Category Archives: Homeschooling

For many – THIS is the one singular option that is available. It is not for everyone, as there may be family and/or other issues which would prevent this option – however – think back – at one point in time – our parents were teaching us at home – from the very beginning. In the early days of this nation – all of the teaching was done at home. If one has concerns for the future of their children – THIS is where you SHOULD be looking.

Teen Breaks Homeschooling Stereotypes, Reveals How It Strengthened Her Family Bond, Confidence, and Faith!

(Illustration by The Epoch Times, Courtesy of Nadine Lauffer, Courtesy of Emma Reese Photography)

Eighteen-year-old Nadine Lauffer has become part of a movement of homeschooling families who are debunking myths surrounding the community. With her weekly podcasts, she’s also been helping teens homeschool fearlessly through high school.

Ms. Lauffer, currently based in Pennsylvania, spent years growing up in the Netherlands and Florida as her dad used to work in chemical engineering sales.

At the age of 3, she began her educational journey at a Dutch-speaking school. However, when her family moved to Florida, she had to restart kindergarten since she didn’t know any English but successfully overcame that challenge. Continue reading →

Are Public Schools in Decline? Survey of Teachers Says Yes!

Eighty-two percent of teachers say that the general state of public K-12 education has gotten worse over the past five years. This is according to a new Pew Research Center survey conducted in October and November of 2023. That’s not the only shocking statistic from the survey, either, which overall offers a grim statistical map of the fault lines fracturing our education system. However, these trends may offer some insight into how to fix our schools.

First, the teachers. Most teachers (77 percent) find their job frequently stressful, and a large majority (70 percent) say their school is understaffed, which may contribute to the fact that over 80 percent of teachers say they do not have enough time in the work day to complete all necessary tasks. Continue reading →

Scientific American Declares War on Homeschooling, Calls for Fed. Regulations

Donya Grant, works on a homeschool lesson with her son Kemper, 14, as her daughter Rowyn, 11, works at right, at their home in Monroe, Wash./AP Photo

Scientific American magazine urged the federal government to regulate homeschooling and suggested that parents of homeschooled children should “undergo a background check.” Continue reading →

How to Fix American Education: The Parallel Education System

Millions of Americans have woken up to the fact that their education system is rotten to the core. As elite universities are engulfed by antisemitic riots, their veil of prestige has been torn to shreds. It is by now clear to many that, in the words of Christopher Rufo, the radical left has conquered everything.

What, then, is to be done? Many, Rufo included, are doing their best to stem the tide of revolutionary ideology through direct political engagement. Their hard work is paying off. In recent months, universities are beginning to move away from mandatory diversity statements. This is just the beginning…
Continue reading →

The Hidden Benefits of Homeschool (From a Homeschool Graduate)

These days, it’s almost common knowledge that homeschooled students have a better academic education, do better in college and careers, and are regarded as “smarter” than students from public schools. Homeschooling families typically gravitate toward this educational lifestyle to avoid the public school environment, to prioritize their faith and family values, to adjust to a more flexible and forgiving lifestyle, and to offer their children a better childhood than that found in public schools. Yes to all! These are wonderful reasons to choose homeschooling and should be widely shared and celebrated. Continue reading →

Homeschoolers Don’t Need Government Regulation

Since 2020, the number of families participating in homeschooling has increased significantly, and with it, discussions about regulations. Currently, regulations of homeschoolers are a state-by-state phenomenon, with Pennsylvania and New York among the states with the most regulations and Missouri, Texas, and Oklahoma with the least. Examples of regulations include requiring parents to submit a letter of intent to homeschool prior to removing their children from the classroom, having teaching qualifications, teaching specific subjects, having evidence of vaccinations, schooling each child for a certain number of hours, and more.

One of the many reasons for the push for regulations has to do with the desire to protect children from isolation, educational neglect, and other more-violent forms of abuse. Continue reading →

Streitel: Public Schools Have No Respect for the Students or Their Parents

Some of us may remember the Helen Lovejoy character in The Simpsons, who would appear any time some catastrophe befell the town and plaintively wail, “Won’t someone please think of the children?!”

The joke here, of course, is that as long as you do something in the name of helping children, it must be right, and you must be virtuous.

Such sentiments are easily ridiculed in cartoons, but unfortunately, they take root in reality like Russian knapweed despite copious evidence undermining their veracity. Consider your own government-school experiences, whether as a student, parent, or interested observer… Continue reading →

A Hybrid Homeschool That Gives Control to Parents, Focuses on Tradition — and Includes God

(Courtesy of Renae Zentz)

Ten years ago, a visionary mom embarked on a homeschooling journey with a heartfelt admiration for traditional American values, a never-ending love of learning, and a mission to spread kindness. Many families came on board, one after another, and together they are creating a subtle yet significant difference in our society.

I know this woman and her family personally and feel honored to be one of the teachers at this hybrid homeschool. Let me take you on an educational adventure to this institute that embraces God and prioritizes families. Continue reading →

Feeling Unqualified to Homeschool? 8 Resources to Get Started

If you’re feeling unqualified to homeschool, you’re not alone. The question of what and how to teach stressed me out early on in my homeschooling journey.

I found that having a good curriculum did a great deal to reduce my fears of not being qualified to teach. I wanted to strike a balance between bookwork, memorization, and fun interactive activities. I wanted to make sure to impart to my kids the basic body of knowledge necessary for a good education, yet I didn’t want to burn them out with endless worksheets. Continue reading →

The Inspiring Front Lines of the 20th-Century Homeschool Revolution

“We’re having a Revolution uh-huh…”

When she was a young girl, Sandra Day O’Connor began her education at home. Her early years of schooling on an Arizona ranch were sitting at the kitchen table with her mother, learning to read, and taking long nature walks.

