Homeschooling Methods: How State Regulation and Professional Tutoring Can Really Benefit

[Anonymous]

I've been reading quite a lot lately on homeschooling from different blogs and articles written by parents and homeschooled kids, on how awesome homeschooling can be. The ones that I've read the most are the Pros vs Cons, and how homeschooling is better and more efficient than public school. Public school can definitely have many negative sides; like bullying, terrible curriculums, and horrible scheduling that forces kids to get up super early, and parents to have lots of issues with working around their work schedules. Homeschooling can also have some negative sides however; like lack of socialization/sheltering, kids being taught by dysfunctional or unprepared parents, and kids missing opportunities they would have had if they'd gone to PS (honor classes, professional advanced courses etc.).

An example article: https://www.homeschool-companion.com/pros-and-cons-of-homeschooling.html

To solve all of the issues from both sides, I think that homeschooling could work really well if it's state regulated and financed, and professional tutors are also provided by the state. Here are my Top 5 explanations on why I think this approach would work very well:

1. EDUCATION:

A professional tutor (fully funded by the state) would be able to make sure that the children are up to the current educational standards. If the child is behind, a tutor specializing in teaching remedial courses or working with children who have learning disabilities would really be able to help the parents decide what courses would fit the child the best, instead of relying on regular book teaching methods. For example, if a kid has Dyslexia, they might need special tutoring or therapy to help them get over it. Using a standard homeschooling or public schooling curriculum might not work very well at all for them. The same could be true for a very gifted child, who would need a really specialized curriculum in order to not be bored, and to be able to reach their full potential.

2. SOCIALIZATION:

If homeschooling were state regulated, then the children would technically be following an approved state curriculum with professional teachers, which means that they'd be totally eligible for attending PS sports, classes, and any extracurriculars that they want to. They'll be able to enjoy the best benefits of school, make friends with all different types of kids, and be just as socialized as the average public schooler. Also, I think it'd be a good idea if kids were allowed to take some classes in-person and tutor the rest at home, to be able to work around the parents schedules, and still participate in most of their favorite classes.

3. SAFETY:

On one hand, dysfunction comes from so many regular families, but it can also show up in quite a few homeschooling families (Que Homeschoolers Anonymous. I'd link it but the stories on there are a bit extreme, I realise not all homeschooling families are like that, but the abuse happens and kids don't ever deserve that) as well. If a professional tutor were used, they could make sure that the children weren't living in a controlling and unstable environment with abusive parents/siblings.

On the other hand, homeschooling with part time public school extracurriculars would allow kids to experience the most fun parts of school without having to worry about being targeted or trapped by bullies, in the hallway or in-between classes.

4. MEETING STANDARDS AND OPPORTUNITIES:

Professional tutors would make sure that the kids who needed remedial work were fully caught up to their grade level, and would be able to help them in specific areas the parents would be unable to (Highschool math or biology for example) adequately help with. For gifted children, a professional tutor could help the parents to see how far advanced the kid is, and even provide a professional reference for even a very young child to attend honors classes, or even community college if they're really brilliant.

5. COST AND JOBS:

The cost would be totally free to parents because everything would be funded by the state. Regulated homeschooling would also open up thousands of new jobs for newly graduated teachers or teacher assistants who weren't able to find work in regular public schools, because of too much competition for jobs.

Homeschooling and public school both have their negative and positive sides, and I think that if you combined the best of the both of them, you would end up with a really brilliant teaching method for children.

[Ccmeu]

I have been homeschooled all of my life and several things you mentioned as problems are not problems.. First, most homeschoolers are very socialized. Most attend some sort of homeschool group where they take classes and make friends. The majority of my friends can hold a solid, intelligent conversation with anyone on a variety of adult topics. As for PE, there are many sports teams that allow homeschoolers to join. I was on three different volleyball teams, and I have mamy friends who are on basketball, football, gymnastics, and even fencing teams. Many also are involved in the arts. I know many who are regular players in local production companies, and others who have now graduated and act professionally. That also ties into socialization. As for advanced classes, most community colleges allow homeschoolers to take classes with permission from the dean. I did that and began honors college classes at 15. Quite a few do that. My friend's brother started at 14. It's a shame all of the extra curricular things that can be done while homeschooling have not been talked about more.

