[[Image:Homeschool.jpg|right|thumb|300px|A young homeschooled student]]
<small>'''''For the homeschooling courses available for free on this website, see [[Conservapedia:Index]]'''''</small>
<br>'''Homeschooling''' consists of the practice of students receiving education from a parent or guardian, or instructors acting under the direction of a parent or guardian, rather than from teachers in a formal school setting like a [[public school]]. Virtually every area of the United States has local support groups for homeschooling, which often meet in church facilities. Nearly 7% of college-educated parents homeschool their children.<ref>http://www.sagus.us/blog/blog_details.asp?ID=18&p=7&s=7&s2=7</ref> In the [[United States]], '''''an estimated one to two million students are homeschooled, or nearly one out of every 30 students'''''.<ref name="USA Today">httphttps://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-04-homeschooling_N.htm</ref>
Homeschooling grew by almost 75% in the eight years before 2011,<ref>httphttps://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/09/educating-children-evolution-home-schooling</ref> and it has continued to grow at a strong pace despite attacks from teachers' unions and government bureaucrats.<ref>Multiple references:*Berry, Susan (May 21, 2018). [httphttps://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/05/21/homeschooling-thriving-in-face-of-attacks/ Homeschooling Thriving in Face of Attacks]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved May 21, 2018.*Newman, Alex (November 9, 2019). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/33996-homeschooling-draws-unprecedented-interest-among-u-s-parents Homeschooling Draws Unprecedented Interest Among U.S. Parents]. ''The New American''. Retrieved November 9, 2019.See also:*Kraychik, Robert (December 11, 2019). [https://www.breitbart.com/education/2019/12/11/historian-americas-homeschooling-mothers-are-leading-our-next-revolution/ Historian: America’s Homeschooling Mothers Are Leading Our Next Revolution]. ''Breitbart News''. Retrieved December 11, 2019.</ref> In a recent survey, "the average homeschooled student scored at the 88th percentile" in the core subjects of reading, language and math.<ref>http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200908100.asp</ref> The most successful [[mathematician]] in contests in history, Reid Barton, was [[homeschooled]].<ref>http://www.amstat.org/PUBLICATIONS/amsn/index.cfm?fuseaction=highlights0812001</ref> The greatest gymnast ever, 2016 Olympic champion Simone Biles, was homeschooled. One of the greatest college football players—the first to win the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore -- [[Tim Tebow]], was homeschooled until college.<ref>http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/783999/heisman_trophy_winner_tim_tebow_puts.html</ref> A Wimbledon tennis star, Melanie Oudin, chose homeschooling beginning in 7th grade: "With how much I improved in the first year at home, I knew it was the right choice."<ref>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/kevin_armstrong/08/13/melanie.oudin/index.html#ixzz0VSMpJSxF (her twin sister remained in public school)</ref> Homeschooled students make up many of the top college and graduate students in mathematics today.<ref>For example, Princeton University math prodigy Arie Israel "never attended a regular school. His parents home schooled homeschooled both him and his older sister, Rachel, allowing them to work at their own pace and discover their own interests. His dad, Benjamin, a computer programmer, helped him with math and science, while his mom, Rebekah, taught him English and history." [http://weblog.science.fau.edu/info/images/israel.html]</ref>
Homeschooling [[parent]]s have many available options to supplement education at home:
==Homeschooling Statistics==
In the [[United States]], homeschooling includes included an estimated 1.1 million students - – about 2.9% of children in grade grades K-12 - as of – in 2007. "The number of home-schooled kids hit 1.5 million in 2007, up 74% from when the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics started keeping track in 1999, and up 36% since 2003."<ref name="USA Today"/><ref>[http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/estimated.asp] Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 Statistical Analysis Report, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2006-042, Feb 2006.
