There are now at least 1.5 million home schoolers in the United States. Some inside the homeschool movement place the numbers nearer 2.4 million, but we won’t quibble on this. The Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics has reported that the number of home-schooled children is up 74 percent from 1999 and up 36 percent from 2003, based on 1.5 million home-based students.

A 2007 survey of home-schooling parents showed that a majority educated their own offspring for moral or religious reasons. But those who home school because they want a more untraditional approach are growing, now up to a possible 32 percent of all home schoolers. And fewer home schoolers are enrolled part-time in government or private schools as well. Some who might have chosen that option are now choosing online instruction for at least some of their children’s education.

This statistical data for those with home-based education programs was obtained by the Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey of the National Household Education Surveys. Admittedly, the estimates are just that, estimates, because the National Home Education Research Institute, a private research organization, noted that home-schooling parents are “significantly less likely to answer government-sponsored surveys.” 

Based on strictly empirical evidence, several researchers report that the homeschooled consistently outperform, on average, non-homeschooled students, both on standardized tests and college entrance exams. 

The news of a continuously growing home school movement is probably not going to sit well with the government change agents or educators’ unions. Not happy with the proven academic achievement and aptitudes demonstrated by those who are home schooled, some teachers even seem to take it as a personal insult instead. Others are just plain leftist liberals, while some demonstrate that they are narrow minded and intolerant of others' choices, and must attack the movement on any grounds they can think of. 

For your perusal then, we present a comment posted by a supposed teacher with the moniker “teacheru” on the USAToday website that carried the original story, word-for-word, spelling mistakes and all. Read it and weep -- or laugh: 

It seems that home schooled kids primarily tend to fall into a couple of general categories such as those who just cannot separate our Church and State tradition and refusal to want their kids to mix with non Whites. So it seems to be either religious extremism or racial. I suspect most homeschoolers overwhelmingly fall within these two areas. True that a meager 4% is Black, if that, but what about Hispanics....nary a percent or Asians? This is the aweful reality. Home schooling IS the insidious and harmful modern day segregation and needs to be dealt with straight up. Truency laws ARE on the books. They simply need to be enforced. What percentage of these homeschoolers are not in our schools due to severe behavior problems and dysfunctional homes, caused by socio-economic-linguistic disadvantage? This is another possible area to our home schooling population....kids abondoned by the system to protect itself. With powerful local school board elected officials who get elected by local bigoted, racist, religious extremists that are out of control with dictates and often backed up through collusion with a hijacked local union cut from equally bigoted racist and religious extremists, kids can be "eased" out of a public school district. These things are happening. Civil rights laws need to be enforced and be pro-active. After 30 years of this homeschooling stuff being allowed to metastasized by the anti-public school gang, it is now way out of control and the federal government needs to intervene forthwith like in the 60's and 70's with desegregation. In conclusion...generally speaking, most parents can't teach a foreign language, music, or advanced mathematics and science without knowing those subject areas and having methodologies in their pedogogy. And the very, very few that might, well, we CANNOT make a generalization for our society based on them. Home schooling IS a way to avoid institutions through religious extremism as President Carter so aptly alludes to in his book Our Endangered Values or just masked religious bigotry and racism.

If ever there was a reason to homeschool one’s own child....
 

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Homeschool Parent

January 07, 2009

66.75.74.167

Votes: +5

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Yes, that is one of the reasons we homeschool.

What teacheru mentioned on the USA Today site, is nothing other than a leftist's rant about being frustrated with homeschooling parents who see right through their propaganda. Their propaganda is implemented at a national level, with loyal change agents acting locally. It is in the curriculum, the classrooms, and in the teachers colleges. Its aim is to destroy the American family, Christianity, and our heritage. So far they have been quite successful, however I think that homeschoolers may change all that. Look at what we did in California in 2008. Look how we swept all the national academic competitions in 2007, yet we're only 4% of the student population.
The more radicals like teacheru complain, the more people like myself will stick to homeschooling.

RichardR369

January 08, 2009

143.166.255.42

Votes: +2

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teacheru

That user did everything to associate home schooling with 'racism' and couldn't be objective. They see home schooling as a threat.

GO HOME SCHOOLING!!!!!!!!!

cmorano

January 11, 2009

129.98.124.8

Votes: +1

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Hey here's an epiphany - if you don't want your kids to go to school with non-whites, THAT is not against the law. Liberalism implies acceptance of ALL lifestyles, not just the ones that the leftists like. It doesn't matter if the reason for homeschooling is likable or not, it's nobody's business but the parents.
Also, if kids aren't allowed to defend themselves from a legitimate threat while in school, then homeschooling is the sensible option.
Lastly, the educational system on all levels is tainted with communist and leftist ideology, when did morals and politics become part of a state mandated education system? What happened to facts, figures, and go home and ask your parents about what you should think? I don't want my kids to get indoctrinated. It's not the school's job to tell my kids to like or dislike certain people. Homeschooling is becoming the forced alternative to indoctrination.

dau1776

January 13, 2009

98.166.221.172

Votes: +3

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Dang - wish that guy/gal had told me sooner!

We wouldn't have adopted those 2 non-white siblings for our kids! Shoot - too late now, they think they're family! We better hurry and tell all the folks we know who are adopting from overseas. Most of them young'uns ain't white neither; 'spose they noticed?

Seriously, we raised ALL our children to believe that their primary identity is as a unique creation of a holy and loving God who sent His Son to die for each and every one of us equally. I don't remember anything at all about mansions in segregated neighborhoods.

We wanted first and foremost to pass on God's Truth to our children, as related in the Bible, also the truths about our country's (and world's) history, and the rest of what constitutes a high academic standard in education -- and nowadays, even physical standards. We wanted right alongside the Bible to pass on godly character, even above academics. And guess what, they had time to play outdoors, learn music and handicrafts, and read books because they had no TV for most of their childhoods.

Believe it or not, they are all well-adjusted, with only the requisite number of limbs, heads, and eyes. One or two may save your life one day, and one has already defended it overseas. One with special needs will not be on welfare because he has 2-3 part time jobs and lives independently (or a sibling will help him out, if need be). After 25 yrs. of HS'ing, we just have the youngest left at home - who may follow dad and biggest bro. into the military, we'll see. We're boxing up books for the grandkids now.

We'll be praying for "teacheru," God help us all.

carolplumucci

January 14, 2009

64.12.117.9

Votes: +1

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Mom

I simply DON'T KNOW ANY home schooling parents with a drop of racism in their ideologies. WOW. Where do these people get their ideas? Sounds like a bad dream chasing a bit of underdone potato.

Olga Dunina

January 17, 2009

72.88.100.17

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I know high class specialists in art, music, history, Bible etc., how I can contact homeschoolers organizations to make them offer?
Sincerely,
Olga

Olga Dunina

January 17, 2009

72.88.100.17

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How to offer teachers to homeshoolers?

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