I do not believe homeschooling should be state regulated... if it was, the curriculum would be as bad a the public schools. There are state regulated online school options, depending on where you live. Those are comparable, but again, it's basically public school at home. What makes homeschooling great is that it's not just done at home, but it's a different type of schooling entirely. Homeschool students flourish, earn higher standardized test scores on average, and are sought after by universities because homeschooling can be tailored to the student. If it was state regulated, that would go away. Sorry, that was long. Thanks for reading. :)

[myTake Owner]

Yes, I know that HS kids can be socialized and do very well with school... But my point in writing that was to say that I think everything could be improved: What if a kid needed a professional tutor, whether it was for remedial work, or even if they were really gifted and needed something as challenging as possible? A professional tutor could also customize the curriculum the kid needed as much as possible and still make sure they'd meet all the state's standards. Also, the tutor could customize the hours, so the kids could do all of the extracurriculars they wanted to, and still have access to PS classes/field trips/activities too.

On top of all that, state regulated homeschooling would be totally free with no extra cost to the parents... Most of the activities you listed cost money right? But what if the family didn't have the resources or the income to go to or fund all those activities, or even community college?

[Ccmeu]

Every homeschool parent I have ever known has done everything you listed a tutor would do, and it has never cost a taxpayer a cent. Because free homeschooling sounds great, but there would have to be a way to pay those tutors. How? Add some kind of tax. Sure, the government could cut some of its pointless multi-billion dollar expenses, but it won't.
Regarding special needs and gifted kids.. the families I know with special needs kids sometimes get advice from a special ed teacher (but not always, usually it's just research), and adapt accordingly. Homeschool special needs kids are much more functional and independent then the ones with the same conditions taught by public school people. (From what I've seen, anyway)
As for gifted students, they just do the higher level curriculum and it suits them well. When they're ready, they go to advanced classes, like my friend's bro. He was 14 when he started adv calc at the community college.

[Ccmeu]

As for the financial side of the issue, it might would be totally free to the parents, but not ti the government/taxpayers. Yes, you're right, most of the things I listed cost money, but not as much as you might think. A lot of homeschool group classes are held in churches and are often free or a small charge per class. For them, it's not about money, but about the students. I've done a ton of homeschool group lessons and tours of different things at only $5, $10, $15, sometimes $20 per person (depending on what it is). It works out that way because we go in big groups at off times. You just call and ask what deals you can get with so many people on such day. You'd be surprised how many museums, theaters, and community centers let HSers take tours, classes, and see shows at a low cost. Regarding community college, most have financial aid if really necessary. Now, people who HS don't usually go down that road without knowing they can handle everything with one source of income. :)

[myTake Owner]

If the government were careful with how it spent the funding, instead of wasting HUNDREDS of billions every year, I think they could work something out. I'm not sure about special needs kids, if you're talking about medical conditions; I meant kids who had learning issues, or who were just behind and needed to catch up. However, the kids would still be at home and could get all of the same benefits, but with regulation homeschooling would give them access to as many opportunities and teachers as possible, and the parents could still choose special classes/teachers as much as they wanted to.

Yeah, I think the community college option is brilliant for gifted kids. But, my point was that with regulation HSing could make it a lot easier for the parents to find resources for their kids; hiring special tutors, structuring a curriculum that would work really well for them, and even giving a professional reference for college, so if they weren't directly approved, they'd have more options.

[myTake Owner]

Also, the parents could sign the kids up for as many extracurriculars that they wanted to... My point was that the kids should have access to options, and not be stuck in a particular system, one way or the other.

[Ccmeu]

Yeah, but unfortunately they won't. I lost hope in the government long ago.

Oh I meant them too, sorry, I should have specified. You'd be surprised how adept parents become at adapting curriculum for special needs and slow/difficult learners. I personally think parents are better teaching their own kids with those issues, because they know how their minds work.