A 2005 estimate from the [[National Home Education Research Institute]] places the number between 1.9 million and 2.4 million while the National Center for Education Statistics estimates that the number of students being homeschooled increased by 29% from 1999 to 2003. Christian Examiner, Sept. 2007, Vol 25, No 9, Pg 1</ref>
Families who homeschool their children do so for a number of reasons. A 2001 study by the [[US Census Bureau]] found that the single largest reason that parents homeschool is that they feel they can give their children a better education at home. This accounted for 50% of the homeschooling families; [[religion|religious]] reasons came in second at 33%.<ref>Home Schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics, by Kurt J. Bauman, Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2001, Working Paper Series No. 53 [httphttps://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0053.html]</ref> Other frequently mentioned reasons include dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools, the ability to provide religious or moral instruction along with academics, the ability to control what the child is being taught, flexibility in meeting the needs of a child with special needs (such as a physical or mental health problem, a temporary illness or giftedness), flexibility in scheduling family life, and concern about safety, drugs, and peer pressure at other schools.<ref>Homeschooling in the United States: 2003 Statistical Analysis Report, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2006-042, Feb 2006 [http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/TableDisplay.asp?TablePath=TablesHTML/table_4.asp]</ref>
Admissions departments at major [[college]]s are now familiar and comfortable with homeschooling, according to a 2004 Boston Globe article. The article quotes a [[Liberal Arts college|Williams College]] admission officer as saying: <blockquote>"We read homeschoolers' applications just like any other application. They don't get any special consideration, but they're not discriminated against, either. Their applications are interesting, and they've certainly done independent work their whole lives."</blockquote> It notes that the acceptance rate of homeschoolers at Williams is 20 percent,<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2004/03/21/schoolhouse_rocked?mode=PF Schoolhouse rocked] "home schooling has gone main stream, especially in Massachusetts. It's estimated that as many as 20,000 children here have abandoned test-crazy public schools and high-priced private schools for the comfort of the living room couch. But most surprising of all is that Harvard, BU, Brown, and other colleges are welcoming homeschoolers like all other students." Source for Williams College admission officer's quote, 20% figure.</ref> virtually identical to its overall acceptance rate.<ref>[httphttps://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-11-02-collegerates_x.htm College acceptance rates]: Williams, 19.2%. U. S. News and World Report</ref>
In the [[United States]], some states permit homeschooled students to participate in [[extracurricular activities]] at their local public schools.
==Homeschooling in the United States==
In the United States, homeschooling is generally legal in all areas, though states vary widely on the amount number of requirements that a family must meet in order to homeschool their children.
The [[Home School Legal Defense Association]] provides a map dividing states into four categories, and providing state law on each: No Notice (the state does not require any notice for parents to begin homeschooling), Low Regulation (only notice is required but nothing more), Moderate Regulation (requires notification, test scores, and professional evaluation of student progress), and High Regulation (same as Moderate plus items such as curriculum approval, teacher qualification, and home visits by school officials).<ref>https://www.hslda.org/laws/</ref> Information is also provided for Washington, D.C. and American territories.
Notwithstanding state law, courts have not hesitated to impose their liberal views in on this issue. For example, in New Hampshire (a state classified as Moderate Regulation), a court -ordered a thriving, 10-year-old homeschooled Christian girl to attend public school, solely in order to expose her to "different points of view at a time in her life when she must begin to critically evaluate multiple systems of belief and behavior."<ref>http://www.christianpost.com/article/20090829/homeschooled-girl-ordered-to-attend-public-school-over-her-rigid-faith/index.html</ref><ref>http://onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=659638</ref> On the other hand, a 1985 [[Texas]] case clarified that homeschools in Texas were considered private schools, which the state had no authority to regulate under existing law; this made Texas one of the more homeschool-friendly states in America.<ref>https://www.thsc.org/homeschooling-in-texas/state-requirements/</ref> This has made Texas, a generally conservative state, one of the friendlier jurisdictions for homeschool families, though local school districts still attempt to impose their – generally illegal – requirements on homeschool families.
==History==
In the United States, opting out of public schools is not new. When [[Thomas Edison]]'s public school teacher said he was "addled," ,<ref>In reality, Edison came down with scarlet fever early in life, rendering him almost completely deaf.</ref> Edison's mother took him out of public school and taught him at home.
Education at public school year-round from about ages 6 to 18 became common only 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.ncsl.org/programs/educ/CompulsoryEd.htm Compulsory Education], National Conference of State Legislatures: "More than 150 years have passed since Horace Mann helped Massachusetts establish a statewide system of education that eventually led to the requirement that all children attend public school. In 1852, Massachusetts became the first state to pass compulsory school attendance laws, and by 1918, all states required children to receive an education."</ref><ref>http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/kellmeyer/050428</ref>
Truancy laws brought pioneering homeschoolers into conflict with local officials. The first [[New York Times]] story on "home schooling" appeared in 1974, and concerned two parents charged with "educational neglect" by the Westchester County Department of Social Services. Tests showed that they performed at or about grade level "except for one who is a little slow in reading," and the parents received strong support from a state senator.<ref>"Parents Accused in Home Schooling," ''The New York Times,'' July 28, 1974, p. 45</ref> By the mid-1980s the ''Times'' was running articles with titles like "Schooling in the Home: A Growing Alternative" and "There Are Benefits In Homeschooling," and states were legalizing homeschooling.<ref>Belluck, Pam (1998), "Life After Home Schooling," ''The New York Times,'' November 1, 1998, p. ED26: "Some 15 years after states began legalizing home schooling in earnest, these early graduates are starting to make their way in the world."</ref> A 1997 article said "It's not only [[Christian fundamentalists]] any more" and a 2003 article noted "Unhappy in Class, More Are Learning at Home."