I read this, and this scene of serenity, this future Supreme Court Justice, beginning her education at home, formed an image in my mind of what might be possible. Continue reading →

The Side of Homeschooling We Don’t Talk About Enough

As a veteran homeschooler, I am well aware of what a marathon this lifestyle can be. There’s no break when you live and work in the same place.

It’s time to take a deep breath and assess the situation. Burnout is a normal part of homeschooling. Everyone experiences it at one time or another, and it’s often associated with feelings of being distracted, overworked, and overwhelmed. Continue reading →

The Only Good One Is a Closed One: No Reform of Government Schools

Get your children OUT of the System – NOW

Currently, more people seem to be waking up to the state of educational institutions. Complaints of indoctrination in schools by both parents and teachers have increased in public debate in recent years, with various discussions relating to topics such as critical race theory and gender ideology.

In addition to political indoctrination, issues such as the drop in reading and math proficiency and policies of prolonged school closures during covid lockdowns have also contributed to this dissatisfaction. As alternatives, more states have passed policies that allow school choice in 2023, and the numbers of children educated through homeschooling grew by more than 60 percent between 2020 and 2022… Continue reading →

Home Schooling Numbers Rise Across the West

~ Introduction ~
What is most interesting about the following column is – that this is NOT about the U.S.A. So isn’t it interesting that there are those in the U.K. that also get it. Enjoy the lesson my friends. ~ Jeffrey Bennett, Editor

Many parents like Susanne Willdig have chosen to home school their children

The number of parents choosing to home educate their children is increasing in the West, figures show. Continue reading →

Phones Are Distracting Students in Class. More States Are Pressing Schools to Ban Them

The scene in classrooms around the country is similar: Kids are on their phones, even when school rules forbid it

The School Boards and the individual schools continue to allow this. Too many parents “demand” that their children be allowed to keep the phones or else, “I can’t get hold of my child if I need them!” All the more reason to take charge and get your children OUT of the SYSTEM. ~ Editor

In California , a high school teacher complains that students watch Netflix on their phones during class. In Maryland, a chemistry teacher says students use gambling apps to place bets during the school day.

Around the country, educators say students routinely send Snapchat messages in class, listen to music and shop online, among countless other examples of how smartphones distract from teaching and learning. Continue reading →

Schools Aren’t Teaching the Fundamentals ~ and It Shows

Republican lawmakers in Indiana are taking steps to ensure that kids who can’t read well don’t advance prematurely to the next grade.

The state’s literacy rates have been on the decline since the 2014-15 school year, with a six-point fall between the 2018-19 and 2020-21 school years. Micah Clark, director of the American Family Association in Indiana, says the COVID crisis “really highlighted how kids have fallen behind.” Continue reading →

Thousands of Public Schools at Risk of Closing as Enrollment Declines

Maybe it is about TIME!

In a trend that began with the pandemic, data shows ongoing school enrollment issues, and thousands of public schools nationwide are at risk of closing. According to the Department of Education , in 2023, 1.8 million fewer students enrolled in public schools nationwide compared to 2019.

Less students means less funding for schools, and with federal relief funding dwindling, schools are closing.

Jackson, Mississippi, has seen 11 schools close their doors, some of which have experienced a 30% drop in enrollment since 2018. That trend is not exclusive to Mississippi. Continue reading →

Why Rome’s Best Emperor Shunned Government Schools

Marcus Aurelius is widely regarded as Rome’s finest emperor. It’s a good bet that were he with us today, he would be an advocate for school choice.

The great classical scholar Edith Hamilton noted that the ancient Greeks frowned upon their Roman counterparts in regards to education. The former adopted public (government) schooling while the Romans left education to the family in the home. The snooty Greeks thought Romans were backward and unsophisticated. The Romans, of course, conquered the Greeks.

For most of the five centuries of the Republic, Romans were schooled at home where virtues of honor, character, and citizenship were emphasized. Not until the Republic’s last century or so did anything resembling government schooling emerge. Moreover, it was never so centralized, universal, and mandatory as it is in our society today. The English academic and cleric Teresa Morgan, in a 2020 paper titled “Assessment in Roman Education,” writes, “In no stage of its history did Rome ever legally require its people to be educated on any level.” Continue reading →

Why homeschooling is growing

Photo by Jessica Lewison – Unsplash

In recent years, homeschooling has witnessed a remarkable surge in popularity worldwide. In fact, it’s now the fasted growing form of education according to The Washington Post. During covid restrictions, there was a sharp increase in homeschooling, with some states jumping over 108% homeschool enrollment since 2017-2018. There are an estimated 1.9 million to 2.7 million homeschooled students in America today. Continue reading →

Record Numbers of Children Being Home Schooled

What you are about to read is from a British Publication – but we are seeing more and more of this transpiring in America. ~ Editor

Oliver began home learning in September with his mother Sharon

The number of children being home educated has increased dramatically in the last five years.

In the area covered by Devon County Council, a record number of 2,951 children were being home educated in the 2022/23 academic year – an extra 449 on the previous academic year.

One parent told the BBC the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health and school behavioural policies all played a part in choosing home education.

Devon County Council said historically parents had cited lifestyle choices as the main reason for choosing home education but now the main reason given was mental health issues. Continue reading →

“HEY Teacher – Leave those kids alone!!!

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The REAL reasons that you should Homeschool your children!