One of the most controversial topics dealing with education is whether or not home schooling is equivalent to public schooling. Many people have argued against home schooling for various reasons, others see no negative outcomes that arise from it. Supporters of home schooling range from liberal proponents of educational reform to conservative families driven by religious convictions. The non supporters are those who believe that a traditional school structure provides children with greater opportunities for cognitive and affective development ("Social Behaviors"). Although, home schooling has no major benefits over public schooling, evidence shows that parents can help children achieve a level of education similar to other schools (Klugewiz 407). .
Home schooling was made legal in the United States in 1993. Some states now have minimum qualifications for parents and provide supervision from the government (Latham 85). One argument states that parents do not have the knowledge required by an educator to take responsibility of teaching, therefore the children would be poorly educated in comparison to other students ("Social Behaviors"). However, parents are not alone. There are many facilities available to help them and there is at least one state-level association in every state. Other resources include libraries, museums, colleges, extension courses, park departments, churches, local businesses, mentors, private schools, and in some states, public schools. Books and other educational materials are also important, and in many cases there are educational institutions that provide these types of materials (Latham 86). .
Today, researchers have estimated that there are between 300,000 and 1,000,000 students that participate in home schooling (Klugewiz 407). For this reason, home schooled children are more accepted by the public, then in earlier years. Parents choose home schooling for many different reasons.
