The Objective of Homeschool Families is to Turn Out Lifelong Learners

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he objective of homeschool families is to produce lifelong learners. Over 2 million homeschool families are giving their children an excellent education while also instilling sound values and enriching their family lives. Homeschooling is a way of life where family is central and children clearly revere and have respect for their parents. One of the primary reason why families decide to homeschool is a general dissatisfaction and disappointment with the academic standards offered in the public schools. Many homeschool families feel that public schools have become a toxic brew that are totally infested with politically correct thought which hinders free speech, and historically incorrect textbooks which promote liberal agendas, topped off with low-caliber and indifferent teachers who only inspire apathy. Even the students themselves can see that educational standards have been lowered and dumbed down to a mind-numbing level. Homeschool sure sounds like a good idea, but how do homeschool students measure up academically to their counterparts in public school? Statistics show that the average homeschool student is testing four grade levels above public school students. In addition, homeschool students across the nation test higher on standardize tests than their public school counterparts. The success of homeschooling is often attributed to the fact that homeschool students have the benefit of spending as much or as little time as needed on mastering subject material. Freeing up time allows for the pursuit of personal interests such as playing musical instruments or developing physical skills, such as sports or martial arts.The flexibility and freedom of the homeschooling schedule allow students of all ages to pursue their interests and gain a much deeper knowledge and understanding than they would if they were sitting in a classroom and had only an allotted time for learning. Many critics of homeschooling claim that withdrawing children from classroom learning will hinder their socialization skills. Nothing could be further from the truth, as homeschool families are heavily involved with each other and have peers of all ages, which gives them a greater level of poise and social ease. Homeschooling is like a little sub-culture where family comes first with a new definition of family time, and where the bonds between parent and child come before those of society. Homeschool families gain an unexpected richness to their lives that is priceless. Many homeschool families have far more education and creativity than they do money, which just adds to the fun of being highly resourceful in order to meet the developmental needs and educational requirements of their homeschool students. The approaches vary. Some parents lay out lesson plans ahead of time; some lean more toward the 'unschooling' philosophy, in which the interests of the students shape and lead the learning process. Some homeschool families have their children take an annual standardized test, while some are content without those scores. Many homeschool families use the various possibilities as an educational smorgasbord, switching from traditional schools to independent study programs to unschooling as needs dictate. Some homeschool families use the state guidelines for what students are expected to be learning, while other parents let the learning process evolve in a more organic fashion, with 'unschooling', or the idea that kids learn best when studying what they're interested in. The objective of homeschooling is to produce lifelong learners, and regardless of the motivations for, and approaches to homeschooling, it is clear that this is a movement whose time has come, and is here to stay.

Virginia Eanes has been a certified Montessori teacher for 16 years, and has studied brain-based learning and brain development extensively. Throughout her career in the classroom, Virginia created many activities that fostered a desire within the child to repeat the activity until mastery was achieved, thereby creating learning accelerators which produced strong neural pathways for learning . Virginia believes wholeheartedly in the concept of brain-based learning which is essentially educating with brain function and development in mind, in order that the brain will be more engaged in the learning process. Virginia also believes that brain-based education is the shape of the future of education, and that homeschool parents have an advantage in readily implementing these techniques with their homeschool students.

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