Monday, December 1, 2008

What homeschooling is not

Homeschooling is not simply school at home. It is the term for when parents take control of their children's education, from choosing curriculum (or not) to grading (or not). When we started homeschooling in the 80s or 90s or whenever our children started learning, the definition of homeschooling seemed obvious. However, more public schools are offering virtual schools, and some private schools and private companies are starting to offer "school at home" via computers and the Internet. Some people are mistakenly calling this homeschooling, and this topic just keeps getting hotter and hotter.

Home Education Magazine Editor Helen Hegener has a very thorough discussion of the difference -- and why it's important -- on her latest blog entry.

For the public school view on the growth of virtual schooling, you can check out this article. And for more on the benefits of virtual schools, check out this article. The funny thing about that last one is that people are actually listing some of the same benefits for virtual school as we've been listing for homeschools for decades. Even the socialization issue is addressed -- and it's not a problem. Interesting double standard!

1 comment:

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