[[New York]] is the only state which currently requires all home school students to take the [[GED]] equivalency exam in order to receive a high school diploma. However, in most cases , they are not required to take the otherwise-mandatory exam prep course first.
== Prominent people who were homeschooled ==
*[[Alexander the Great]] (356–323 B.C.), the greatest military leader of all time, was taught by his father and, as arranged by his father, by [[Aristotle]].<ref>http://history.boisestate.edu/WESTCIV/alexander/03.shtml</ref>
*[[Susan B. Anthony]], leading [[pro-life ]] feminist and advocate of women's suffrage. Her father homeschooled her.<ref name="homeschoolutah.org">http://www.homeschoolutah.org/pages/pastandpresent.htm</ref>
*[[Julian Assange]], the founder of WikiLeaks. David Brooks wrote, "His mother didn't enroll him in the local schools because, as Raffi Khatchadourian wrote in a New Yorker profile, she feared 'that formal education would inculcate an unhealthy respect for authority.'" <ref>http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10335/1107188-109.stm</ref>
*[[Benjamin Banneker]] (1731–1806) wrote the first almanac by a black man and helped survey [[Washington, D.C.]]. Banneker was taught to read and write by his grandmother in rural [[Maryland]]."<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Banneker.html</ref>
*[[Clara Barton]] (1821–1912), pioneering nurse during the [[Civil War]], founder of the [[American Red Cross]]. Barton was homeschooled, and at 15 started teaching school. She later attended the Liberal Institute in Clinton, New York.<ref>[httphttps://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/clarabarton.html White House Dream Team: Clara Barton]</ref><ref>Clara Harlowe Barton, Source: "Historical Times Encyclopedia of the Civil War" edited by Patricia L. Faust
[http://www.civilwarhome.com/bartonbio.htm]</ref>
*[[Dietrich Bonhoeffer]] (1906–1945), a [[Christian]] who spoke against [[Hitler]] and was martyred for doing so.
*Willard S. Boyle, the inventor of the CCD that is at "the heart of virtually every camcorder, digital camera and telescope" and is used in "every picture on the Internet, every digital and video camera, every computer scanner, copier machine and high-definition television," and for which he was awarded a shared [[Nobel Prize]] in Physics in 2009.<ref>httphttps://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/science/space/10boyle.html?emc=eta1</ref>
*[[Mary Breckinridge]] (1881–1965), pioneering American midwife and founder of Kentucky's Frontier Nursing Service. Mary's father was a diplomat, and she was educated in America and abroad by private tutors.<ref>[http://www.frontiernursing.org/History/MaryBreckinridge.shtm Frontier Nursing Service]</ref>
*[[Pafnuty Chebyshev]] (1821–1894), one of the greatest Russian [[mathematician]]s, was homeschooled until college.<ref>http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Chebyshev.html</ref>
*[[Agatha Christie]] (1890–1976), best-selling English mystery writer. Christie was homeschooled by her mother, who encouraged her to write from a very early age. At sixteen she was sent to finishing school in Paris.<ref>[httphttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/mystery/marple/christie.html PBS Mystery Series "Miss Marple" site: Biography of Agatha Christie]</ref>
*[[Winston Churchill]] (1874–1965), [[British]] statesman. It was at home that he was taught how to read, write and do math, and was not enrolled in a school until several months into the school year at the age of seven. After only about two years at that school, he was abruptly pulled out and then spent several years under the instruction of two maiden sisters in a less formal school setting.<ref>William Manchester, "The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, VISIONS OF GLORY 1874-1932 (Little Brown & Co.).</ref>
*[[Charles Dickens]], prolific [[English]] author who could not afford school. His "passions for reading were awakened by his mother," who homeschooled him with a curriculum that included English and Latin.<ref name="homeschoolutah.org"/>
*James B. Eads, the greatest river engineer ever; by age 13 he spent his "time reading in his library. So began Eads' education as an engineer. He tinkered with his own inventions at home, building a six-foot long model steamboat when he was in his early teens. And he was intrigued by the inventions of others."<ref>httphttps://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eads/peopleevents/p_jbeads.html</ref>
*[[Thomas Edison]] (1804–1896), the most prolific inventor in the history of the world and considered by many to be the most influential person of the last 1000 years.<ref>http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bledison.htm</ref> His mother pulled him out of public school at age 7, after just a few months, and began homeschooling him by reading from the Bible.
