Many parents chose to teach their children at home for many reasons: religion, illness, family problems, because they feel it is better than going to school, etc... There are probably thousands of reasons. A lot of people think it will give their children a better education. I will not say whether it is or not, that is a personal opinion. Some people might say "What kind of people are they?", because they feel home- schooling is wrong or mean to the child. The answer is very simple, they are normal people. Wanting their child to get a good education, and yet maybe feeling their child is not getting that in school.

        I have been Homeschooled since Jan. 1992. My mom had to pull me out of school because I was so sick I couldn't make it the whole day. The school wouldn't help at all and threatened to turn the matter over to the court if I wasn't in school everyday, for the whole day. So, we really didn't have much of a choice. I couldn't go to school, the school wouldn't help and the doctors wouldn't in any way back us up.

        Since that time, I have talked to other kids who have been homeschooled, some have never been to school. I really have no reason to believe they are deprived of anything. There are advantages as well as disadvantages. Although, if I weren't sick, there are a lot of homeschooling programs where kids can get involved in sports or extra activities. All the kids I have talked to get a extremely good education and are very well rounded people. Also, my mom has talked to some parents who are homeschooling. One way to get into touch with them would be to write and get a free sample of the magazine: Growing without Schooling. They have a listing of names of people who support homeschooling and can help you. Write to the following address:

        Growing without Schooling Boston, MA 02116

        As for the laws in the United States, homeschooling, when it is done responsibly, is legally protected by the Constitution of the United States in all 50 states. The parents have the right, as parents, to teach their children at home. In the US the following laws apply: (these are summed up)

        1) Parents have the right to educate their children in whatever way they believe in; the state cannot impose on all parents any kind of educational monopoly, of schools, methods, or whatever.

        2) The state may not deprive parents of this right for arbitrary reasons, but only for serious educational ones, which it must make known to parents, with all forms of due process.

        3) A state that would deny parents these rights by saying that their home education plan is inadequate has a burden of proof to show beyond reasonable doubt that this is so. Parents are assumed to be competent to teach their children until proved otherwise. This Assumption of Competence is kin to and part of the general Assumption of Innocence (of the accused) which holds in all criminal proceedings.

        4) In order to prove that the parents' education plans are inadequate, the state must show that its own requirements, regulations, etc.., are educationally necessary and do in fact produce, in its own schools, better results than the parents get or are likely to get.

        To find out more about laws in your state you can contact your state legislators and ask them for the laws on education. Also, you may be able to find the laws from your library or courthouse in your area.

        For the most part, most parents do not have trouble with the state interfering. Usually, you can get books from your local school, or, what might be better, is to find a program for homeschoolers that will provide books and tests. At the end of this I will put some addresses of places with programs for homeschoolers. There is also a form you can get to join a Home school Legal Defense Association. I have gotten some of my information from a book called Teach Your Own, by John Holt. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is homeschooling or thinking about it. It has a lot of valuable information.

        Also I would like to make clear that as a parent you do not need an education in teaching to teach your own children. Usually they prefer if you have a high school diploma or a GED. But it is not necessary to have a degree or certificate in education.

        As for your child having the opportunity to go to college in the future, a lot of colleges will accept homeschoolers, feeling that they have an equal education to a high school student.

        The following is a list of Correspondence Schools: