Research Paper on:
Traditional Schooling v. Home Schooling

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
1.5 million children. Critics raise questions about academic and social issues, but parents maintain these issues are not valid."i There was a time in the not too distant past when  home-schooling was used almost exclusively by religious fundamentalists. They were primarily interested in training their children in their values. Another group that utilized this option were the so-called back-to-the-earth kinds  of people who rejected any public institution. It took a court battle in 1993 to have home-schooling legalized and since that time, this type of education has been moving closer  to the mainstream. In 1998, it was estimated there were about 1.5 million children who were being schooled at home.ii By 2000, it was estimated that 1.7 million children were  being schooled at home.iii The reputation of home-schooling was also changing dramatically. In one survey, 59 percent of the respondents said that "home-schooled kids were at least as well educated  as students in traditional schools."iv Today, parents are also using home-schooling as a way to maintain family closeness. Other parents have children with special needs that are not being  adequately met in the educational system. Many parents are very concerned about the influences and pressures their children face every day at school, such as alcohol, drugs, sex and violence.  In fact, Florida officials reported that the primary reason parents gave for wanting to school their child at home was safety.v The questions everyone has about home-schooling are -  Does it work? Is the child as well-educated as they would be if they attended the traditional school program? What about college - how will the young person enter college  without a regular high school education? The answer to the first question is a resounding yes! Home-schooling is not only as effective, it is most often more effective than traditional