What is homeschooling? It's home education, a method of teaching that's conducted in the family home instead of a public, charter, or private school. Before we had anything like public education, everyone was schooled at home. Sometimes there were also small learning communities.
Homeschool history is rich, because it was the first method of instruction. If a child had an education to speak of, or was instructed by private tutors, he or she was seen as being advantaged. These children usually had important or wealthy families. The only method of gaining an education was informally in the home. Normally parents were the main educators, although at times there were local teachers who would help out.
It's no secret that before the public education system was implemented, the United States had already experienced its literacy peak. This is an important fact to remember in homeschool history. Schooling and educational methods started undergoing a lot of changes in the 1800s. One of the most major changes was implementing laws for compulsory school attendance. The government made it known that education was a human right: Children were entitled to receive a public education. There has been a lot of debate over the success of public schools since that time.
People have even claimed that the public school system is hurting younger children, especially boys, since they mature more slowly. Studies have been conducted to study the effects of formal education on children between the ages of eight and twelve. The research led to this conclusion: That formal schooling is damaging children in mental and physical ways. Some behavioral problems are a direct result of this negativity.
According to the tests conducted in the 1970s for these studies, illiterate tribal mothers did a better job raising their children to be more socially and emotionally advanced than people educating children in the West. Some think that the difference was due to the bond between parents and children. Obviously, the bond isn't strengthened by formal education.
Homeschool history shows a positive trend, and parents follow it by choosing a variety of curricula and teaching methods for their children. Although schooling can be done in a secure home environment, it's usually mandatory for children to complete required tests. Parents who choose to homeschool their children usually do so to ensure that their children receive a quality education.
Discover How to Raise Your Child to Be a True Leader with Our Classical Christian-based Leadership Program. Great for Homeschoolers and Other Parents Who Want to Make Sure their Child Gets the Best Leadership Training Possible.