IntroAs one of the fastest growing trends in modern education and with more members than ever before, it is no wonder that homeschooling has received recent media coverage (Swartout-Corbeil; Saba and Gattis 1, National Household Education Surveys Program 1). However, many people are unsure about the reality of homeschooling (Saba and Gattis XI).
Some of its critics show concerns over its claimed negative effects on a child’s ability to socialize with other children, while some were doubtful of its academic effectiveness (Saba and Gattis 5; Pitman). On the other hand, homeschoolers and their supporters say that it offers greater academic benefits than conventional schooling, and does not deprive a child socially either (Saba and Gattis 2; Dorian and Tyler 46). But amidst all this talk, what really are the effects of homeschooling on a child, on both the academic and social levels?BackgroundSimply put, homeschooling is the practice of educating children of school-age at their home instead of at a public school with other children (Swartout-Corbeil). The history of homeschooling goes all the way back to the early colonial times (Pitman). In fact, countless renowned men were homeschooled as kids, such as the ones pointed out by Linda Dobson: Some of the greatest minds of all time were homeschooled. Thomas Edison, Ben Franklin.
Charles Dickens, John Quincy Adams…Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, and Woodrow Wilson were all homeschooled, just to name a few! (196)In early history, homeschooling appealed widely to many families as the bulk of public schools were very exclusive in their selective process except to either the wealthy, or those of a specific ethnicity or gender. As a r. . url.
com/pvojhh>. National Household Education Surveys Program. 1. 5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007. Issue brief no.
NCES 2009?030. 1. 5 Million Homeschooled Students in the United States in 2007. National Household Education Surveys Program, Dec.
2008. Web. 14 Nov. 2009. ed. gov/pubs2009/2009030. pdf>. Pitman, Mary Anne. “Homeschooling. ” Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society. Encyclopedia. com, 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. encyclopedia. com/doc/1G2-3402800219. html#citationanchor>. Saba, Laura, and Julie Gattis. McGraw-Hill homeschooling companion. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. Print. Swartout-Corbeil, Deanna M. “Home Schooling. ” Gale Encyclopedia of Children’s Health: Infancy through Adolescence. Encyclopedia. com, 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2009.
