How good an idea is it to have children "educated" by people without an "education"...?

[Dina W]

You do know that the percentage is higher for home-schooled children to go to college right?



The 1996 survey of over 60 colleges and universities in all 50 states conducted by the National Center for Home Education revealed the following anecdotal accounts of homeschoolers in college:


A Harvard University (MA) admissions officer said most of their home-educated students "have done very well. They usually are very motivated in what they do." Results of the SAT and SAT II, an essay, an interview, and a letter of recommendation are the main requirements for home-educated applicants. "[Transcripts are] irrelevant because a transcript is basically a comparison to other students in the school."


In addition to Harvard, prominent schools like Yale (CT), Princeton (NJ), Texas A&M, Brown University (RI), the Carnegie Mellon Institute (PA), the Universities of Arizona, Maryland, Virginia, Hawaii and many others all have flexible transcript criteria, accept parental evaluations, and do not require any accreditation or a General Equivalency Diploma (GED). At Kansas State University and others like Lipscomb University and Middlebury College (VT), transcripts are optional.


In 1996, Birmingham-Southern College (AL) had only one homeschool applicant, but the admissions officer said the college “would be glad to have many more just like him!”


Roughly 50 homeschoolers attended the University of Montana. “The homeschoolers in this state seem to be up-to-date and well-organized. We even have homeschoolers in our honors programs. I know of one student for sure. She is one of our top students,” remarked one admissions official.


Bruce Walker at the University of Delaware said one home-educated student who “had an exceptional SAT score was invited to be considered for a full scholarship!”


“Homeschooling is becoming more and more prevalent,” said Mark Wheeler of Boise State University (ID). “We’re all trying to work together.”


Pennsylvania State University had 20 homeschool applicants in 1995, double the previous year. They prefer a portfolio with as much information as possible, including extra curricular activities that demonstrate leadership. “Homeschoolers show strongly in that,” said the admissions officer for Penn State.


Lewis and Clark College (OR) has a method of application called the “Portfolio Path” where a student can bypass standardized tests and instead be “reviewed on a myriad of things that would point to, and measure academic performance.” The Universities of Minnesota and Mississippi also look at the all-around abilities demonstrated in a homeschooler’s portfolio. University of Kentucky homeschool applicants “have to provide a portfolio of what they have done throughout their high school years” that is “creative and informative.” A UK admissions officer also said, “Our homeschoolers (about 50) tend to be very bright, and have scored very high on standardized tests.”


The Dartmouth College (NH) admissions officer explained, “The applications I’ve come across are outstanding. Homeschoolers have a distinct advantage because of the individualized instruction they have received.”


University of Alaska/Fairbanks has had over 300 home-educated students in the last few years, several of which were in their honors program. The program director, Mary Dicicco commented, “They have been wonderful students on the whole!”


Staff from Geneva College (PA) and Belhaven College (MS) are actively recruiting homeschoolers by going to homeschool conferences and book fairs to talk to parents and students about admissions.


“Homeschoolers have to work harder thereby increasing student productivity,” Jeff Lantis said of the 75-90 homeschoolers at Hillsdale College (MI). “Homeschoolers are consistently among our top students, in fact homeschoolers have won our distinct Honors Program the last three years in a row. We tend to look very favorably upon homeschoolers applying to our college.”


USA TODAY reported on October 28, 1996, that the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s dean of admissions, James Walters, has enrolled about 20 home-educated students, all of which “are performing above average academically.”


A letter sent in 1991 to homeschool leaders in Massachusetts from Thomas M. Rajala, Director of Admissions at Boston University is another example of the recognition institutions of higher learning are showing homeschoolers’ academic achievements:


Boston University welcomes applications from homeschooled students. We believe students educated at home possess the passion for knowledge, the independence, and the self-reliance that enable them to excel in our intellectually challenging programs of study.


Wheaton College (IL) Director of Admissions Dan Crabtree says that “Nearly 10 percent of our current freshmen were homeschooled at one point, and about a dozen were homeschooled through high school.” Wheaton’s 1999-2000 freshman class had 104 (out

[Independent]

a higher percentage of home schooled students end up graduating from college more than public schooled students. So I believe you are on the wrong side of this issue.

[tagsmommy32]

The only thing alarming about home school is the incredible education most of the kids are getting. And it is most alarming to teachers unions who are worried some is going to ask them to work for a living. And how much more teaching is going on in public schools now than going thru books and asking questions at the end of the paragraph? And a lot of times even that is not getting done. Some of the greatest thinkers and doers in this country and the world managed to get wise without someone with formal education teaching them. If these people are "stupid" enough to think they can educate their child better than their local public school can I am betting they are smart enough to pull it off!

[future]

Education is more than going through books and answering questions at the end of the paragraph.
The majority of "home schooled" children are doing it with parents with no formal education beyond high school.
Are the parents even required to have a GED to do it?
As a former credentialed substitute teacher I find this highly alarming.
"final war" (great name, that's what you guys really are hoping for isn't it?)
I'm talking about home schooling, not who gets to have kids.
Tina - yes I know our Mother is our "first teacher" - but I like any other normal teenager would have rather drove nails in my eyes than be stuck with my Mom all day long!
And John, not everybody has the luxury of having PHD parents, do they? That's the point of my question!