Alex Linder
February 1st, 2007, 03:01 PM
[By way of comparison, there are 30,000 HS in Utah, 20,000 in France. Gotta love the bilge about socialization. Yes, a book-hater with a tramp stamp is going to "socialize" your kid properly, unlike backwards old you.]
Homeschooling Presents Pros, Cons
By Alicia Coffman - 10 Jan 2007
After many years of prayer and study, Stephanie Freeman made a decision she never expected to make. She decided to home school her children.
"I wanted my children to have the best education that could be offered academically, socially, spiritually and culturally," she said. That was at home.
Freeman has been home schooling her children for the past 10 years. She is also a BYU professor and has been teaching speech classes for 17 years.
Her first thought was to investigate private schools, but they were expensive and although they had some advantages over public schools, they didn't offer everything she wanted or expected in a school.
She attended home schooling conventions for five years before she decided she was committed enough to home school her own children.
"I had always pictured myself sending my children off to public school," she said. "I had never dreamed that I would change my mind once I became a parent."
Freeman is one of many parents who home school their children. There are about 30,000 students being home-schooled in Utah, said Terri Bush, the publicity chair for the Utah Home Education Association.
Although teaching children at home can provide flexibility and often a solid education, many worry that the lack of socialization with other students is a major drawback of home schooling.
Jerry Gribble, a teacher for more than 30 years at Provo High School, said a major component of education is socialization within the student's age group.
"Obviously a home-schooled child misses out on the socialization public school provides," he said.
Mark Mickelsen, director of communications for the Utah Education Association, said because of the lack of socialization with other students in their own age group, often these home-schooled students who return to public school can't handle the social demands placed on them.
"When they enter society or go back to public school they are thrown into a public sector again and dealing with diversity and other challenges," Mickelsen said. "The problem is their ability to interact socially is impeded because they've never had it before."
In public school, he said, there are problems in each stage that prepare the student for the next steps in life. Without this, home-schooled students are eventually thrown into social situations that they couldn't possible be prepared to deal with.
"Even with a top-rated education in the home, you can't add the social aspect," he said. "It's to the home-schooled student's detriment."
Some believe, however that the social aspect can be fulfilled in home schooling as long as the parents and students put forth an effort.
Phil Murphy, a teacher at Provo High School, decided to home school his children when a teacher told him, after a month of observation, his child needed Ritalin.
After sitting in the class and watching the students do eight worksheets in two hours, he realized there was a serious flaw in the education system, not in his son.
Murphy said although a lack of socialization is a major drawback to home schooling , parents can work hard to see their children have the proper socialization.
Murphy and his wife formed fieldtrip groups with other home-schoolers and also allowed playtime after school hours so the children could play with other children their age.
As he looks back on his experience of home schooling, Murphy said the best thing about home schooling children is that it builds family unity - he taught his children to read cuddled up on his lap. Another highlight, he said, was the greater possibility for a more effective education.
"There is no better education than one where there is no bell schedule," Murphy said "You can take as much or as little time as it takes. There's a special element of flexibility with home schooling."
Simliarly, Greg Hudnall the Provo School District director of human affairs, said his only concern about home schooling is those parents who don't realize how much time and effort it takes.
"Unfortunately, once in a while we do have a child show up at a public school after a few years of home schooling who is behind academically," Hudnall said. 'This is the minority, not the majority."
As one of the parents who realizes the time and effort involved, Freeman said home schooling can be whatever the parent and child makes it to be and the opportunities are endless.
"Home schooling doesn't mean staying at home secluded from the world; you can go anywhere and learn from anyone," she said. "You can use any materials you wish. When you're home schooling, learning becomes a way of life, not a six-hour day at school."
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/62479
Homeschooling Presents Pros, Cons
By Alicia Coffman - 10 Jan 2007
After many years of prayer and study, Stephanie Freeman made a decision she never expected to make. She decided to home school her children.
"I wanted my children to have the best education that could be offered academically, socially, spiritually and culturally," she said. That was at home.
Freeman has been home schooling her children for the past 10 years. She is also a BYU professor and has been teaching speech classes for 17 years.
Her first thought was to investigate private schools, but they were expensive and although they had some advantages over public schools, they didn't offer everything she wanted or expected in a school.
She attended home schooling conventions for five years before she decided she was committed enough to home school her own children.
"I had always pictured myself sending my children off to public school," she said. "I had never dreamed that I would change my mind once I became a parent."
Freeman is one of many parents who home school their children. There are about 30,000 students being home-schooled in Utah, said Terri Bush, the publicity chair for the Utah Home Education Association.
Although teaching children at home can provide flexibility and often a solid education, many worry that the lack of socialization with other students is a major drawback of home schooling.
Jerry Gribble, a teacher for more than 30 years at Provo High School, said a major component of education is socialization within the student's age group.
"Obviously a home-schooled child misses out on the socialization public school provides," he said.
Mark Mickelsen, director of communications for the Utah Education Association, said because of the lack of socialization with other students in their own age group, often these home-schooled students who return to public school can't handle the social demands placed on them.
"When they enter society or go back to public school they are thrown into a public sector again and dealing with diversity and other challenges," Mickelsen said. "The problem is their ability to interact socially is impeded because they've never had it before."
In public school, he said, there are problems in each stage that prepare the student for the next steps in life. Without this, home-schooled students are eventually thrown into social situations that they couldn't possible be prepared to deal with.
"Even with a top-rated education in the home, you can't add the social aspect," he said. "It's to the home-schooled student's detriment."
Some believe, however that the social aspect can be fulfilled in home schooling as long as the parents and students put forth an effort.
Phil Murphy, a teacher at Provo High School, decided to home school his children when a teacher told him, after a month of observation, his child needed Ritalin.
After sitting in the class and watching the students do eight worksheets in two hours, he realized there was a serious flaw in the education system, not in his son.
Murphy said although a lack of socialization is a major drawback to home schooling , parents can work hard to see their children have the proper socialization.
Murphy and his wife formed fieldtrip groups with other home-schoolers and also allowed playtime after school hours so the children could play with other children their age.
As he looks back on his experience of home schooling, Murphy said the best thing about home schooling children is that it builds family unity - he taught his children to read cuddled up on his lap. Another highlight, he said, was the greater possibility for a more effective education.
"There is no better education than one where there is no bell schedule," Murphy said "You can take as much or as little time as it takes. There's a special element of flexibility with home schooling."
Simliarly, Greg Hudnall the Provo School District director of human affairs, said his only concern about home schooling is those parents who don't realize how much time and effort it takes.
"Unfortunately, once in a while we do have a child show up at a public school after a few years of home schooling who is behind academically," Hudnall said. 'This is the minority, not the majority."
As one of the parents who realizes the time and effort involved, Freeman said home schooling can be whatever the parent and child makes it to be and the opportunities are endless.
"Home schooling doesn't mean staying at home secluded from the world; you can go anywhere and learn from anyone," she said. "You can use any materials you wish. When you're home schooling, learning becomes a way of life, not a six-hour day at school."
http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/62479