Why are the Home-Educated Doing So Well?

May this post encourage all my homeschool friends on their journey to home educate their children. I know it encouraged my heart as we begin another school year!

I recently read an article from The Homeschool Magazine titled "Research Revelations About Homeschooling" by Brian D. Ray.

In the article he cites numerous studies and summarizes the statistics with this quote, "Multiple researchers and their studies repeatedly find, however, the home educated to be developing as well or better socially, emotionally, and psychologically than institutionally schooled children and youth".

So we ask the question, why are the home-educated doing so well? Mr. Ray tries to paint the picture for us with another question for the "professional educator". He says this,
"Ask any "professional educator" the following questions:
1.   How would you like a class size of 3 to 6?
2.   Would you like to be able to individualize or customize the curriculum and pedagogical            approach for each of the students, according to his or her talents, needs, desires, and dreams?
3.   How would you like it if you could essentially tutor each one of your students?
4.   Would you like it if you could depend on the student mastering the knowledge or skill before moving on?
5.   Would you enjoy being able to be flexible and change the curriculum or pedagogy if needed?
6.   What if you regularly had time to stop for the teachable moment?
7.   What if there were essential value consistency between you and your students, or their parents?
8.   Would it be beneficial to have large amounts of social capital-for example, trust and love-in your classroom?
9.   How would you like it if the biggest distraction during your day was, typically, a 7-year-old arguing with a 10-year-old about whose turn it is to wash the dishes?
10.   How would you like it if you almost always had time to thoughtfully and carefully work out, according to a solid and dependable philosophical framework, with each student how to face dilemmas, challenges, issues, temptations, and difficult relationships in life?
11.   What if you cared so much about, loved each of your students so much, that you would teach for free (i.e., no salary and benefits) all next year?"


Now that, sounds like a system that can and does work! There are a million reasons why we homeschool. The list presented, names a few. And it reminds me of how important the work (that I do for free) is!