As a teacher with an M.Ed. in Secondary Education who had to go through major hoops to get certified as a business education and CTE teacher in Minnesota, I have a lot of mixed feelings about home schooling. I've met kids who have been home schooled successfully and who have small businesses of their own after high school or have gone on to college -- and I've met kids who were home schooled and they don't know how to read or spell well, and neither do the parents who home schooled them.
One thing I will say about home schooling is that typically the student is very respectful of adults and others. If they are from a Christian home they are often well-grounded in their faith. I do believe that home schooling protects children from the taunting and bullying that can take place in public schools and thus their self-esteem will be stronger.
A previously home schooled student signed up for one of my online courses. The parent called and complained to the school counselor that my course was too difficult and required too much time and they wanted to drop it. After talking with the parent and student, I discovered that they were only used to spending 5 hours per week on their studies for all of the subjects the student was learning. Certainly it was overwhelming for my student to suddenly have six courses and spend six hours per day studying. It was at this point that I began to seriously question whether home schooled kids get a quality education, particularly during the upper grade levels when math and science courses in the traditional schools contain geometry, trig, calc, physics and chemistry. Personally I would not be qualified to teach these courses to my children and I doubt whether all of the parents home schooling their children are qualified to teach those subjects. So how do they handle those subjects? Do they have someone else teach their children those subjects. Would that be legal if the person doing the teaching isn't certified to teach?
It is my opinion that the success of home schooling depends on the education levels of the parent(s) and their willingness to continue lifelong learning along with their children. It requires a lot of discipline and organization on the part of the parent(s) to set a schedule and stick to it when other things come up that may distract them during the day. The kids I know who are successfully home schooled also have a portion of their home dedicated as a classroom with educational decor and supplies. This helps to set the atmosphere that they are now doing their schoolwork rather than just playing in the home. Taking advantage of every educational resource available, learning to play an instrument, and participating in social activities at church and in the community will also help to contribute to home schooling success.
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