[[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 2012, there were around 1.8 million homeschool students''''' [in the [[United StatesU.S.]]], '''''an estimated one and in 2021, that number is expected to two be above 5 million students are homeschooled, or nearly one out of every 30 students'''''."<ref name="USA Today">https://www.usatodayfox4now.com/news/educationnational/2009as-01the-04pandemic-homeschooling_N.htmcontinues-more-families-turning-to-homeschooling</ref> For much of American history, at least until after the [[American Civil War]], the average American received only about 2 years of formal schooling.
Homeschooling grew by almost 75% in the eight years before 2011,<ref>https://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/09/educating-children-evolution-home-schooling</ref> and it has continued to grow at a strong pace more than doubled in the following decade despite attacks from teachers' unions and government bureaucrats.<ref>Multiple references:
*Berry, Susan (May 21, 2018). [https://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 one 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 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 included an estimated 1.1 million students – about 2.9% of children in grades K-12 – 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">https://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-04-homeschooling_N.htm</ref><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>
* Homeschooling is often an essential approach to achieve the very best in many fields, from [[mathematics]] to [[music]] to certain sports.<ref>For example, [[Jordin Sparks]] (b. 1989) became youngest winner of the music talent competition "[[American Idol]]" after she left public school for homeschooling to concentrate on her singing.[http://www.pr-inside.com/singer-jordin-sparks-12-400-video-newest-r592857.htm]</ref>
* Be part of a community that has a much higher percentage of adopted children than formal school; the homeschooling community has a refreshing culture of life.
* Avoiding being subjected to [[homosexual agenda|homosexual]] and [[transgender]] indoctrination.
* Avoiding political indoctrination.
* Homeschoolers are seen to develop independent thinking and self-reliance that help insulate them from techniques of mind control that afflict public school students and teachers<ref>This is most recently illustrated by techniques of mind control employed by the Obama campaign.[http://www.aapsonline.org/newsoftheday/0089]</ref>
* Assuring the [[Parental rights|rights of parents]] to control the education, upbringing and discipline of their children.
* Giving children a safer learning environment free from the risks of bullying and mass school shootings.<ref>Richardson, Valerie (May 30, 2018). [https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/may/30/homeschooling-surges-parents-seek-escape-shootings/ Educational decline: Homeschooling surges as parents seek safer option for children]. ''The Washington Times''. Retrieved May 31, 2018.</ref><ref>Newman, Alex (May 30, 2018). [https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/education/item/29168-mass-shootings-spark-growing-interest-in-homeschooling Mass Shootings Spark Growing Interest in Homeschooling]. ''The New American''. Retrieved May 31, 2018.</ref>
== Reasons Not to Homeschool ==
We know that homeschooling may have its benefits but it is not for everyone. Reasons against '''homeschooling''' include:<ref>https://www.trustreading.com/is-homeschooling-expensive/</ref><ref>https://www.thoughtco.com/reasons-to-not-homeschool-1832551</ref><ref>https://thebestschools.org/features/30-best-christian-boarding-schools-america/</ref>
*If You need to Work and do not have time for Homeschooling
* You Might not Know Enough about Teaching
* You are Poor and Do not have A Lot Money Because Homeschooling is very Expensive
* Your School is a Conservative Christian School
It should also be noted that stay at home moms, the most common teachers for homeschooling, reported having happier lives than their working counterparts.<ref>http://www.momlogic.com/2008/07/sahm_wahm_happiness_poll.php?icid=100214839x1204880052x1200231518#start</ref>
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 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.<ref>https://www.thsc.org/homeschooling-in-texas/state-requirements/</ref> This has made Texas, a generally conservative state (and listed by the Association as Low Regulation),<ref>Texas requires notice -- nothing more -- only if a student is being withdrawn from a public school to be homeschooled; if a student is never enrolled in a public school no notice is required.</ref>, one of the friendlier jurisdictions for homeschool families, though local school districts still attempt to impose their – generally illegal – requirements on homeschool families.
