On Thursday I gave a persuasive speech on Homeschooling in my public speaking class.  I got such amazing feedback from both my teacher and my classmates, so I thought I’d share it here to not only get my readers to understand a little about why I homeschool, but why many others make this decision as well.

“They say it takes a village to raise a child. I’ve seen the village, and I don’t want them anywhere near my child.”

According to National Home Education Research Institute, in 2010 there were approximately 2.35 million homeschoolers and this number is growing at a rapid rate of 8% per year. A study done with homeschoolers showed that 90% were happy that they are homeschooled, and 80% will homeschool their children as well.

The needs of our children should always come first!  Children need to not have budget cuts affect their education, and budget cuts are making it so that there are less teachers and larger class sizes.  My son Jayden spent his 2nd grade year being moved from his 2nd grade class back to his 1st grade class due to budget cuts.  He was still in 2nd grade, just learning among 1st graders…. very weird!  When we have larger class sizes, kids are being left behind and getting confused, because a teacher with 30 students in their class CAN NOT give each child the individual attention that they NEED.

Children do not need to go to a place where they ever feel threatened by their peers and be expected to learn in the same threatening environment.  Bullying is a HUGE situation in all of our schools, and is a topic I could talk about all on its own, but while it’s a HUGE issue with why I homeschool, it’s not the only one.  When it comes to the teachers being able to ensure that their students are in a positive learning environment and monitoring how the students are treating each other, we have to question if this is even possible!  How can a teacher monitor this with so many students in their class?  A mere dirty look from a peer can upset a child so much that they don’t focus on a word the teacher is saying.

Homeschooling is the perfect alternative to these things that our children NEED.

There is no teacher in this world that will ever love and care about your child’s education more that YOU. That in itself gives you the tools that you need to homeschool your child.  Homeschooling your child gives you the means to train and influence them the way you see fit.  You don’t have to worry about them picking up values from a child who has parents that mentally abuses him – in which he then goes and does the same to others.  YOU get to be the influence in your child’s young life.  Through a homeschooling journey you will increase your family unity and closeness.  Your children will respect you more as not only their parents, but also as their teacher.  Your children will receive a better education through homeschool.  According to the Homeschool Legal Defense Association, homeschoolers outperform public school students in ALL subjects by 30-37% – that is HUGE.

You might think that homeschooling is too expensive and you can’t afford it.  Well, a study was done on 20,760 students and this is what was discovered:

· Parents that spend $199 or less – the students scored an average in the 80^th percentile

· Parents that spend $400-599 – the students scored an average in the 80^th percentile

· Once the parents spend over $600, the students do slightly better, scoring in the 83rd percentile.

The message is loud and clear here, more money DOES NOT mean a better education.

Social interactions are a huge concern with parents when it comes to homeschooling.  They fear that their children won’t be getting the “healthy” social interactions that their children need.  Through my experience, my child’s social life has progressed in ways I never thought were possible. In the public school system he had a negative social life, with kids who never treated him the way he should be treated. Through homeschooling I am able to provide a positive social experience for him through extra activities, play dates, and homeschool groups.

Just imagine the feeling you would have inside as you got to watch your child go from not grasping something in school and being the one to go step by step through the process and helping them to grasp it. YOU being the one to teach them. It’s an amazing feeling. You get to high five them, hug them and celebrate with a pizza party!  Imagine knowing every day that you are creating a positive environment for your child to learn and grow in. You don’t have to worry about them being bullied, influenced by the wrong crowd, or falling behind and being forgotten.

I would never ask for anybody to ever just dive into the world of homeschooling without doing their own homework to make sure that it’s right for their family.  I  gave you today some very important factors that not only have made up my decision, but the decision of many homeschoolers. There are many FREE resources for you to seek out like…..

· homeschooler blogs,

· books at the library,

· information on the Homeschool Legal Defense Association website.

READ on this subject and really educate yourself to be able to go out there and make the best decision for your child’s schooling.

Ghandi once said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

So I challenge you, slow it down and let your children enjoy the ride of education.