While more and more complaints are being made about the public school systems, homeschooling is becoming a very viable option for education in America, with over a million children currently receiving this alternative form of schooling. Although many argue otherwise, homeschooling is quickly becoming the best option for education in America because of the increased safety, encouragement of creativity, and strong focus on family values that this branch of education provides to its students. The individuality of homeschooling, from scheduling to varying curricula, allows each family to get the most of their educational experience. 

Homeschooling is a progressive form of education, in which parents choose to have their children receive their education within their own homes rather than sending them to a traditional school every day. Families choose this method of schooling for many reasons; some of them being flaws within the public school system, educational beliefs, religious purposes, and their child's goals and progression. Homeschooling began to gain popularity in the 1970s when authors such as Dorothy and Raymond Moore and John Holt brought attention to this interesting approach. Homeschooling is legal in all fifty states and there are now over two million children being homeschooled in the United States, that rate increasing by fifteen percent a year. (Homeschool Companion)

The growing popularity of homeschooling has allowed for a vast variety of resources and available curricula. Homeschooling families have resources such as catalogs available to them filled with different learning techniques, educational philosophies, and teacher instructions. Homeschooled students study the typical subjects they would in traditional schools, but focus most on those that spark their interest the most. This allows for higher success rates because the students truly enjoy their learning material, rather than being forced to learn things they are not particularly interested in. 

Some people may pose the question: if homeschooling is such a great option, why is it not the most common form of education? That is because the most common form of traditional education lies in public schools. It is often the easiest choice because a parent's tax dollars contribute to public schools in their area, whether their children attend those schools or not. Supplies such as desks and books are supplied by the school so they are not additional expenses to a family. Public schools are also very popular because most parents must work in order to provide for their families. Due to this, homeschooling is not a realistic option unless a tutor is hired, which can become expensive. 

The next most popular option is private or parochial schools. A parochial school is a private institution supported by a particular church or parish. (Public Schools). Most of these schools have strong affiliations with a family's life long church and religious beliefs are the driving force, compelling parents to send their children to these schools to learn in a morally stable environment. These schools are also popular because they tend to have graduates that receive acceptance into the most prestigious colleges and universities. This is the second most common option only because these schools often come with high tuition fees, strict codes of conduct, and mandatory participation in religious services provided at the school. 

Homeschooling is a better option for families due to many reasons. One of those reasons being that any religious family may very well find the public school system to be low in moral standing. It could even be argued that the public school system can promote and coincide with atheism. This is because creationism is not allowed to be taught in curriculum and evolution is taught as fact. Because students spend approximately fifteen thousand hours in school by the time they graduate as seniors, it is important that parents are comfortable with the environments in which their children spend that time. 

President Ronald Reagan ordered the National Commission on Excellence in Education to complete an investigation in the public school system in 1982. Two major problems were reported in this investigation. The first problem was that students who graduated public schools were not very competitive in the work force. The second problem was that other countries' education systems were quickly surpassing those of the United States. This report confirmed the suspicion that American education in the form of public schools was a staple of mediocrity which was likely to do substantial damage to the future of the nation. The study also confirmed that the public school systems were subpar and needed rebuilding to reach improvement. 

The first public school system, developed in Massachusetts, was designed to ensure that children could read and thoroughly understand the Bible. Public school prayer was abolished in 1962. This started the moral decline in American schools, simply because prayer in school was considered unconstitutional and an invasion of a student's basic rights. Many argue that the biblical principles that this country was founded upon are now banned from schools. 

Aside from the academic issues occurring in the public school system, students are also forced to face peer pressures of all kinds. The increase in illegal drug use and alcohol consumption, along with immoral sex and gang violence is a problem far too common in the public school system. For example, The Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse surveyed 38 of the school districts in Texas in order to study substance abuse in teens in the public school system. The study concluded that 76% of high school students have consumed alcohol. An even more alarming statistic: 16% of middle school students had consumed alcohol already. An even more startling issue is illegal drug use; the most common being marijuana. These studies showed that 30% of students, from junior high to high school, had experimented with drugs such as marijuana. Early exposure to drug and alcohol can negatively affect the futures of young children. In fact, this early exposure of drugs and alcohol has been associated with poor outcomes in childhood. Many children with exposure to these substances have a history of conduct issues as well. Under age use of drugs and alcohol also lead to health problems as well as addiction later in life. 

Another reason to deviate from the traditional public school systems is that students do not learn critical thinking skills. Public schools are now focused on teaching students to memorize facts, only to pass standardized tests run by each state. Many schools have been forced to cut programs such as art, music, and foreign language because of a severe lack of funding. Public schools also face difficulties finding qualified teachers to work for them, as many college graduates are not drawn to teaching because of the extremely low wages and less than ideal working conditions. It is also known that fifty percent of teachers quit their teaching positions in the public school system within their first five years. Forty percent of middle school teachers did not even major in the subjects that they are teaching. 

