Princeton,NJ/ 360prwire/ November 3/
The past three decades has seen a remarkable rise in the number of homeschooling (the practice of teaching kids at home rather than the regular school) cases for children. Interestingly, homeschooling is becoming an easier option for parents even in countries where legislation does not support it. In this article, we discuss whether homeschooling is fit to be acclaimed as a type of education that students have the right to, especially in this age of Covid-19.
Everyone can agree that when the dreaded Covid-19 came to the world’s shores, it shifted the dynamics of not only our social habits, but our education habits as well. Parents who are very much concerned about the education of their children have become more aware of this shift and its consequences on their kids. That’s why many are now resorting to homeschooling even in countries where it is not legally allowed.
There are two types of homeschooling, legal homeschooling or illegal homeschooling which operates outside the law or without permission from public authorities. The main difference between the two is that illegal homeschooled students don’t get to take part in any official testing like SAT’s etcetera, you only know how good they are through word-of-mouth testimony or testaments from parents themselves which can be biased. On the other hand, legally homeschooled students take assignments, tests and their tests results are reviewed by the authorities.
In countries where homeschooling is not allowed, parents who resorted to teaching kids at home faced legal actions from law enforcement agencies. In fact, some have been jailed for teaching kids at home without going through the legal process of doing so. However, this is now not the case as now countries with zero policy on homeschooling are now easing into the idea.
A quick scan shows homeschooling is legal in countries like Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. These are just a few that were ahead of the curve before Corona. In the US, all 50 states had legalized homeschooling as well. But these are industrialized countries, how about less modern countries?
India and many countries in Africa had no homeschooling legal framework before the Covid-19 pandemic. However, in just a few months since Covid-19, India has issued new guidelines on home education and Kenya is about to do that very thing. The growing global support for homeschooling can also be seen by the international homeschool conference which is held in Berlin every other year.
While homeschooling was in the past primarily for lower grade class children, after Covid, universities, campuses, and other tertiary institutions around the world have been encouraging homeschooled students to apply for admission. This is because homeschooled students are seen as more mature and less likely to become afflicted with Covid-19 like their peers in regular schools and yet they still get good grades. It now becoming common for university students to submit attend classes, submit essays and seek assignment help from lecturers and course tutors online.
But whether we like it or not, we need to remember that homeschooling which was started out of necessity has now turned into a choice! The growing trend in the number of homeschoolers validates this fact even further. Homeschooling can never be made mandatory but cannot also be restricted when countries fail to legalize it.
Despite the increasing number of countries that are now legalizing homeschooling, there are still some issues affecting certain countries when it comes to educational freedom. The most notable of them is the mandatory attendance law which requires all students to attend school regularly according to their age group or face sanctions like fines or even imprisonment (in countries where it’s allowed). This makes parents think twice about homeschooling because at the end of the year their kids could be arrested if they fail to provide a legal excuse for not attending school or providing fake information on where they were all this time. This is why some countries are enacting laws that would exempt homeschooled students from such mandatory annual attendance requirements.
Take, for example, Oregon. The state legislature just passed a law that would allow people who have been teaching their kids at home full-time for three consecutive years or more to qualify as private tutors and therefore be exempted from compulsory education laws in the state. The law also allows homeschooled students to participate in interscholastic activities under certain conditions like medical treatment, family crisis etcetera. Other states like Wisconsin are considering similar laws that exempt homeschooled students from the compulsory attendance requirement.
If this trend continues or even spreads to other countries, we might be seeing a rise in homeschooling as an alternative form of education and not just for religious or pandemic reasons.
So what do you think? Should homeschooling be officially proclaimed as a type of education that every student has the right to? We would love to hear from you. Let us know in the comment section.
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