==History==
*[[Ansel Adams]], (1902–1984), the finest landscape photographer of the twentieth century. "At twelve, unable to stand the confinement and tedium of the classroom, he utterly disrupted his lessons with wild laughter and undisguised contempt for the inept ramblings of his teachers. His father decided that Ansel’s formal education was best ended. From that point forward, the boy was homeschooled in Greek, the English classics, algebra, and the glories of the ocean, inlets, and rocky beaches that surrounded their home very near San Francisco."<ref>http://wy.essortment.com/anseladamsbio_rjrq.htm</ref>
*[[John Adams]] (1735–1826), U.S. Presidentpresident. Learned to read at home, and was then taught in the kitchen by a neighbor with a handful of children. He matriculated to Harvard College at age 15.<ref>http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/notable.htm</ref>
*[[Louisa May Alcott]] (1832–1888), the author of ''Little Women'' and other great works, was taught by her father.<ref>http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/louisamayalcott.html</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>
*[[William Jennings Bryan]], [[Secretary of State]] under President [[Woodrow Wilson]] and before that was the founder of the modern [[Democrat Party]]. He was also the leading critic of the [[theory of evolution]] who prevailed in the [[Scopes Trial]] and was perhaps the greatest orator in [[American]] history. He was homeschooled until age 10 as his mother taught him to stand on table to recite his lessons.<ref name="homeschoolutah.org"/><ref>https://study.com/learn/lesson/william-jennings-bryan-biography-scopes-trial-who-was-william-jennings-bryan.html</ref>
*[[William F. Buckley]], leading [[conservative]] intellectual. He was homeschooled by his parents and tutors.<ref name="homeschoolutah.org"/>
*[[Augustin-Louis Cauchy]] (1789–1857), one of the greatest mathematicians of all time, was taught by his father during an 11-year retreat to the country to escape the [[French Revolution]]. His father "wrote his own textbooks, several of them in the fluent verse of which he was master. Verse, he believed, made grammar, history and, above all, morals less repulsive to the juvenile mind."<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 273 (1937).</ref><ref>http://james.fabpedigree.com/mathmen.htm#Cauchy</ref>
*[[Madison Cawthorn]], the youngest [[congressman]] (R-NC) who was elected in a stunning upset shortly after he turned the age of 25 in 2020, defeating his [[Establishment]] and [[Trump]]-backed opponents in his primary by an astounding 2-1 landslide.<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/24/politics/madison-cawthorn-north-carolina-congress/index.html</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>
*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>https://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(his learning difficulties stemmed from a large loss of hearing caused by illness), and began homeschooling him by reading from the Bible. *Jenna Ellis, attorney for President [[Donald Trump]], was homeschooled through 12th grade.<ref>https://thomasmoresociety.org/attorney/jenna-ellis/</ref>
*[[Paul Erdos]] (1913–1996), the most prolific mathematician of the 20th century, was taught at home until college.<ref>http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Erdos.html</ref>
*[[Carl Jacobi]] (1804–1851), a prominent and prolific German mathematician, was taught at home until the age of 12 and was taught the classics and [[mathematics]] by a maternal uncle.<ref>E.T. Bell, "Men of Mathematics," 327 (1937).</ref>
*[[Henry James]] (1843-1916), one of the greatest [[America]]n authors. He was taught by tutors while his family traveled.
*[[Joan of Arc]] (1412–1431), one of the greatest military leaders ever. Taught domestic skills and religion by her mother.<ref>"As a child she was taught domestic skills as well as her religion by her mother. ... It was my mother alone who taught me the 'Our Father' and 'Hail Mary' and the 'Creed;' and from none other was I taught my faith."[http://www.stjoan-center.com/#bio A Short Biography of Saint Joan of Arc][http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08409c.htm New Advent - Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Joan of Arc][http://joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_biography.html Biography of Joan of Arc]</ref>
*[[Mark]], also known as John Mark, the author of the earliest [[Gospel]] who learned by tagging along with his mother, who was a follower of [[Jesus]]; Mark witnessed the teachings and [[Passion]] at an age of perhaps only 10 years old.
*[[John Marshall]], Chief Justice of the United States for 34 years (1801-1835) who vastly expanded the authority of the federal judiciary, and previously served as a [[Secretary of State]] under President [[John Adams]] from 1800-to 1801; homeschooled almost entirely by his own parents.
*[[Yehudi Menuhin]] (1916–1999), noted violinist and conductor, never attended school, and was taught Mathematicsmathematics, History and Hebrew by his father, and French, German, Italian and Spanish by his mother.<ref>Slater, Elinor and Slater, Robert ''Great Jewish Men'' (Jonathon David Publishers; 1996) ISBN 0-8246-0381-8</ref>
*[[John Stuart Mill]] (1806–1873), influential 19th century political and economic philosopher, was home-schooled by his father, James Mill. He learned Greek at age 3, Latin at age 8, studied economics, history, science, etc. before age 10.
*[[James Monroe]] (1758–1831), highly successful U.S. Presidentpresident, homeschooled until age 11.<ref>http://www.presidentialavenue.com/jam.cfm</ref>
*[[Gouverneur Morris]] (1752–1816), primary drafter of the [[U.S. Constitution]], homeschooled until he attended college at [[Columbia University]], from which he graduated at age 16.
* [[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 to 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>
*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. Presidentpresident. 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).
[http://www.nps.gov/archive/elro/glossary/roosevelt-franklin.htm]</ref>
*[[Theodore Roosevelt]] (1858–1919), U.S. Presidentpresident. "Roosevelt never enrolled in a public school. He was mostly instructed by private tutors until he entered Harvard College in 1876."<ref>http://law.enotes.com/presidential-biography/theodore-roosevelt-administrations/education</ref>
*[[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>
*[http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/autism.htm] Homeschooling for Autistic Children
*[http://homeschoolcollegecounselor.com/academics/homeschool-to-harvard-a-success-story/ Homeschool to Harvard - A Success Story.]
*[https://scholarwithin.com/homeschool-reading-program Homeschool reading program - not reviewed yet for quality]
==Further reading==