Bareford enthuses. "It surprised us, because my friends who had teenage kids in the public schools were miserable."

Sixty-nine percent of home schoolers go on to college, compared with 71 percent of grads from public high schools and 90 percent of private school grads.

Only just recently has school been treated as a full-time affair taught professional teachers. Classroom schooling has been accepted as the norm by most of the nation and the recent rise in homeschooling has come to many as a surprise (Lines, 2000). The people who first started the modern homeschool often kept what they were doing a secret and those who were discovered often faced fines or possibly jail (Lines, 2000).

If a family is in a remote location and can not get to school in a reasonable amount of time, that family might decide to home school their children because of the convenience. There are places in many states where a family might be an hour or two from the nearest town. This is also true in different countries also. In the Yukon Territory in Canada, there is almost a greater number of children that are home schooled than children that are taught in a public school. This shows that the geography of the land plays a mojor role in the decision on whether on not to home school.

When I interviewed my neighbor who home schools her two children, she said that the reason she chose this method was because public schools are just too violent for her children. Even more convincing is that she was an elementary school teacher for the past 7 years. Many parents feel that the school system offers too many chances for their children to become active in drug use and gang violence. For this reason, they choose to keep their kids in the safety of their own homes.

Some topics in this essay:
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