The thing is, by the time HS kids are the age when they really need specific curriculum for their learning style, they have been doing it long enough that the parents know which ones work best for the child. As for professional references, a lot of homeschoolers start jobs, internships, and vokunteer work at a younger age then regular school kids are able to. So professional references are hardly ever a problem.

Quick question... you're not homeschooled, are you?

[myTake Owner]

That was part of my main point: The parents can BECOME adept, but why not start with the most options, and from a professional standard? All by themselves, parents don't or can't know all of the options. Even if the tutor turned out to only barely be useful, at the very least the parents were given a different perspective on how to handle everything. So, what's so bad about parents receiving professional help for their kids, and for free? Also, what I'm saying wouldn't apply to kids with medical issues, because that's too complex for what I'm writing.

The entire point of my My Take, was to say that homeschooling can be good, so why not IMPROVE it? Why settle for just covering everything in a certain way, when you can have ALL of the options available to you? I really think having a free professional tutor would really help all kinds of kids, and their parents too... Also, no I'm not homeschooled, which is why I don't mind combining the benefits of PS and HS for the best option.

[Ccmeu]

The the thing is, when kids are in preschool/grade school, curriculum is mostly a no-brainer because of the content. It's mostly the same because of the level. All they're learning at that point are the fundamentals. By the time they really need curriculum that is tailored to their learning style, the parents know enough about the curriculums to know what will work for that particular child.

A tutor might be free to the parents, but someone else will have to pay their salary, most likely through another tax. The country does not need more taxes. The economy is in bad enough shape as it is.

HSers usually have all the options available to them (unless they live out in the middle of nowhere, but those kids are few and far between), and if they don't utilize them, it's because they choose not to.

Ah. Ok. You see, it's difficult to convey all the benefits and options that HS has on paper. As a homeschooler (and I'm sure 99% of anyone who has ever been HSed), I can tell you that

[Ccmeu]

the format of homeschooling works excellently the way it is... you know what they say.. "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." ;)

[myTake Owner]

Hmm, we'll have to agree to disagree then; I haven't been homeschooled, so I can't comment on that stuff. I will say, that if I had kids I'd use the regulated or online homeschooling resources in a heartbeat.

I'm skeptical about that. What could be higher in taxes, than already paying taxes on wasted hundreds of billions of dollars?

[myTake Owner]

Also, after reading a few more stories on Homeschoolers Anonymous, I think that homeschooling can be broken, and doesn't always work out extremely well at all. There can be quite a few loose ends, just like how PS can have. The point of my My Take was to show a way to use the best benefits of both, that gives kids a safe environment to learn in and that makes sure they're fully educated.

[Ccmeu]

The whole program. Yes, the government is wasting money, but they won't fix it. That's the type of government we have. There would have to be a tax to fund it to make it 'free', unless they wanted to print more money. .. and that's an even worse idea. Seriously, even if they did cut spending, there would still be no money. Why? The country is 17 trillion dollars in debt? And the debt continues to increase on average 2.4 billion per day.

We'll also have to agree to disagree there. I think anything regulated will have the exact same curriculum as PS. That totally defeats the purpose of HS.

The bigger problem right now is PS. Are you familiar with Common Core?

[The_Eternal_Emperor]

A much better format, and far more readable than your last attempt. Kudos to you. I agree with some of what you said, but I feel that I must argue one specific point: Socialization.

Being homeschooled does NOT mean the child is not socialized. There are many, many homeschooling groups that home-educated students can attend, and they get plenty of exposure to the outside world. Aside from that, they can still attend social get-togethers such as football games, prom, etc. Being homeschooled does not necessarily mean that the kid is sheltered.

That aside, this was a well-formatted and informative article.

[cipher42]

This. Also, many kids aren't in school exactly because of the socialization that occurs there. Kids should be allowed to decide for themselves to a great extent how much or little time they want to spend with other kids.

[myTake Owner]

Thank you, but my point was that in public school, kids get to be around people their parents won't always approve of, which in some cases can be a really good thing. @cipher42 LOL that was the point of my article.

[rjroy3]

Honestly the only thing that public schools really have to offer that homeschooling doesn't already is higher level sports. Even that gap is closer.

