Homeschooling: Academics, Socialization and College Admissions Prospect

Homeschooling: Academics, Socialization and College Admissions Prospects Homeschooling is probably one of the least known and least understood issues in education. Many people tend to think that most homeschoolers are religious conservatives or extremists. However, the truth is that people from all walks of life are joining the homeschooling bandwagon (Ray, 2004). The main misconception is that homeschooled children don’t get the same academic and social education as traditionally schooled children. Contrary to popular perception, homeschooled children have the same, if not better academic opportunities, social opportunities and college admissions prospects than traditionally schooled students have. According to Mary Griffith, author of the book The Homeschooling Handbook, the concept of homeschooling is nothing new to society. It is only in the past 150 years that public school system as we know it came into effect (Griffith, 1999). Prior to that, â€Å"†¦the family was the basis for social life†¦the home was where children learned what was necessary to function in their community† (1999). By the mid-1970s, there were barely any people practicing homeschooling (Ray, 2004). However, over the past twenty years there has been a resurgence in people choosing homeschooling (2004). There has been a 500 percent increase in homeschooling from the 1990-1991 school year to the 2002-2003 school year (2004). The National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) estimates â€Å"that between 1.7 and 2.1 million students were being homeschooled in the U.S., in every grade level from kindergarten through twelfth grade†¦Indications are that the growth rate is between 7 percent and 15 percent per year † (2004). People choose to homeschool for a var... ...s and traditional school graduates. Journal of College Admission, Spring 2004, p17. Klicka, Chris (2002) Socialization: homeschoolers are in the real world. Issue Analysis, Home School Legal Defense Association. Retrieved April 10, 2005 from www.hslda.org. Kochenderfer R, & Kanna E. (2002). Homeschooling for success: How parents can create a superior education for their child. New York NY: Warner Books. Ray, Brian D. Ph.D (2004). Worldwide guide to homeschooling: Facts and stats on the benefits of home school. Nashville TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Saba L., & Gattis J. (2002). The McGraw-Hill homeschooling companion. New York NY: McGraw-Hill Publishers. Zehr, Mary Ann. (2003). Home school students adjust to new homes on college campuses. Education Week, Vol. 23, Issue 2, p6. Retrieved April 22, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.