When parents discover the immense shortcomings of the public school system and do not have the financial ability to send their children to private schools, they are left with only one feasible option and that option is homeschooling, for many reasons. First, no child is the same and it can be very difficult for teachers to adjust their methods to fit their needs. This is nearly impossible in the public school system due to the overwhelming numbers of students each teacher must educate. Teachers in the public school system have no freedom to change the curriculum that is already given to them. This is why homeschooling is a valuable resource. It is very difficult to attend the needs of every child in a large classroom. Homeschooling allows students and teachers to work at their own pace. The curriculum is specifically built around the student's needs. 

Homeschooling is a liberating option for many parents and students. School authorities are not the ones in charge and there is no peer pressure to be dealt with. Homeschooling also allows for a dramatic increase in family time, which not only helps build bonds, but also provides the parents the opportunity to teach traditions and moral values. It can also be argued that no one is more qualified to teach a student than their own parent. Parents have an undeniable love for their children and know their needs better than anyone else ever could. Having a parent as a teacher helps build character through their own family values, and allows for the best education possible by focusing on the student's academic needs as well. 

According to the National Home Education Research Institute, there are about 2.3 million homeschooled students in the United States alone. This unorthodox method of teaching is quickly growing and has become the new trend. This growth is actually benefiting the economy as well. Taxpayers a little over $11,700 per student in their public school system. Taxpayers do not have to spend a single dollar on homeschooled children. With all of the students that are now out of the public school system, taxpayers are saving approximately $27 billion a year. While some may argue that this only makes finances more difficult for the families of homeschooled children, parents only spend an average of $600 on their child's entire education up until college (NHERI). 

Public school supporters often argue that homeschooling is racially exclusive. That is actually not the case. A very wide variety of families choose to homeschool. Among these are all sorts of religions from atheism to mormons, families with different political views such as republicans, libertarians, and democrats, and families of all financial statuses from low to high incomes. People of all racial backgrounds and ethnicities choose to homeschool. Homeschool is even developing in other countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Hungary, Japan, Kenya, Russia, Mexico, South Korea, Thailand, and the United Kingdom (NHERI). A parent's former education does not even determine their success as their child's teacher. Parents with no high school diploma have been just as successful in homeschooling their child as parents with Ph. D.s have. Homeschooling is growing quickly in minorities and one study shows that thirty-two percent of homeschool students come from non-white families (Noel, Stark, and Redford, 2013).

Studies have proven that homeschooled students also perform better than public school students. Homeschooled students, on average, tend to score fifteen to thirty percent higher than public school students on standardized tests such as SATs. The same proves true for minorities, but the difference between the two is even more substantial. Research has found that African American homeschooled students score up to forty-two percent above African American public school students (Ray, 2015). Many associate this success due to the freedom from the government that homeschooling has. The state is not in control of their curricula and therefore, the government does not force homeschooled families to focus on standardized tests, allowing home schooled students to learn more efficiently than public school children. 

Many people believe that homeschooled students lack the common social skills that most public school students possess, but that is not necessarily always the case. Despite the idea of isolation that surrounds the reputation of homeschooling, most homeschool students have just as many friends as students in public schools do. Homeschooled students often interact with students in their homeschooling associations, church groups, volunteer groups, and many other recreational groups available to them. Homeschool students are also allowed to play sports, not only on club or recreational teams, but are also often allowed to play on their local public school sports teams.  

If the statistics aren't enough to convince a parent to homeschool their children, Logan Laplante, a homeschooled 13 year old, argues that homeschooling has proven to be an invaluable part of his life.  He examines his personal experiences and how they have helped him grow as a person and as a professional, giving him more valuable knowledge than any teacher's lesson plans ever could. This video is frequently used to advocate for homeschooling across America. Rather than being trapped in a classroom all day with a lack of interest in what is being taught, he is gaining real world experience that will help him immensely throughout his life. 

Many parents are apprehensive to homeschool their children because they are afraid it will be harder for them to get into college. Homeschooled students have equal, if not better, chances of receiving acceptances to colleges of their choice. Students need something that will make them stand out to admissions offices. According to Penelope Trunk, "no differentiator means no entrance  --  especially for white girls." Through homeschooling, "there is more time for kids to experiment and  ...  figure out what is special about them. What is special about them is what will get them into college." This explains that kids who are homeschooled have more time to focus on extracurricular activities. Colleges like to see extracurricular activities because they show dedication and extra effort beyond the classroom. Since homeschooled students have more time to focus on these things, they will have better chances of getting accepted to the college of their choice. Lastly, Trunk offers, "Columbia accepts home schooled musicians with just a GED." This is important to the main argument because it exemplifies that often colleges will accept students with lower academic success if they excel in extracurricular areas.                                          

Deciding whether or not to homeschool children is a difficult choice. Today's parents have a multitude of options for their children's education. Evidence supports that homeschooling is the best option. Homeschooled children receive so many benefits like receiving individual attention and gaining important life experience. The arguments against homeschooling are outweighed by the arguments in favor of homeschooling. Overall, homeschooled children succeed in all aspects of life. Homeschooling allows the people that care for students the most, their parents, decide the quality of the education they receive. With caring parents and children who are willing to take a chance with something different, homeschooling is a fool proof option for a high caliber education. 

