It's time to get up! Did you remember to brush your teeth? Please don't forget to pack a snack, and make sure your homework is in your backpack. Call me later if you need to stay after school for a club meeting. Your bus is here. Love you. Bye. Have a good day!For the vast majority of the almost 50 million children enrolled in public pre-kindergarten through grade 12 programs, this (or some variation thereof) is how each school day morning begins. Students travel from their homes and spend a third or more of the day sharing interactions with dozens of teachers, administrators, coaches, librarians, and specialists, who offer instruction and support in areas such as music, drama, computer technology, speech-language, and reading. At the end of the day, they return home, share time with neighborhood friends and family, and dive into extracurricular activities, homework, and no doubt some screen time before heading off to bed.
For an estimated 1.5 million students, the scenario is quite different. While they may find their way into their neighborhood school building or adjacent sports field for activities and sports, their academics take place in the home. Parents (or others engaged to provide instruction and guidance) are in charge of "teaching." Parents must create opportunities in which their child can master curriculum content they need to meet state graduation requirements and prepare their child for successful transitions from grade to grade, to post-secondary education, and to gainful employment.
Is home schooling (also known as parent-led home-based education) a good option for students with learning disabilities? Read on.
Some Background on Home Schooling
It may be hard to believe, but in 1980, home schooling was illegal in 30 states! It wasn't until 1993 that provisions were set in place to allow for home schooling in every state in the nation. A National Household Education Surveytells us that from 1999 to 2007, there has been a 74 percent increase in the number of students who are home-schooled, more than 12 times the increase of public school enrollment over the same period.
While most sources point to 1.5 million as the number of children currently engaged in home schooling, this number may be subject to question. The 2003 NCES survey (the full 2007 report is not published yet) has a 58 percent refusal rate, suggesting that many home schooling families are strongly opposed to any sort of oversight and are not willing to participate in efforts to gather data documenting their efforts and outcomes.
Even though the numbers of students who are home-schooled is relatively small, there has been concern expressed by education officials that there is no way to assure that these children are receiving the high quality education they deserve and to which they are entitled by law. For example, according to a 2004 report by the Education Commission of the States, most states do not require parents to obtain any sort of teaching certificate in order to home school their children. The report continues to warn that only half the states monitor the educational progress of home-schooled students, and that those that do monitor this progress differ in their requirements for test scores, portfolio assessments or informal narrative evaluations.
That said, there are many parents who have successfully managed the home schooling process and whose children have graduated high school, gained admission to (and enjoyed success in) selective colleges, enjoyed active social lives and have become contributing members of their school and work communities.
Is Home Schooling Right for You?
Is there a typical profile of a home schooling child or family? Not as far as I can tell. Families who choose to engage in home schooling cross all socio-economic groups and are represented across all racial, ethnic, religious, cultural backgrounds.
Some reports suggest that a predominance of home-schoolers are from white, middle class backgrounds, whose families embrace politically conservative values and who describe themselves as religious. Other reports point to the increasing popularity of home schooling among non-white groups, with varying levels of income and with levels of parent education ranging from no high school diploma to post-graduate degrees.
There also seems to be a wide range of reasons why parents and children decide upon home schooling for at least some portion of their school day (or school career). Some of the benefits reported are:
- more in-depth learning of content in areas of curriculum that are of greatest interest
- an opportunity to customize or individualize the learning environment to reduce stress and increase learning progress
- the ability for children to take responsibility for their learning routines and self-monitor their progress against personal goals and learning objectives
- the use of teaching approaches (e.g., guided self-discovery, portfolio work) not often available or encouraged in more typical school settings
- enhanced family relationships between children and parents and among siblings
- greater oversight of social interactions with peers and adults
- a safe environment that is free of physical violence and direct exposure to drugs and alcohol
- limited exposure to social and peer pressures that could lead to activity that is deemed improper and sexually unhealthy
- the desire to teach a particular set of personal values, beliefs, or worldviews
Home Schooling for Students with Learning Disabilities?
While home schooling may present many unique opportunities and challenges for all students, parents of children with LD need to weigh a number of other considerations when managing a home schooling program. The following is a sampling of some questions that parents should address to ensure that their child's learning and behavioral needs are being met and that their child is being afforded the best opportunities to make progress toward high school graduation and a successful post-secondary transition:
- Do I really want to take full responsibility for my child's academic learning?
- Will home schooling deny my child the full range of social interactions and experiences with peers and adults that is so important to the development of a well-balanced personality?
- Is there a required curriculum that needs to be taught? If so, where can I get a copy? Are there materials (e.g., text books, supplemental work sheets, videos) that can be provided to me? Are these materials available for free, and if not, how much do they cost?
- Are school district personnel available to me to provide assistance in shaping a program of home study? If so, how often can we speak? Can we meet in person on a regular basis?
- What services and supports are available to me given my decision to provide home instruction? Is the IEP still a valid document? Will meetings with the school-based child study team or committee on special education still take place?
- Can instructional support (e.g., resource room) and related services (e.g., speech-language therapy) be provided to my child at home?
- Can my child visit the school building for certain classes (e.g., advanced placement science, studio art) but not others? How about participation in sports, chorus, clubs and after-school activities?
- How will my child's progress be officially monitored and reported? Will my child have to take mid-term and final exams? (in school? at home?) Standardized assessments? And will these be given with appropriate accommodations?
- How will my child's grade point average (GPA) be calculated and recorded on the official school transcript?
- Will the decision to home school have an impact on my child's college application process or work application status?
Some Helpful Reading and Resources
Home Schooling — a feature column on home schooling presented by Editorial Projects in Education.
The National Home Education Research Institute — a national not-for-profit organization that strives to produce high-quality research on home-based education, serve as a clearinghouse for this information, and educate the public concerning the findings of all research on home education.
Home School Legal Defense Association — a nonprofit advocacy organization established to defend and advance the constitutional right of parents to direct the education of their children and to protect family freedoms.
Home-Schooled Students Rise in Supply and Demand — an abstract about the home-school movement, and how its students are growing up and going off to college. (Click through for help locating the Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n7 pA1 Oct 2007 online or in a local library.)
Three Key Points About Home Schooling — a website that provides an overview of home schooling as well as a comprehensive look at the growing body of research and scholarships in this area.
Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of LD Resources & Essential Information at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
