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Dissatisfied With Public Schools?
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in its The Condition of Education, 2009 Report, 38% of the homeschoolers in this country are homeschooling for reasons related to public school safety concerns, environmental concerns, or failure of their local public schools to provide quality academic instruction. Compare that to 36% who homeschool for reasons of a religious or moral nature, according to the same report. In other words, dissatisfaction with the public school system has surpassed religious motivations for leading families into choosing homeschooling. What that should be saying to educators of all types in this country, is that homeschooling is no longer an isolated portion of the population, but a growing movement that is affecting all families, all school districts, and all future citizens of this country.
As an advocate of homeschooling, and author of numerous methods, tips and strategies on how to homeschool effectively, these statistics do not alarm me, however they should alarm non-homeschooling families. They should alarm public school educators. Yet, while I advocate homeschooling as a viable, high quality, richly rewarding, and profoundly fitting way to prepare students for higher education, I am also a product of a quality public school education myself. So, I cannot deny that there are good public schools out there, good public school teachers, and systems that are working. But they are fewer in number than they used to be according to the perception of the public as evidenced in this report.
Top Public Schools
Good can often come from passionate visions of past government decisions. One of the many benefits of the Former President Bush with respect to the No Child Left Behind Act is test standardization for Public school systems. For example, each school from Elementary, Middle, High and any schools that have received public funding were rated with the same testing standards.
Consumer Information that can be used in deciding where to relocate or provide parents with an accurate assessment of our education institutions. Armed with such information, the public can hold teaching staff, Board of Educations and elected officials accountable.