Can i homeschool

Every educational system offers great opportunities for children to learn new information and skills, as well as harness their own unique qualities and interests. Homeschooling is no different than public school, private school, charter school, unschooling, and other models in that there are pros and cons.

Now it is time to have a very frank conversation about the pros and cons of homeschooling based on feedback from our Calvert parents and others. As you probably know, when you decide to homeschool, you will take on the duties and responsibilities of both a teacher and administrator. You will need to implement lessons, organize field trips, coordinate activities with other parents, and make sure you are compliant with state and local homeschool requirements.

These responsibilities get added to your normal role as a parent. You also have the added financial costs of homeschooling. While there are many free resources available, homeschool supplies such as textbooks, books, paper, art supplies, computers, software, and other homeschool tools cost money. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize the financial costs associated with homeschooling. For example, some programs, like Calvert Education, can actually help minimize costs by bundling resources together into a kit that can include classroom-tested materials, step-by-step lesson manuals, textbooks, reading books, math manipulatives, science kits, and online tools all designed to empower parents to be successful teachers.

However, you cannot escape the fact that by dedicating more time to teaching in your children at home, your family may suffer a loss in income. The challenge is greater if you are a single-parent. Careful budgeting and time management skills will be essential if you are going to homeschool. More time will be dedicated to homeschooling.

Another important change is that while parents normally spend a lot of time with their children, homeschooling parents spend even more time with their kids. The amount of time you need to spend homeschooling is a major lifestyle change that influences the decision of many parents on whether or not they homeschool. Though there are many ways for parents to secure time for themselves, it is important to recognize that you will spend more time with your children than you do currently.

One of the biggest myths we shatter is the idea that homeschool socialization does not exist or that homeschoolers are all weird or do not know how to interact with people.

The truth of the matter is that there are pros and cons with the social experience of homeschoolers, just as there are pros and cons with public school. Experiences will vary for all children, but the fairest way to characterize socialization in a homeschool environment is to say it is different. How is homeschool socialization different? For one thing, homeschoolers do not have the same exposure to peer pressure and bullying, both of which are tied to poorer academic performance and lower self-esteem.

And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and activities with their peers. However, this does not mean that homeschoolers have no access to their peers, or have no ability to play sports or socially interact with others outside their family. In fact, on average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less sedentary, and socialize with a wider mix of adults especially professionals than their public school counterparts.

When it comes to sports, homeschoolers often participate in recreational leagues or homeschool sports classes offered in their community. The past 30 years have seen a significant rise in the number of children being homeschooled the practice of teaching children at home, usually by parents.

However, the global picture is mixed , with little consistency in legislation and regulation, even across countries within the same region. A brief scan shows that homeschooling is legal in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. In the United States, homeschooling is legal in all 50 states and it is estimated that over two million children are currently educated at home, up from ten thousand in the early s. Little information is available on the status of homeschooling in African countries.

South Africa is an exception where homeschooling is expressly permitted under paragraph 51 of the South African Schools Act, The Act requires parents to register their homeschooled children with the provincial department for education.

However, many departments for education do not have sufficient capacity to administer such a registration process, leading to a high proportion of homeschooling parents simply not doing so. This means precise figures for children being homeschooled are not available, but are estimated to be between sixty thousand and one hundred thousand children annually.

Across Europe, while homeschooling largely appears to be on the rise , the landscape, in terms of legislation and regulation, is varied.

In some countries, such as France , the United Kingdom , Austria, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Ireland homeschooling is widely accepted as a legitimate alternative to state or private schools. There are, conversely, a number of European countries where homeschooling is illegal. Under international law, the child is the primary beneficiary of the right to education and education must conform to certain aims. International law additionally stipulates that states are legally bound to structure their education systems, whether delivered by the state or a private provider, in order to ensure that these requirements are met ICESCR, Article 13; CRC, Articles 28 and Ultimately, what this means is that international law places obligations on states to ensure that children, as rights-holders, are able to enjoy their right to education, and the provision of that education must conform to certain aims and minimum standards.

Similarly, the German education ministry highlights the essential role school-based education plays in the socialisation of children , and the importance of such socialisation to other cultures, religions, and customs in order for every child to grow up to be a well-rounded citizen in an increasingly multicultural society. Indeed, one of the drivers of the creation of human rights law in the aftermath of World War II was a desire to protect the freedoms of religious minorities.

So, although children are the primary beneficiaries of the right to education, international law recognises that children are not fully autonomous rights-holders, and that parents and legal guardians have the right to exercise freedom of religion and conscience, which includes freedom from unnecessary state interference in how they chose to bring up their children International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [, ICCPR], Article 18 4 ; ICESCR, Article 13 3.

The freedom of non-state actors to establish private schools, although intimately connected with freedom of religion and conscience and a key means to protect it, is a freedom that extends to everyone. This means that anyone can establish and operate any type of school with certain restrictions, discussed below.

Other than religious schools, schools that cater for Indigenous Peoples and minorities, particularly linguistic minorities , are common and are a key means of protecting culture. No notice, Low regulation Low regulation Moderate regulation High regulation. This is true even if your legal residency is in another state and you are only living elsewhere temporarily such as if you are an active member of the military completing a temporary assignment.

And it can be a great option! Whether your child is physically or mentally disabled or has a specific learning disability or a learning block, homeschooling may be the best option to help them thrive educationally. You may not be a special education expert, but you are an expert on your child.