HOMESCHOOLING CURRICULUM GUIDE ON
Considering Home Education
by Willemien Krüger
I m
oved
my
hous
e fr
om r
ain
to s
un
This book is dedicated to my
sceptical of homeschooling at
afternoon long ago in a panic to learn all she can about it. She is
people about homeschooling I
and everyone!
HOMESCHOOLING CURRICULUM GUIDEon
CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION
by Willemien Krüger
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on
CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION
Copyright © 2013 by Willemien Krüger at:
www.homeschooling-curriculum-guide.com
This book is for encouragement and educational purposes
only. Permission for personal use is granted.
All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic
(photocopying), recording, or otherwise – without prior
permission in writing from the author.
Find support to continuously improve your homeschool on
www.homeschooling-curriculum-guide.com pointing YOU in
the right direction, whether you are starting out homeschooling
or have been doing this for a while.
ISBN: 978-0-9922150-0-2
eISBN:
Cover & Layout design:
Designwave
www.designwave.co.za
PREFACE
The Homeschooling Curriculum Guides series will
be pointing YOU in the right direction as it provides
lots of practical answers to questions by parents
investigating homeschooling. As you read this guide, it
will help you:
Understand
Get the facts as research and statistics are shared
Think about the pros and cons of home education
Think about the real
and traditional school
Decide if homeschooling is for you when reading the
ten steps to decide
Gain insight into why and how some people homeschool
Relate to some perspectives on public school, as shared
by parents with children in school
This book has been developed for the public at large, with
home education as an alternative to traditional schools.
This book will challenge parents to realize that they have
a choice in the education of their children and that the
choice will have long-term consequences. This guide is
best read as a companion to all the other Guides in the
v
series when you have made your decision to home educate
your child(ren).
The seven guides included in the Homeschooling Curriculum
Guides series currently are, in order of a recommended
reading strategy:
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on CONSIDERING HOME EDUCATION
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on HOW TO START HOME EDUCATION
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on CHILD DEVELOPMENT PHASES
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on HOME EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICA
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on ORGANIZATION, ADMINISTRATION AND SOCIALIZATION
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on THE 7-STEP PROCESS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOMESCHOOL
Homeschooling Curriculum Guide on A PERSONAL ECLECTIC CURRICULUM
websites are active and current during the publication
process. If any link is not active, I do apologize. Please
inform the author.
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Contents
PREFACE .....................................................................................................................................v
1. INTRODUCING HOMESCHOOLING – THE
MORE EXCELLENT WAY .........................................................................1
2. STATISTICS AND RESEARCH ON
HOMESCHOOLING ..........................................................................................5
2.1. HSLDA 2009 Report ......................................................................................7
2.2. Homeschoolers have grown up ..................................................9
2.3. Research in South Africa ..................................................................12
3. PROS AND CONS OF HOMESCHOOLING ....................14
4. TEN STEPS TO HELP YOU DECIDE IF
HOMESCHOOLING IS FOR YOU ...............................................19
5. RELATED ARTICLES: .....................................................................................27
5.1. Homeschooling – the answer maybe? ............................27
5.2. Perspectives on public school ....................................................35
5.3. Mistakes homeschoolers can make ......................................................44
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................54
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1. Introducing homeschooling –the more excellentway
believes that home education is the best option
for creating independent thinkers and nurturing
their natural talents and interests”….said by
announcement of Old Schoolhouse Expo 2010.
Homeschooling is not so much about schooling as
about educating your own children at home. For
many of us this already implies a big paradigm
shift since we have grown up with schooling and
done at a school away from home
and education was done at home.
In reality homeschooling is about
integrating the two, and maybe
the word is a misnomer. The truth
is that when you homeschool
you educate and every time you
Home education is the best option for
creating independent thinkers and nurturing
their natural talents and interests.
1
good education will support you in life anywhere
and all the time. If your child is homeschooled
there may be time and opportunities available which are
not provided by a school system requiring conformance to
preset requirements. I truly believe that potential is not only
not developed but even lost in the constraints any human
designed system has. Many parents are considering the school
systems and they perceive the loneliness, the insecurity, loss
of creativity and interest and the boredom their children
experience, and usually this is the starting point for many to
consider home education. Others may have known all along
that the school system did not develop their own potential
and has therefore considered home education from the start
as the way to educate their own children.
children. Consider it carefully.
What is home education in short:
It is a wonderful journey of educating your children that
one undertakes in faith…the path is not clearly marked.
COMMITMENT you and your family
make to each other.
It is not just a good idea, it is so much more than that.
It is personal decision you make with your heart, and
your head follows later.
It is the right thing to do.
e
d
2
When you have made the decision
you will be surprised at the
positive rewards you will reap....
read these quotes from other real
homeschoolers:
“My children have the opportunity and time to
discover and develop their unique potential.”
so freedom is required for the development of
Learning takes place more integrated in daily
“I can get hugs and kisses all through my day.” “
It is the right thing to do.
3
“My child is more emotionally secure and mature.”
add the ‘manure’.”
blueprint for their lives!”
4
2. Statistics and research onhomeschooling
In numerous studies the quality of education provided
at home has been found to be superior to those
provided in schools. As the evidence accumulates,
established as a valid and
truly effective educational option. This page will provide
some research and statistical information to support this
statement.