We're better off having tax dollars go to helping find private schools and homeschooling programs then to somehow love homeschoolers into a public program. They are already proved it to work better, why not make it easier and more efficient so fewer students fall between the cracks

[myTake Owner]

@rjroy3 Because kids who need remedial work or who are gifted might need professional help, which would prevent them from falling through any cracks. Also, PS programs would still be useful because they wouldn't be any extra cost to the parents, while still being awesome for the kids; the kids could still be just as socialized as PS kids, and be able to have the kinds of friends they wanted (not pre approved by the parents), and still be able to avoid bullies!

[rjroy3]

The public schools would have to allow kids who are not students in their school to enroll in those programs. Some states have this and it works out well for clubs and such.

[myTake Owner]

@rjroy3 Yep, which is why if homeschooling were state regulated and professional teachers/tutors were used, then the kids would be approved for classes/sports in EVERY school district.

[rjroy3]

State accreditation is all that is necessary for all of that to take place. State regulation would just be controlling homeschool programs by a broken systems standards. I agree with the tutors who are qualified to teach when the parents are not, but that's why parents send their kids to some homeschool institutions to have that taken care of already. Most the issues you're talking about already have solutions, just some parents aren't aware of the information out there. That's why a better solution would be to both inform parents and (if the state is to be involved at all) offer tax dollars to the whole institutions not just the tutors.

[myTake Owner]

@rjroy3 Yes, but with regulation the accreditation would be the default, not from classes/teachers/institutions that you'd have to look for. I also think regulating homeschooling would also work really well for families who didn't have those options/couldn't travel/didn't have the money to spend etc.

[myTake Owner]

Also, to the OP: I realize HS kids can be socialized, but my point in the My Take was to say that the kids could have as many options as possible, and for free too. By sheltered I meant that they might not have the opportunity to hang around really different types of people, which of course is probably one of the main reasons that parents homeschool, lol But, my point was that once they get older and need to deal with people on their own, they might not be fully aware of how people can really act until they're stuck in a situation with them, which can be a dangerous thing too.

[Whitestone1]

expecting your child to have a tutor just for your child that is skilled in all subject matter is unrealistic. I was homeschooled my whole life and I am now a teacher. Teachers are under paid as it is. Imagine if each teacher was paid $40,000 a year. Now Imagine that each student would have their own teacher because that is how homeschooling works. Just on teachers the the government would have to put $40,000 a year out for each student. Not to mention text books still. One of the benefits of homeschooling is the one on one attention that each student gets and if parents didn't have to put any work into their children's schooling and it was free and they knew their student would get one on one attention of course every parent would want that for their student. If you ever have any questions about homeschooling feel free to private message me. I was home schooled 12 years by parents who were teachers before they ever had children and then i when to college to become a teacher and did my student teaching and worked in the public schools and now I am teaching at a private school so i have seen it all.

[myTake Owner]

Here you might want to look at these links: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cmb.asp and www.facethefactsusa.org/.../money-cant-buy-genius

See? If the government can waste hundreds of billions of dollars each year, they should be able to fund homeschooling enough to give kids one-on-one attention without a problem. Also, having special tutors would make sure the children were as well educated as possible, even if it meant switching teachers, special classes, etc. There are some things that parents just can't do, like give a professional reference for college, for example.

[Whitestone1]

those links are saying they are paying $11,000 only a 4th of what a teacher costs...

[myTake Owner]

Did you look at the second link? The USA wastes HUNDREDS of billions of dollars every year, and hundreds more than the other countries do... If they can waste so much money every single year, there's got to be a solution they can work out.

[Anonymous]

Lovely ideas, highly unrealistic. The government would never pour that amount of money into funding that.

[myTake Owner]

Here you might want to look at this link: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cmb.asp

See? So funding homeschooling couldn't be anymore unrealistic than already spending thousands of dollars per kid.

[myTake Owner]

Also this: www.facethefactsusa.org/.../money-cant-buy-genius

The USA spends thousands more than other countries, but their students' performance is worse.

[SnowHearth]

Nice ideas, though I believe there is something missing (I can't remember right now)...