Home Schooling Facts
Home Schooling Facts
My research has taught me that a lot of people on the Internet
claim to have found ALL the facts about their particular
subject. I have in fact found that research into the facts on
any given subject is never ending.
As a consequence the facts which follow are those that appear to
be the most influential and those which the majority of parents
will find the most helpful.
The first misconception I would like to dispel is one which is
apparently held by a great number of parents - "You have to be a
PhD or at least a College Graduate to teach your child in Home
School" . This is certainly not a requirement .
There are, however , some fundamental requirements - there's
paperwork to be filled out , curriculum's to decide , and school
committee's to convince. But this should definitely NOT
discourage you in any way.
Some of the major conditions of getting approved to home school
your children is in the construction of your education plan or
program. It MUST show and , in fact , prove , that you are ready
, willing and capable in all respects of teaching your children.
There are certain regulations (statutes) which must be complied
with and the following gives an outline of some of these:
Compulsory Attendance:
In a lot of states there is no specific statute governing Home
Schooling . There are , however , quite a number of them which
uphold the "Compulsory Attendance" statute which states that all
children that are of the required ages as established for school
attendance by the Board of Education are obliged to attend a
public day school in their town . It can also be some other day
school but this must have been approved by the school committee.
It also stated that such attendance will not be a requirement if
the child is being taught alternatively in a way that is
approved in advance by the superintendent or by the school
committee.
Ages for Compulsory School Attendance:
Six is the established minimum age for compulsory school
attendance and sixteen is the established maximum age. Once a
child attains the age of six he or she must attend school in
September of that year.
Length of the Homeschool Year:
Public Schools must operate for a minimum of 180 days each year.
There is nothing , however , which states that the Homeschool's
year must be identical to the public school's year. You will
certainly need to make sure that your homeschool year at least
meets the 180 days criteria and better still , beats it.
It is naturally felt by some parents that their homeschool year
extends to the full 365 days as they are always teaching "life's
lessons" at all times. Above all it is best to ensure that it is
somewhere between 180 and 365 days.
Hours of Home Schooling Instruction:
There is no requirement for the hours of home schooling
instruction to be a replication of public schools. Every effort
must be made , however , to ensure it is as effective and
thorough in all respects.
It should be remembered that the very definition of
"instruction" can be interpreted many different ways. It may
include such things as independent study , field trips
,computer-aided training and possibly instruction from
non-teachers. Generally speaking a lot more flexibility can be
exercised in the home schooling environment.