Changes

Education at public school year-round from about ages 6 to 18 only became common in the 20th century due to [[compulsory education]] laws.  The first law requiring attendance at public school passed in Massachusetts in 1852; the second such law passed in Washington D.C. in 1864; and most states did not pass mandatory schooling laws until between 1870 and 1917.<ref>http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kellmeyer/050428</ref>

Education at public school year-round from about ages 6 to 18 only became common in the 20th century due to [[compulsory education]] laws.  The first law requiring attendance at public school passed in Massachusetts in 1852; the second such law passed in Washington D.C. in 1864; and most states did not pass mandatory schooling laws until between 1870 and 1917.<ref>http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kellmeyer/050428</ref>

But even under compulsory education laws in the late 1800s, the school year was only twelve to twenty weeks long.  Very few stayed in school from ages 6 tto 18.  For example, by 1900, only 6% of Americans had graduated from a formal high school.  Moreover, these students did not learn basic skills like reading in school; they learned them at home.<ref>''id.''</ref>

But even under compulsory education laws in the late 1800s, the school year was only twelve to twenty weeks long.  Very few stayed in school from ages 6 to 18.  For example, by 1900, only 6% of Americans had graduated from a formal high school.  Moreover, these students did not learn basic skills like reading in school; they learned them at home.<ref>''id.''</ref>

An early call for homeschooling in the U.S. was by [[John Holt]] and his 1964 book ''[[How Children Fail]].'' Holt was "a left-winger who regarded schools as instruments of the bureaucratic-industrial complex."<ref>Micklethwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge, ''The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America.'' Penguin, 2004. pp. 190-1</ref> However, the movement was also catalyzed when [[social conservative]]s became alarmed at the 1962 U. S. Supreme Court ruling which banned [[school-sponsored prayer]] in public schools.

An early call for homeschooling in the U.S. was by [[John Holt]] and his 1964 book ''[[How Children Fail]].'' Holt was "a left-winger who regarded schools as instruments of the bureaucratic-industrial complex."<ref>Micklethwait, John and Adrian Wooldridge, ''The Right Nation: Conservative Power in America.'' Penguin, 2004. pp. 190-1</ref> However, the movement was also catalyzed when [[social conservative]]s became alarmed at the 1962 U. S. Supreme Court ruling which banned [[school-sponsored prayer]] in public schools.