Requirements For Setting Up an Accredited Home School

If you are considering setting-up an accredited home school, there are certain minimum requirements that you, as the parent, or legal guardian of your child must meet. At the very least, parents who teach their children full-time, must possess a high school diploma or a GED. According to data published by the National Center for Education Statistics in February 2006 (researched in 2003), white children who learn in an accredited home school are four times more likely to be educated full time in the home than are Hispanic students. The rate of homeschooling for black children is about half the rate of white children. However, children and/or households who identified with racial groups other than white, black, or Hispanic, had a much higher combined ratio of 1.165. The ratio for white children was 1.0, black children -- 0.538, and Hispanic children -- 0.230.

Because homeschooling is not regulated in the same sense that traditional schools are, homeschooled child learn from a combination of traditional and non-traditional sources, albeit they must attain the same minimum standards as children who attend an organized school. Sixty percent of all curriculum materials used to teach children at home came from traditional text book publishers approved for public education, but not specifically tailored for the home school model. Approximately, 78 percent of parents obtained their curricula from a public library, although the majority of these same individuals subsidized their children's education with materials from commercial sources, such as a homeschooling catalog and retail bookstores. Homeschooling organizations supply approximately fifty percent of the curricula and books to children who learn in an accredited home school. Approximately thirty-seven percent of parents surveyed said that they obtained their educational supplies and curricula from a religious institution. The report does not indicate whether these materials were affiliated with any particular educational program administered by their religious organization. However, approximately 23 percent of parents who did derive the majority of their educational materials from a religious institution also supplemented them with materials from their local public library or school district. Approximately 16 percent of classroom materials were obtained from secular private schools.

Additionally, approximately 41 percent of all students learning in an accredited homeschool also derived their education online or by some other means of distance learning. Twenty percent used television, radio, or other magnetic source, such as video or DVD to supplement their child's education. Less than half of them -- approximately 19 percent of students received instruction through the Internet. Additionally, computer software is growing in popularity and variety, and besides being used in the home, most schools use it as an individualized learning tool. The growing integration of correspondence schools with computer and other based media channels is also on the rise. At the time of this survey, about 15 percent of homeschooled students were engaged in some sort of correspondence course. No noticeable difference in testing scores was recognized between those students who participated in a correspondence course and those who did not.

While setting-up an accredited home school might, at first, spark the determined parent's imagination with tremendous enthusiasm, homeschooling is not for everyone. There is much more involved than obtaining the educational material and resources - especially when it comes to family dynamics and emotions. Even the most skilled teacher may find it an almost impossible task to teach his or her own child - especially as that child reaches adolescence.

0 komentar:

Posting Komentar