In 1997, a study by Dr Brian D Ray
(an internationally known scholar
and president of the National
Home Education Research
Institute (NHERI)) was released
entitled Strengths of Their Own:
Home Schoolers Across America. The study demonstrated
that homeschoolers on the average, out-performed their
counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percent in
Lawrence Rudner of 20 760 homeschooled students which
found the homeschoolers who had been homeschooled
all their school-aged years had the highest academic
achievement. This was especially apparent in the higher
better established as a valid and truly
effective educational option
5
grades. This is good encouragement to families to commit
to the long-range vision and homeschool through high
school.
In this study it was also found that there is no positive
correlation between money spent on education and
student performance. Loving and caring parents are what
6
2.1. HSLDA 2009 Report
Ten years later in 2007, the Home School Legal Defense
Association (HSLDA in USA) again commissioned
Dr Brian D Ray to conduct a nationwide study of
to develop a picture of homeschool students and their
families—capturing their demographics and educational
background—and analyze the impact of certain variables
collected data for the cross-sectional, descriptive study in
2008. The 11 739 participants came from all 50 states, Guam
and Puerto Rico. This research report was released in 2009,
called Homeschool Report 2009: Academic achievement
and Demographics provided by the HSLDA.
The overall conclusion was that homeschoolers are
still achieving higher scores than their public school
counterparts—irrespective of their family background,
socio-economic level or style of homeschooling.
In the study, homeschoolers scored 34–39 percent higher
than the norm on standardized achievement tests.
The homeschool national average ranged from the 84th
percentile for Language, Math, and Social Studies to the
89th percentile for Reading.
7
The study also found that whether or not parents were
no impact on these high scores.
The study also considered the many approaches that
homeschoolers take to education and found hardly any
difference,
in terms of the degree of structure (ranging from very
unstructured approaches such as delight-directed
learning or eclectic teaching approaches to very
structured, pre-planned, and prescribed approaches),
or the amount of time spent per day in parent-directed
learning activities or even enrolment in a full-service
textbooks, lesson plans, evaluations, counselling and
record-keeping in all core subjects).
The vast majority of the parents in the study were
married (97.9%).
The families had an average of 3,5 children compared to
formal education level was
above average (but the homeschooled students whose
parents did not have college degrees still performed at
the 83rd percentile).
8
2.2. Homeschoolers have grown up
Ihas “grown up,” and there were enough homeschool
graduates to begin to see how they are succeeding in
their homes, in their work and in their lives. Research was
question to see how homeschoolers have fared in community
life. The complete research report called Home Educated
and Now Adults: Their Community and Civic Involvement,
Views About Homeschooling, and Other Traits is available
from NHERI. The HSLDA also released a synopsis of this
report called “Homeschooling grows up”. The results refute
long-held criticisms of homeschooling and seem to indicate
that homeschooling produces successful adults who are
actively involved in their communities and who continue
to value education for themselves and their children.
The following is a brief summary of some results:
Over 74% of home-educated adults aged 18–24 took
college-level courses, compared to 46% of the general
United States population.
Homeschool graduates engaged in a wide variety of
occupations
Homeschool graduates were active and involved in their
communities.
71% participated in an ongoing community service
9
activity (e.g. coaching a sports team, volunteering at
a school, or working with a church or neighbourhood
association), compared to 37% of US adults of similar
ages.
Taking all things into consideration, 59% of the subjects
reported that they were “very happy” with life, with
– this implies that nearly all home-educated students
73%
general is that life is exciting compared to less than 48%
(more than 50% of non-homeschooled children found
life boring).
75% of those surveyed were glad that they were
homeschooled, with 66% saying that it had been an
advantage to them as an adult.
55% of them would homeschool their own children.
is the Research facts on homeschooling as published by Dr
Brian D. Ray in 2009, where the following statements are
made:
Colleges are increasingly actively recruiting Homeschool
students.
The home-educated are doing well, typically above
average, on measures of social, emotional and
psychological development. Research measures include
peer interaction, self-concept, leadership skills, family
10
cohesion, participation in community service and self-
esteem.
Homeschooling gives young people an unusual chance
to ask questions such as “Who am I?” and “What do I
really want?”.
expression can more easily be accommodated in home-
based education.
The reports are available on the websites of the Home
School Legal Defence Association or the National Home
Education Research Institute
11
2.3. Research in South Africa
In South Africa, research done at the University of
South Africa (UNISA) by Ms Dierdre Bester found
that children who received home education performed
academically much better than their school counterparts
and that they were very well adapted socially as well. Her
comprehensive research paper is
called
on the social development and
academic performance of the pre-
adolescent. [this report is available
found that there were many
Home-educated children have:
A greater sense of responsibility;
a positive self-image;
a positive outlook on life;
ability;
an independent
One must never assume that positive
socialization happens in schools
12
Bester also stated that one must never assume that positive
socialization happens in schools – in fact quite the opposite
might be true.
Homeschoolers usually:
Relate better than average both horizontally (with
others about same age) and vertically (with others
younger or older than they);
often take leadership positions;
have positive role models;
build quality friendships; and
have a self-image that is not dependent on group
pressurep
13