Faced with rapidly deteriorating conditions in government schools, interest among American parents in home education has surged to an “all-time high,” according to a new survey. Federal and state government data also show that homeschooling is growing quickly.
In an October report by the non-profit group EdChoice titled “2019 Schooling in America,” the organization showed that a staggering 15 percent of parents would prefer homeschooling over other educational alternatives such as private, public, or charter schools. The figure was just 5 percent in 2012, showing a dramatic growth to its highest level on record.
Among the many reasons why parents said they had removed their children from public school were safety, drugs, violence, bullying, academics, curriculum, discipline, standards. A strong majority of Americans, 56 percent, said they believe public education is on the wrong track, the survey results showed. Just over a third thought it was moving in the right direction.
Overall, about 82 percent of children are enrolled in traditional government schools, with another 5 percent enrolled in government-funded charter schools. However, less than a third of current school parents would choose government schools, with the majority choosing homeschooling or private schools as their top choice. Even most public school teachers would choose other options.
The latest information from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) revealed that the number of homeschooled families doubled between 1999 and 2016. The National Home Education Research Institute, though, suggested that the government’s data may significantly underestimate the number of homeschooling families. Many states do not track or even register homeschool families.
After an analysis of 16 represenative states from all four major U.S. regions, the NHERI concluded that home education grew by an average of 25 percent in those states between 2012 and 2016. By contrast, the school-age population during that time grew by just 2 percent.
“If the data from these states are representative of what happened in other states during those four years, then homeschooling is continuing to grow in both absolute numbers and as a portion of the overall school-age population,” NHERI reported, estimating that close to 2.5 million American children are being educated at home.
In Virginia, the number of homeschooled students has grown by 20 percent over the last five years, the state’s Department of Education revealed in a recent report. In Charlottesville, the number has more than doubled in that time. Across the state, homeschoolers make up make up about 3 percent of the student body today. And the numbers are growing quickly.
Still, it is amazing that, despite expressing an overwhelming preference for home education and private schools, so many parents continue sending their children to government schools that are indoctrinating and dumbing down the children on an industrial scale. However, if parents knew what was going on in the public education system, it would almost certainly collapse.
Americans concerned about the future of their children, their freedom, and their nation must continue sounding the alarm. With polling data showing 70 percent of “millennials” are now socialist, the nation will not survive another generation of such indoctrination.