*[[Pierre de Fermat]] (1601?–1665), the greatest mathematician of the 17th century and the founder of the modern theory of numbers, was homeschooled.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics" 57 (1937)</ref>
*[[Benjamin Franklin]] (1706–1790), a leading [[Founding Father]] and prolific inventor and statesman, only attended part-time school from ages 8 to 10.<ref>[httphttps://www.gutenberg.org/etext/148 Benjamin Franklin, ''Autobiography.'']</ref>
*[[Robert Frost]], the leading [[American]] poet of the 20th century and winner of the [[Pulitzer Prize]]. He "disliked school so much he became physically ill; what schoolwork he did was done at home until he passed the entrance exams and entered high school."<ref name="homeschoolutah.org"/>
*[[Alexander Hamilton]] (1755–1804), one of the main Founding Fathers. He was not allowed to attend school because his parents were not married. Instead, he was homeschooled using Greek and Roman classics in the family library.<ref>http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/alexander-hamilton-108.php</ref>
*[[William Hamilton]] (1805–1865), the greatest Irish mathematician and biggest contributor since [[Isaac Newton]] of [[mathematics]] to [[physics]]. He was taught by his uncle, the Reverend James Hamilton.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 340-41 (1937).</ref> *Zac, Taylor, and Isaac Hanson, of the band Hanson. Educated at home by their mother, and later by a tutor.<ref>[http://www.drdrew.com/DrewLive/article.asp?id=1112 Hanson: The All American Boys]</ref><ref>Hangin With PresentsHanson [http://www.agirlsworld.com/rachel/hangin-with/hanson.html]</ref>
*[[Matthew Henry]] (1662–1714), "nonconformist" Presbyterian minister in England, and author of ''Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible'', perhaps the most esteemed devotional commentary of all time. Under State persecution, Henry was homeschooled by his father, and for a time by a tutor, before moving on to a Christian school in 1680.
*Zac[[Katharine Hepburn]], Taylor, and Isaac Hanson, of who won the band most [[HansonAcademy Awards]]. Educated at home by their mother, and later by ever for an actress (a tutortotal of 4).<ref>[http://www.drdrew.com/DrewLive/article.asp?id=1112 Hanson: The All American Boys]</ref><ref>Hangin With PresentsHanson [http://www.agirlsworld.com/rachel/hangin-with/hanson.html]</ref>
*Jaime Herrera. She was recently elected to the U.S. Congress.<ref>http://www.earnedmedia.org/toshm1203.htm</ref>
* [[Henri Poincaré]] (1854–1912), one of the greatest mathematicians ever and an original developer of the [[Theory of Relativity]]. Poincaré, who had diphtheria as a child, received special instruction from his gifted mother and excelled in written composition while still in elementary school. He entered the Lycée in Nancy (now renamed the Lycée Henri Poincaré in his honor), in 1862 and spent eleven years there. He entered the École Polytechnique in 1873, graduating in 1875. After graduating from the École Polytechnique, Poincaré continued his studies at the École des Mines.<ref>[http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Poincare.html Jules Henri Poincaré]</ref>
* [[James Polk]] (1795–1849), President of the United States from 1845-18491845–1849, one of the few presidents who actually did what he promised to do (annex Texas, acquire western territory, and not run for a second term). He was homeschooled until age 18.<ref>http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-k-polk-3278.php</ref>
* [[Alexander Pope]] (1688–1744), one of the greatest and most-often quoted [[English]] poets and essayists. "From Twyford School he was expelled after writing a satire on one of the teachers. At home, Pope's aunt taught him to read. Latin and Greek he learned from a local priest and later he acquired knowledge of French and Italian poetry."<ref>http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/apope.htm</ref>
*[[Bernhard Riemann]] (1826–1866), a German recognized as the greatest modern mathematician. He was taught at home by his father, a Lutheran minister, until he was ten. After that he was tutored by a teacher from a local school until he entered the Lyceum in Hannover at 14.<ref>School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland -- Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann, by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson [http://www-groups.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~history/Biographies/Riemann.html]</ref><ref>http://www.andrews.edu/~calkins/math/biograph/199899/bioriema.htm</ref>
*Chanel Rion, a reporter from the conservative One America News Network, who became a national news item in 2020 by attending and asking questions during President [[Donald Trump]]'s news briefings on the [[coronavirus]].<ref>https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/02/oan-white-house-coronavirus-briefings-162131</ref>
*[[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] (1882–1945), U.S. President. He was educated by private tutors at home through age 14, then entered Groton, an elite private school in Massachusetts, in 1896.<ref>The Eleanor Roosevelt Papers. "Franklin D. Roosevelt." Teaching Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. by Allida Black, June Hopkins, et. al. (Hyde Park, New York: Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, 2003).
