School Choice: Public Education vs. Home School

When Americans think of education, they almost automatically think of public education. Through the years, it is slowly changing. Many parents today are deciding to home-school their children. Although most people think that a public education is better, most statistics and facts tend to show that home schooling is beneficial in more ways. It is estimated that parents are now teaching over two million children at home, rather than in public or even private schools.

Education in our public schools has been on the down slope for over twenty years now. Public schools have lost all values and biblical morality. This was what our country was founded on and it has been replaced with humanism. One example of humanism in our schools is that they teach evolution, not creationism. Some people believe that this problem is happening because of the removal of God and prayer in public schools; the U.S. Supreme Court did this in 1962. Beginning in 1962, SAT scores plummeted. Teen pregnancies, teen sexual diseases, teen suicides, teen alcohol, drug abuse, pornography, and illiteracy rates abruptly increased 200 to 300 percent (Klicka 48). Violence is one of the main factors effecting are schools today. Rape is a growing problem among juveniles. A juvenile commits one out of every five rapes that occur in the United States. There is also a higher use of drugs and alcohol among kids in public schools. Over 80 percent of public high school students drink alcohol and 45.7 percent have used marijuana. Drugs and alcohol make most people extremely violent. That is also why our violence and crime rates are so high.

Over hundreds of millions of dollars are spend on the security of our nation public schools. For example in elementary school, the principal banned regular recess, and the children are only allowed to play outside in a pit enclosed eight-foot concrete room or in a small section of the playground monitored by the police (Klicka 51). The disciplinary problems of children usually start even before they reach public school. In the last ten years, research shows that infants raised in daycare are more prone to behavioral problems as young children, than their home-reared cousins (Klicka 124). If you keep your child at home from the start, you will be able to discipline and raise your children with the right morals.

Because so much time is, spend trying to clean up and keep our schools safe, we are more or less falling behind in our education. Americans are farther behind in educational status than countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and China. The teachers spend too much time on the little things and forget the real reason why the children are there. Not only that, but the textbooks hold inaccurate information and do not contain the whole story. Some textbooks stated that the atomic bomb ended the Korean War (instead of World War II) and that only 53,000, rather than 126,000 Americans, were killed in World War I (Klicka 2425).

Another example was the limited information that was given in one book, the summarizes of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington's life, were told in approximately six lines each. Not only are the wrong things written in the textbooks, but they teach the children wrong values. In public school textbooks, marriage is never mentioned as the foundation of the family, and yet these books are supposed to be the textbooks that introduce the child to an understanding of American society.

Abortion is another issue. Mel and Norma Gabler document states, abortion is discussed as an aspect of birth control in biology and health and homemaking books (Klicka 56). Furthermore, virtually all sex education textbooks used in public schools throughout the country teach that any kind of sex is all right; such as premarital sex, adultery, masturbation, homosexuality, and lesbianism. Michigan school district encounter a law suit after many seventh through eleventh graders received instruction in self-Pleasuring Techniques that involved instructions in masturbation, and descriptions of sexual fantasies involving group and homosexual acts (Klicka 56). On the Massachusetts State Board of Education, in October 1991, they enacted a policy to encourage local boards to adopt a condom-distribution policy for high school students (Klicka 56). What is this telling our children? Public schools are more or less encouraging our child to have sex and expressing to them that it is okay. After all, they teach our children to do it if it feels all right.

On the other hand, when adults think about educating their children, they often forget the option of home school. The idea of home schooling started many years ago, but it really began to flourish in the 1970. For many parents this was the only option, because either public schools lacked or the schools were too far away for their children to attend. In the present day, there are over two million children being home schooled by their mothers and fathers, that is a fifteen percent rise in home school students each year (Kennedy 1). Majorities of home school students are white middle class families, but minorities are finding that this option is also better for their children rather than the public schools. Some of the main factors parents find from home schooling are: the children often become more independent and more responsible with there behavior. It will also decrease the influence of peer pressure, therefore trips can be planned at the families convenience. Families can spend more time together, and there is usually less stress because the children do not have to rush out of the house every morning. These factors and many more, are why parents of today society are choosing this method.

Critics of home schooling attack it on many fronts, arguing that children are not taught by qualified professionals, homes often do not possess the resources of schools, home-schooled children tend to be isolated from their peers, and systematic evaluation of children learning rarely occurs in the home (Simmons 1994). Yet, research does show that home schooled children are equal, if not better than, those students in public school environment are. Almost all reports have shown that home schooled students score above average on standard achievement tests. This could be because children have more one-on-one experience. Being above average in their curriculum, home schooled students also have little difficulty being accepted into colleges and universities. Boston University for example stated, "students educated at home possess the passion for knowledge, the independence, and the self-reliance that enable them to excel in our intellectually challenging programs of study". Unfortunately, more colleges are now having their own admissions policy for children that are taught at home.

Fortunately, children that are taught at home tend to have stronger relationships with their parents. This is believed to occur because children usually spend, on the average, two to three hours per day receiving instruction. The typical student at a public school spends 367 hours (more than two hours a day) in activities such as lunch, recess, and class changing. There is a lot of time wasted each day that a child could be learning something else. At home also, the curriculum can be geared to fit the individuals need. The child can spend more time on what they need help in the most and this leaves more time for hands-on activities for the children to learn by. The children have more time to spend at home building relationships with their family.

Many people are concerned about the social factor of home schooled children. It a common belief that home schooled children will not develop the proper social skills to enable them to interact with others later in life. Home school children form their own social clubs. There are things ranging from their own basketball teams to 4-H Clubs. Some children even get together and go on field trips once a week. Social skills are no longer a problem for home schooled children.

The idea of public education has been debated for years. Students are being faced with so much violence and crime in today public school system that parents are forced to find a suitable alternative. In the past few years, home schooling has had a tremendous rise and has proved to be very successful in providing effective education. Home schooling is just an option that parents have to get their children away from corrupted public education system. Though this is not always the case for all students and all public school systems, it has shown true many times.

Work Cited

Hawkins, Dana. Home-school battles: clashes grow as some in the movement

seek access to public schools. U.S. News and World Report 120 (1996): 57.

Kennedy, John W. Home Schooling Keeps Growing. Christianity Today 41

(1997): 68.

Clicka Christopher J. The Right Choice Home School. Gresham, Oregon: Noble,

1993.

Latham, Andrew S. Home Schooling. (Pros and cons) Educational Leadership

May 1998: 85-86.

Learning Around the Kitchen Table: Alternative Education. The Economist 347

June: 28.

Sullivan, Deidre. Home schooling: Going to School by staying at Home.

American Legion Magazine Sept. 11993: 25+.

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