Three Ways Homeschooling Helps Our Economy

Q. With the extra pressures of the financial recession breathing down parents' necks, how should we view the trend
toward homeschooling? What evidence is there that homeschooling is a smarter choice than traditional schooling
methods? Will the homeschooled employees of tomorrow do better, or worse, in a challenging and confusing global
economic climate?

"There are three key ways homeschoolers are positively impacting the U.S. economy, and we should be paying close
attention to this growing population," says Josephine Nicholas, chief operating officer of Published Daily, a new
startup tech company whose aim is to help professionals better communicate and market to their networks.

She lists them:

#1 - They Grade at Higher Levels than the National Average

According to studies done by the National Home Education Research Institute and the Home School Legal Defense
Association, homeschoolers consistently grade at higher levels than the national average across the board.

"In every other recession, it was the smart, young innovators that were the movers and shakers," Ms. Nicholas
said. "All over the country, the home educated continue scoring at the highest levels, after which they step into
being productive members of society. They are using their talents and skills in several arenas to help direct us out of
the tough economy we are currently facing."

#2 - They Thrive on Entrepreneurship, Doing Their Part in This Recession

"We see time and again, that, as the home educated are becoming adults, they are positively contributing to the US
economy in a myriad of ways, not the least of which is by creating new companies, thereby creating new jobs," she
said. "My siblings and I are a prime example of this, and there are many others."

The homeschooled Nicholas siblings opened their first company in their late teens, grew it to be successful, and have
created and grown several companies since that time in their home base of Michigan, the state currently with the
highest rate of unemployment.

#3 - They Positively Contribute to Society in General

Dr. Gary Knowles, past professor at the University of Michigan, explored adults who were home educated. None
were unemployed and none were on welfare, 94% said home education prepared them to be independent persons,
79% said it helped them interact with individuals from different levels of society, and they strongly supported the
home education method.

"When you are facing a recession like we're in now, everyone needs to do their part in their community and be a
productive citizen," Ms. Nicholas said. "The majority of homeschoolers participate in an ongoing community service
activity, while only 37% of similarly aged U.S. adults and 39% of all U.S. adults do so. Clearly, the home educated
recognize that being involved in community will positive impact the country's economy in general, and they welcome
the opportunity to contribute."

Three decades ago home schooling was illegal in 30 states. It was considered a fringe phenomenon, pursued
by cranks, and parents who tried it were often persecuted and sometimes jailed. Today it is legal
everywhere, and is probably the fastest-growing form of education in America. According to a new book,
Home Schooling in America, by Joseph Murphy, a professor at Vanderbilt University, in 1975 10,000-15,000
children were taught at home. Today around 2m areabout the same number as attend charter schools.
In this section
Evil beyond imagining
Think green
Keep it in the family
The view from Vandalia
Relief in sight
Reprints
Related topics
United States
Home schooling
Education
Although home schooling started on the counter-cultural left, the conservative right has done most to promote it,
abandoning public schools for being too secular and providing no moral framework. Today the ranks of home-
schoolers are overwhelmingly Christian, and 78% of parents attend church frequently. According to the National
Household Education Survey in 2007, the main motivation for home schooling was for religious or moral instruction
(36%), followed by school environment (21%) and the quality of instruction available (17%). After this comes
concerns about special education, the distance of travel and even nut allergies.
Home schooling is not exclusively white and Christian. In 2007 a report found that Muslim children were one of the
fastest-growing groups; black-home schoolers are around 4% of the total and comprised 61,000 children. The super-
wealthy, and parents who must move around a lot, are also taking up home schooling in increasing numbers because
of its flexibility.
According to Mr Murphys book, parents want to control not only what their children learn, but the values they pick
up and the company they keep. They are also increasingly convinced that schools are not that good at teaching.
Academically, home-schooled children seem to do well; they enter higher education in proportions similar to those
who are conventionally educated, and score as well or better on college entrance exams. Nor, on the evidence of Mr
Murphys book, are they socially backward: most seem confident, assured and well-adjusted. They also have fewer
behavioural problems. But one study did find higher attrition rates when they enter the armed forces.
State laws vary widely in how much regulation they impose on home-schoolers and how much accountability they
require. Pennsylvania, California and New York are stricter than most, but parents are not deterred. Mr Murphy says
the movement is all part of the breakdown of American schooling from public monopoly; home schooling, he says,
is the most radical form of privatisation. Public schools can do little but co-operate these days, and most offer
access to school facilities, websites, books and other materials. Some even allow home-schoolers to take specialist
coursesallowing the school to tap into a portion of public financing they would otherwise lose entirely. Home
schooling still has its enemies, but pragmatism is becoming the order of the day.



