It really depends on the type of instruction and environment. Parents are still required to follow or adhere to as closely as possible state standards (or local where applicable, unless otherwise exempted) that govern these types of alternative education practices. Homeschooling can be very expensive depending on the currculum modules your purchase, the level of engagement (homeschooling is by design heavily asynchronous) and time allocated for core instruction. Many parents who opt for homeschool often have it within their budgets to facilitate instruction within the parameters of their itemized expenses(Upper-Middle class being the median level of income for these households), and when consolidated with regular home activities and responsibilities, the costs can offset. It is true that the statistics of Homeschooling VS Public schooling in the context of academic excellence does skew towards homeschooling, but that is just as much a product of the sample size as it is the level of guidance and instruction.Digital Masta wrote: ↑Mon Nov 07, 2022 1:32 pm What is this "quality education" you speak of? You say these words...yet I do not see them anywhere in the United States. We now also know that math and reading scores plummeted during covid but they were already pretty trash. Government education is complete trash in America and we all know it, young people know even less than our generation, alternative education can't do any worse. In fact, isn't it pretty well known that homeschooled kids traditionally do better than government-schooled kids academically?
Homeschoolers make up a mere fraction of the educational participation in the US (Somewhere between 7-9% I think, although don't hold me to that number) and success rates are almost entirely predicated on the parents involvement. Unless your sitting on a little genius possessing the autodidactic cerebrum of Leonardo Davinci, you're not churning out a Harvard graduate without a considerable amount of work and sacrifice. Which is not to say it isn't worthwhile, but entirely unrealistic for most middle-class households with dual full-time working parents.
Economics plays a huge factor, but it's not the ultimate determiner in my opinion for the low rate of homeschooling/de-schooled households. I can only speak anecdotally (and keep in mind I am biased, being a public educator myself) but from the conversations I've had with parents over the years who have considered it as an alternative (I typically eschew any direct advice on these matters in order not to unduly influence, or give off the appearance of pressure despite my School district's interest in retaining these students) I've found that the most common concern is social cohesion and integration.
Most parents want good grades first and foremost(anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't takes their child's education seriously) but many I've spoken to are also wary of the rigorous constraints and stress that places upon them. A clear delineation between School life and Home life is a vital component to not just the child's muturation, but the development of the household as well. Despite what Hollywood would have you believe, Homeschooled children aren't all sheltered pansies born into fundamentalist families, carrying pocket bibles and holy water every time they leave the house. But there is an alarming inverse correlation between vital social participation and homeschooling practices. The stereotype wasn't made out of whole cloth, and that is always first and foremost the fear parents described to me.
Which is why I have always been, and will continue to be until I draw my last breath a huge proponent of Private and Magnet Schools, Magnet schooling especially. The emphasis of specialized learning with a fusion of both Synchronous and Asynchronous instruction is a method I think contains immeasurable value in the educational field, and I've seen it pay dividends, just in the community I live in. I've applied in the past, but hoo boy their teaching qualifications can be formidable and highly selective. I'm content where I am now, but that is my Mecca and I'm not stopping till I get there.