*[[Erwin Schrodinger]] (1887–1961), was one of the developers of the theory of [[quantum mechanics]] in physics. "He was not sent to elementary school, but received lessons at home from a private tutor up to the age of ten ...."<ref>http://bdaugherty.tripod.com/berlin/schrodinger.html</ref>
*[[Joseph Smith]] (1805–1844), was a mayor, a lieutenant general, a political theorist, a city planner, and a religious organizer and the founder of the Mormon Church. He was deprived of a formal education but was mainly self-taught and "instructed in reading, writing, and the ground rules of arithmetic.".<ref>History of Joseph Smith, Jr., by himself, in Joseph Smith's Letter Book at Kirtland, November 27, 1832 to August 4, 1835 (Church Historian's Library, Salt Lake City, Utah).</ref><ref>httphttps://www.pbs.org/americanprophet/joseph-smith.html</ref> His mother said that he was often "given to meditation and deep study."<ref>History of the Prophet Joseph, Improvement Era, vol. 5, p. 257.</ref>
*[[George Bernard Shaw]] (1856–1950), author. Tutored in the classics by a clerical uncle until he entered school at age 10. Left school by age 15.<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/george-bernard-shaw/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on George Bernard Shaw]</ref><ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/george-bernard-shaw-dlb/ Dictionary of Literary Biography on George Bernard Shaw]</ref><ref>[http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/research/fa/shaw.gb.bio.html George Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950 Biographical Sketch]</ref>
*[[Mark Twain]] (real name was Samuel Clemens) (1835–1910), American author and satirist who said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Attended school through the 5th grade, where he "excelled only in spelling" and was frequently truant, then worked as a printer's apprentice for a local newspaper. His mother said, "He was always a great boy for history, and could never get tired of that kind of reading; but he hadn't any use for schoolhouses and text books."<ref>The Mark Twain House and Museum: Biography of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain [http://www.marktwainhouse.org/theman/bio.shtml]</ref><ref>[httphttps://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/8/7/6873/6873.txt The Project Gutenberg E-Book of Mark Twain, by Archibald Henderson]</ref>
*[[Alexis de Tocqueville]], a Frenchman who came to America in 1831, when he was 25 years old, and wrote a two-volume definitive study of American culture entitled ''Democracy in America''.
*[[Andrew Wyeth]] (1917–), American artist, was tutored at home until he was 18.<ref>The Homeschooling of Andrew Wyeth, A Conversation with the Artist, Gifted Children Monthly, May 1986, Vol 7 No. 5.[http://www.nfgcc.org/51.htm]</ref>
*[[Frank Lloyd Wright]] (1867–1959), considered the finest architect ever, was taught at home by his mother who dreamed that he would become an architect. She used "Froebel's geometric blocks to entertain and educate her son" as his father led the family among various Baptist churches, where he preached.<ref>http://freenet.buffalo.edu/bah/a/archs/wright/bio/index.html</ref> Wright then attended high school but dropped out of college.<ref>httphttps://www.imdb.com/name/nm0942394/bio</ref>
*[[Brigham Young]], first governor of Utah, the leader of the [[Mormon Church]], and founder of 200 towns and villages. He was homeschooled and had only "11 days of formal education."<ref name="homeschoolutah.org"/>
*[[Homeschooling and sports]]
==External links ==
*[http://www.robinsoncurriculum.com/view/rc/s31p54.htm Christian Children Must Have More Than A Fighting Chance] - Four reasons to homeschool your children, by [[Art Robinson]]
*[http://www.homeschoolacademy.com/famoushomeschoolers.htm] - List of homeschooled achievers.
==Further reading==
* Gaither, Milton. ''Homeschool: An American History'' (2008) 273 pp. The standard scholarly history
*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/print-magazine/item/31260-benefits-of-homeschooling Benefits of Homeschooling], by Israel Wayne of ''The New American'', February 7, 2019.
*[https://www.thenewamerican.com/print-magazine/item/31230-the-case-for-christian-education The Case for Christian Education], by Israel Wayne of ''The New American'', February 7, 2019.
==References==
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{{Conservatism}}