Why should homeschoolers spend time thinking about what's happening to public schools? After all, didn't a lot of us
choose homeschooling so we wouldn't have to deal with public schools? True enough. But it's helpful for us to be
aware of what's happening because most people, including many homeschoolers, assume that we are doing
something roughly equivalent to what the public schools are doing. Or, if we aren't, we ought to be. In addition,
some homeschoolers plan to have their children enter or re-enter public schools while others participate part-time in
public schools.
This column will focus on three aspects of current issues surrounding public schools. First, how are changes in the US
economy likely to affect schools? Second, have schools improved as a result of reforms of the last few decades?
Third, how can we homeschoolers use recent developments to our advantage and minimize the chances we will be
negatively affected by what's happening to public schools?
The Effect of Changes in the Economy on Public Schools
Changes in the US economy are affecting the jobs that will be available when today's students enter the workforce.
Some of the changes come from the development of a global economy. As a result of NAFTA and other free trade
agreements, US corporations can more easily take advantage of cheaper labor available in developing countries,
including China and India, rather than hiring US workers. At first unskilled and low skilled jobs were most strongly
affected, but increasingly overseas professionals such as engineers and computer specialists are being hired for work
that is done through computers and the Internet. In addition, more mid-level jobs are being automated, further
reducing the number of jobs. Such changes raise concerns about what jobs will be available in the future.
Among the responses to these changes is a new report from the National Center on Education and the Economy
(NCEE), which describes itself as "a not-for-profit organization created to develop proposals for building the world
class education and training system that the United States must have if it is to continue to be a world class
economy." Released late last year, the report is titled Tough Choices or Tough Times: The Report of the New
Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. The report's recommendations will not be adopted
immediately, but the NCEE hopes at least some states will adopt some of them. The report will also influence the
thinking and actions of policy makers, especially since it covers wide-ranging proposals for people of all ages and
some of the commissioners are prominent figures. The Executive Summary is available at www.skillscommission.org.
The report examines the current global economy and claims that if US workers are to maintain their standard of
living, they need to be better educated. Fixing the current educational system will not meet the challenge. Instead, a
new system is needed.
Among the report's recommendations are the following:
Fund education through the states instead of through local districts. Increase total funding so additional money can
be given to schools with disadvantaged students without cutting funding for other schools.
Give individual public schools greater power and authority by making them contract schools run by teachers and
others.
Develop state board examinations that would allow tenth graders who pass them to go on to college or technical
school.
Provide preschool for all three and four year olds and educational opportunities for adults who do not have high
school diplomas.
Increase salaries for teachers in an effort in attract more highly qualified teachers.
Develop curriculums that place less emphasis on rote memorization of facts and more on "creativity and
innovation, facility with the use of ideas and abstractions, the self-discipline and organization needed to manage
one's work and drive it through to a successful conclusion, the ability to function well as a member of a team, and so
on."
Whether states will adopt these recommendations remains to be seen. But they will undoubtedly have some
influence on the thinking of public policy makers in education as have the 1983 report A Nation at Risk, America
2000, and Goals 2000.
Are Public Schools Improving?
Emphasis has been put on education reform in recent years. America 2000 became Goals 2000 and then was
followed by No Child Left Behind. These efforts and others have led to changes in public education. According to
statistics published in the January-February, 2007 issue of The Atlantic, the following has occurred:
The total spending per pupil in public elementary and secondary high schools (expressed in constant 2004-2005
dollars to eliminate inflation as a factor) has nearly doubled from under $5,000 in 1970 to $8,000 in 1990, and nearly
$10,000 in 2003.
The number of teachers has increased from just over 2 million in 1970 to over 3 million in 2003. This has led to
smaller classes and a decrease in the teacher-student ratio from about 22 to 1 in 1970 to 16 to 1 in 2003.
The number of public-school teachers with at least a master's degree has increased from 28% in 1971 to 57% in
2001.
Thus significant gains have been made in three of the major areas frequently pointed to by people seeking to
improve the public schools: US taxpayers are spending more for public schools, class size has been reduced, and
teachers have more advanced degrees. And yet when one looks at the effect these changes have had by examining
students' test scores, there has been no significant change in the scores of 9 year olds, 13 year olds, or 17 year olds in
either reading or math from the early 1970s to the early 2000s. (Note: Many homeschoolers would certainly contend
that test scores are not a good way to measure learning and would have strong arguments to support their case.
However, this is the way that public school officials have chosen to assess learning in public schools.)
As The Atlantic concludes: "Immune to conventional remedies: Despite serious efforts to improve the performance
of U.S. students, it has been flat since the 1970s." (See The Atlantic, January/February 2007, page 97.)
These statistics highlight some of the challenges facing public schools today. If some of the most widely recognized
and promoted conventional reforms are not fixing the schools, what will it take? Is the New Commission on the Skills
of the American Workforce correct in saying the system needs to be changed? If so, how could that be accomplished,
