The number of children homeschooling in America than attending charter schools is supposedly significantly higher. In discussing the state of the country's Education sector, however, it would appear as though charter schools bring more importance than homeschooling.
A study for the National Home Education Research revealed that as of 2010, 2.35 million students are homeschooling in America and that number has risen from two to eight percent per year since 2015. Charter schools, meanwhile, have about 2.5 million enrollees as of 2015, according to the Public Charters report.
So, why is homeschooling still unpopular among American families? Why hasn't homeschooling become part of mainstream education?
One of the biggest myths about homeschooling is the children aren't likely prepared to get into college or even be admitted to one, according to Scary Mommy. Since homeschooled children are taught by their parents and not by trained educators with degrees, they aren't likely to do well in universities, intellectually or socially.
Higher Education institutions, however, are actually keen on taking homeschoolers. According to Stanford, homeschoolers' applications are specifically flagged with special markings or codes at their university.
This institution believes that kids who have been homeschooled have more zest for learning, or have that "intellectual vitality" the university wants for all of its students. Such a pronouncement debunks the college-homeschool myth or the homeschoolers struggle in Higher Education.
Homeschooling's appeal, aside from the fact that it's free, is in its flexibility and personalization. According to Geek Dad, who has been homeschooling his children since 2006, since learning isn't confined to the classroom it works well for kids whose physical, mental and emotional development are still changing.
Homeschooling parents believe that the stigma around this system will not change for the next years to come. There is hope, however, as parents are slowly seeing that they actually have more options in light of the recent changes and issues in the Department of Education under President Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos' administration.
