Why Parents Decide to Home School Their Children

The number of children in America being educated at home is still growing. The reasons parents are choosing to remove their children from public or private school institutions are diverse. Most, however, choose one of the following reasons for home schooling their child.

Religious training: With more and more people turning to religion, many parents want an education that highlights and instills their own specific brand of religion in their children. These are the parents who do not want their son or daughter subjected to a textbook's version of their morals or, sometimes worse, one teacher's point of view. Instead, they want their child raised with their specific codes, morals and beliefs.

Educational reasons: With over-crowded classrooms, violence in the school, drugs pervading the school yard, and teacher burn-out increasing, many parents feel the public institution of education has too many problems to deliver a quality education. Although many parents believe the schools are doing their best to provide excellent instruction, the school is often seen as burdened with too many responsibilities beyond teaching. Combine all of these concerns with the acknowledgement that home schooled students often score higher on standardized tests than their public school peers, and the stage is set for home schooling.

Physical or mental limitations of their child: Parents whose child may be physically or mentally challenged often believe their child is being overlooked in the public or private school systems. These children sometimes fare better in both their studies and their emotional well-being when studying with a parent or other caregiver. One must, however, caution the parent who is contemplating removing a special needs student from the public school system as the school has specialists trained in these areas as well as resources not readily available to parents.