especially given the strength of the interests that are benefiting from the current system, including teachers unions,
professional associations of schools, textbook publishers, and others? Could it be that the families who are
homeschooling, at least in part, because they think that conventional public schools aren't working and can't be
fixed, are right after all?
Of course, such statistics are not surprising to many homeschoolers who realize and demonstrate that what does
make a difference in children's educations is the role played by families.
What Can We Do?
What do reports such as these mean for homeschoolers? First, they remind us of the importance of the work we are
doing as homeschoolers. Second, we can use reports such as these to support homeschooling, counter critics, and
prevent regulation of homeschooling by the public schools. Third, we can be alert for future changes in the public
school system that would not be helpful to homeschoolers and work to minimize the damage they cause.
First: We can increase our appreciation for homeschooling. Contemplating the problems facing the public schools
reminds us that homeschooling is one way for today's children to get the education they need and to prepare for an
uncertain future. How many homeschoolers do you know who are strong on "creativity and innovation, facility with
the use of ideas and abstractions, the self-discipline and organization needed to manage one's work and drive it
through to a successful conclusion, the ability to function well as a member of a team, and so on," as called for by the
report by the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce. Of course, there's no easy or practical way
to replace the public schools with homeschools in the foreseeable future, but it is interesting to note that many
homeschools are doing what the New Commission is calling for. By homeschooling ourselves and by working to
maintain homeschooling freedoms, we are making an opportunity available to families that simply is not available
through the public schools. It is important that we keep that door open for our children and grandchildren and for
other children.
Second: We can cite these reports to gain support for homeschooling and respond to critics. Among the points we
can make are the following.
The report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce reminds the general public of what
they already know: public schools do not have the answers and are not doing an effective job of educating many
young people. We can use both the report of the New Commission and the statistics from The Atlantic to strengthen
our objections to having homeschools regulated, inspected, or controlled by public school officials. Homeschools
should not be required to meet public school standards or become like public schools. Homeschoolers should not be
required to take standardized tests that would supposedly measure their learning and that would force
homeschoolers to adopt the attitudes and values of the public schools so they would be prepared for the tests.
The report's call for a new system validates the idea that society needs alternatives like homeschooling. Therefore,
homeschools should be permitted and even encouraged as an alternative that might work better, that public schools
might learn from.
Allowing teens to go to college after completing tenth grade points to some of the advantages of homeschooling.
Colleges often offer smaller classes, opportunities to pursue special interests, less time in the classroom (usually 12-
15 hours per week), less than half of the classroom hours required of students in conventional high schools. This
recommendation supports a statement that homeschoolers have long made: that older teens (and younger children
as well) need alternatives to conventional public schools.
Third: We can be alert for future public school programs that could cause problems for homeschoolers and work to
minimize these problems.
Consider, for example, the of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce's recommendation to
"Provide high-quality, universal early childhood education." It seems wrong-headed and contradictory to say both
that the public school system is so bad that it needs to be replaced but that even younger, more vulnerable children
should spend more time in that system. As homeschoolers we are very aware of the importance of children having
time at home and in the real world. There are many, many reasons to oppose universal preschool.
The New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce's recommendation that qualified tenth graders be
allowed to move on to college or technical school has some merit in that it provides teens with alternatives to
staying in public high school. However, it is important to note that this recommendation is based on the ideas that
learning can be measured by standardized tests and that public schools should increase their reliance on such tests.
Although some homeschoolers find tests they have carefully selected themselves helpful for various reasons, most
homeschoolers oppose state-mandated standardized for homeschoolers. The more public schools rely on
standardized tests, the greater the risk they pose to homeschoolers. Homeschoolers can minimize this threat
through actions such as these:
We can be well informed on the problems with state-mandated standardized tests and prepared to present them
when necessary.
We can be alert for situations in which public school officials might claim that we need to have our children tested
in addition to the usual testing requirements (if any) that our state has for homeschoolers and refuse any additional
tests that are not clearly required by statute.
The broader curriculum suggested by of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce that
emphasized creativity, innovation, etc. has a certain appeal. However, there are also risks in having the state
broaden what it claims as its area of responsibility for children and teens. It opens the door for the state to impose
even more attitudes and values than it does already.
Conclusion
Recent reports indicate that public schools are not improving despite increases in taxpayers' money spent
per pupil, smaller class sizes, and increased education for teachers. Another report suggests that a new
system of public education is needed. As homeschoolers, we can use such reports to strengthen our
independence of the public schools and be alert for possible problems they may raise such as universal
preschool and increased use of standardized testing.

