For most of us who have gone through the hallowed halls of learning a.k.a. the busy and sometimes bumpy corridors of a private or public school, home schooling may be a curious and bizarre choice. The idea of not being able to have classmates and interact with them during class or recess or not being able to participate in school organizations like sports and the glee club gives the impression that you are missing out on a lot of great things and experiences.



As a famous book title says "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten". You might as well accept that you may have failed to take up these lessons as there is no such thing as kindergarten when you are home schooled all alone. But then again, there are reasons why children are home schooled.

The term home schooling generally refers to teaching and instruction done at home but under the regulation and administration of school associations also known as umbrella schools or correspondence schools. The home school movement was roused by John Caldwell Holt, a teacher, when he published "How Children Fail." The book raised controversy as it criticized school instruction stressing that the failure of children to learn was not due to the amount of effort and determination to learn but on the setting provided by the schools.

Mr. Holt believed that the home is the most appropriate base where the child can explore and learn where there is no interference, no regulation and no control. This view was shared by an education professional couple, Raymond and Dorothy Moore. The Moores advocated that children from 8 to 12 years old can learn more from home than at schools as there is an added advantage of the strengthening of the bonds and emotional development between the parent and the child during these formative years.

On some account, home schooling is typically an alternative that some parents opt to have for their children with the wish that the latter may dwell in a learning environment different from that of public or private schools. This does not seem too unreasonable considering the situation of some of our schools nowadays.

In this day and age, it is not surprising that we hear news of school bullies hitting on the timid and meek kid or of teen cliques who discriminate at those who do not belong to their group to the point of embarrassing them in front of people scaring them for life. These horror stories could haunt any parent who only wants the best for their child and who would anticipate that they never get a chance to live through these kind of experiences.

Some parents choose home schooling for practical reasons. It is apparent that enrolling in schools is expensive. One need not only consider the tuition fees but there is the concern on the costs of books, of school materials, of projects, of field trips, and even the bus fares and the lunch money. School expenses could take a toll on some underprivileged families. A number of school regulations also preempt kids to go to a regular school. For this reason, home schooling is the fall back option.