Parents often ask about home schooling, does it actually work. They are well aware of the fact that public schools have problems, but really wonder whether they can do any better. One natural response for some parents is to try a little harder to see if they can afford private schooling but, even if this were possible, are the private schools really any better than public schools?
There are many, quality studies which show that, on average, home schooling produces superior students. To an extent of course this is understandable as parents clearly have an effect on education no matter which route they take. A parent who is genuinely interested in the education of his or her children will help to motivate them, producing better results and individual support is certainly an added bonus.
But there is certainly more to it than this, in a variety of situations, to take even this into account and still come to the conclusion that home schooling vs public school produces better results.
Even the United States Education Department agrees. In one study which they sponsored themselves home schooled students produced exceptionally high test scores. The median scores in every grade were far higher than those of public schools and even higher than those of private school students. The average home schooled student in grades one through to vgfour was a grade level above that of public school peers and, by the time home schooled students reached the equivalent of the 8th grade, they were as much as four years ahead of students attending public school.
However , costs were also lower. On average, government schools spent ,500 per student each year and private schools spent ,500. By contrast, parents undertaking home schooling spent about 0 per student each year. This figure for home schooling does not of course take into account the time spent by parents on home schooling for which a public school teacher would be paid.
The public school system as we know it today evolved during the second half of the 19th century as one state after another made school attendance compulsory. Perhaps the most interesting question however, and one which rarely seems to be asked, is why, if public schooling offered such superior value, it was necessary for the states to make it compulsory and to force parents to put their children into the public school system.
It could be, and sometimes is, argued that this was due to the ignorance of rural parents who did not see the value of education. However, it is interesting to note that adult illiteracy rates in 1840 Massachusetts were as low as 2% and that, by 1995, this figure had risen to 19%, in spite of apparently enormous advances in the intervening years. In 1840 libraries were rare and today they are everywhere as books are both relatively inexpensive and easy to trade.
Today over a million children are home schooled in the United States and thousands of home schooled students have attended colleges and universities, including many of the most prestigious and difficult to get into.
Whatever your own thoughts about home schooling vs public school there is no doubt that the results clearly show the advantage of home schooling.
http://www.homeschoolingvspublicschool.info provides advice and information on many aspects of homeschooling and public school and can also be your best home school resource with information on such things as the advantages and disadvantages of home schooling and much more.
The author is a wife and mother who has taught in the public
school system and who has homeschooled 3 children, and who has
enjoyed the experience. She finds it a pleasurable pass time
sharing her experiences and expertise with others which can
sometimes be a mindfield and daunting experience to those new
to home schooling.
You will find an Index of doses, the full typescripts with examples of usage, and an MP3 podcast by visiting: http;//DailyDoseOfEnglish.com Hello and welcome to another Daily Dose of English. For a lark is an idiom. Idioms can be difficult to understand if you look at the words alone. For a lark means that you are doing something for fun or as a joke. It’s often heard in everyday speech as you can see from these examples. The origins of the idiom are obscure. Obscure means hidden from view. So we don’t know where it originated. It seems to have first appeared at the beginning of the 19th Century. The Oxford English Dictionary shows 1811 as the earliest date. It may have something to do with the name of a bird. The lark is a small bird which flies high in the sky, singing its little head off. So, if you do something only for fun, you can say, I only did it for a lark. Someone might say to you, Come on, it’ll be a lark! This means that they think you’ll have fun. You can also say things like sod this for a lark when you don’t want to do something. Perhaps you think it’s silly or a waste of time or you feel that someone is playing a joke on you. So, stop larking about and watch some more of these Daily Doses of English. I hope you enjoyed this Daily Dose of English and I’ll see you again soon for another one. Goodbye for now.” REAL-WORLD EXAMPLES TAKEN FROM THE BRITISH NATIONAL CORPUS. I was only in it for a lark. Under the influence of the drugs we exchanged a few playful …
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