Im sure everyone has heard at least one negative quote from anti-homeschooling politicians or
superintendents that belittles home education, claiming it robs the system of resources and results in
socially inferior citizens. But results are showing that not only is homeschooling saving the government
large quantities of funds, but also resulting in a higher quality of education and return on investment, which
in turn can significantly benefit economic growth.

Homeschooling is often overlooked in regards to the economy since it is classified under household
production in the circular flow diagram. Household production is when a household produces a product or
service for itself instead of purchasing it from a firm or other entity and, since there is no market transaction,
it is not taken into account when calculating GDP. Many people may incorrectly assume that this means
household production has absolutely no effect on the economy. In fact, it is often thought that
homeschooling deprives the economy of resources as it requires a parent to stay home to educate their child
instead of entering into the workforce. However, just because it is not valued monetarily into GDP now does
not mean it will have no effect upon the future economy.


Public school is often looked upon as a free alternative to homeschooling, however many neglect to
remember that running the public schools is costing the United States national and state governments
around $10,600 per child to educate them in the public system. These funds come directly from tax payers,
and are not always spent as affectively as they could be. Conversely, the total number of homeschooled
children are saving the government between 4.4 and 9.9 billion taxpayer dollars annually. This is a significant
amount and with the number of homeschoolers increasing, as seen in the below graph, it will likely save the
government even more in future years.

It is a well-known economic principle that investment in education can be one of the most effective ways to
grow an economy. Not only does homeschooling save the government money, but also results in a higher
return on education. As seen in the below graph, homeschoolers have a much higher percentile than public
school students as, on average, they are receiving a higher level and quality of education. These measures of
academic success show the value of education, as it can translate into new discoveries in technology that can
further grow the economy.


