School At Home
La Escuela En Casa

All children in the United States have to receive an education, but the law does not say they have to be educated at school.

A number of parents prefer not to send their children to school. Children who are educated at home are known as"home-schoolers." There are about 300.000 home-schoolers in the United States today. Some parents prefer teaching their children at home because they do not believe that public schools teach the correct religious values; others believe they can provide a better educational experience for their children by teaching them at home. Interestingly, results show that home-schooled children quite often do better than average on national tests in reading and math.

David Guterson and his wife teach their three children at home. Guterson says that his children learn very differently from children in school. Learning starts with the children's interests and questions. For example, when there is heavy snowfall on a winter day, it may start a discussion or reading about climate, snow removal equipment, Alaska, polar bears, and winter tourism. Or a spring evening when the family is out watching the stars is a good time to ask questions about satellites and the space program. If the Brazilian rain forests are on the TV news, it could be a perfect time to talk about how rain forests influence the climate, how deserts are formed, and how the polar ice caps affect ocean levels.

Home schooling is often more interesting than regular schools, but critics say that home-schoolers are outsiders who might be uncomfortable mixing with other people in adult life. Critics also say that most parents are not well qualified to teach their children. However, most parents don't have the time or the desire to teach their children at home, so schools will continue to be where most children get their formal education.