Not all situations of homeschooling are the same, and it cannot be fit into every lifestyle, but the savings it
incurs to the government and higher quality of education show that homeschooling can be very beneficial to
an economy. Although, as household production, it may not count into GDP now, the economic benefits of a
better education can have significantly positive implications in the future economy. Hopefully, these facts of
how homeschooling benefits an economy will earn it some respect and cause some politicians and school
administrators to think twice before they belittle the value of a home education. - See more at:
http://theteeneconomists.blogspot.ro/2013/11/the-effect-of-homeschooling-on-
economy.html#sthash.32khSlGj.dpuf


Homeschooling in China is in an emerging stage, with about 18,000 children across the country receiving
education at home, according to a report released by the 21st Century Education Research Institute
Saturday, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

Out of the homeschool kids, 60.42 percent are aged between 4 and 10, and the majority are boys. Most of
them have previously attended conventional schools, though 37.99 percent had only ever been
homeschooled. First grade or kindergarten was the most common time for parents to pull kids from school.

The report showed five main reasons for homeschooling, with the majority of cases, 54.19 percent, coming
because parents disagreed with educational ideas in the regular school system, 9.5 percent believing the
system was too slow, 7.26 percent feeling that children lacked respect at school, 6.07 percent saying their
kids were tired of school life, and 5.59 percent citing religious conviction.

"Homeschooling is individualized education to satisfy different demands," said Xiong Bingqi, deputy director
of the 21st Century Education Research Institute.

Xiong told the Global Times that most parents sent their children back to school for high school because they
wanted them to take the national college entrance examinations, or gaokao. The current system forbids
unregistered students from taking part in the exams, which are vital for college.

Zhang Qiaofeng, the father of an 8-year-old boy, told the Global Times that he withdrew his son from
primary school after a month.

"There were two reasons for me to educate him myself: school education does not fit my son very much, but
more importantly, I think I'm more suitable to teach my son. I'm sure that after two years homeschooling,
my son will be excellent at a lot of topics," Zhang said. Zhang will send his son to study abroad for high
school, given the restrictions on college entrance.

Most homeschooling parents, at 75.42 percent, have a college education or better, and 63.13 percent of
parents are professionals or freelancers. Average household incomes were under 10,000 yuan ($1,634) a
month.

"Homeschooling needs parents with a good education background, and a good economic situation is also
critical, because at least one parent might be a full-time educator," Xiong said.

In nearly 46 percent of cases, mothers were the primary educators, with fathers only taking on the
responsibility for a quarter of cases, and another quarter of families sharing the work between them. Less
than 2 percent of families hired tutors.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Education on August 16, in 2012, there were 36.8 million
kids in kindergarten, and 96.9 million students in primary school in China.

The practice of homeschooling has essentially been around since the dawn of time. Parents and guardians
have always took it upon themselves to teach the younger generation the knowledge that they have
received through their many years of experience. But we live in a different world now, governments have
recognized the massive need for an educated youth and have provided public school systems to insure that
vital knowledge gets passed on. This debate is about answering the question of whether or not in a world
where everyone is awarded an education by their government, is the practice of homeschooling still needed
or has the benign intentions of the past transformed into something harmful towards society? Our plan is
simple, as in most states some years of education is compulsory, we will use the same methods to enforce a
ban on homeschooling, punishment being fining the parents/legal guardians.

All the Yes points
1. Why Home Schooling Harms Society
2. The Uniqueness of School
3. Loss of Opportunity
4. Breeds Separatism
5. Unschooling
6. Improves Education
7. Summary: Proposition
All the No points
1. Proposition plan is unfeasible
2. Homeschooling Increases Quality of Education
3. Home schooling increases civic involvement
4. Home schooling can be the only alternative
5. Individual Rights Take Precedence Over Government's Monopoly on Education
6. Homeschooling Is Economically Beneficial
7. Czech Summary