Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Where does homeschooling fit historically? Join Mike Smith on today's Home School Heartbeat as he puts homeschooling in context.

Mike Smith:
Yesterday, we looked at the rise of the modern public school. Today, we'll examine how mass public education fits historically, and whether the growth of homeschooling could have been predicted.


America prospered greatly in the latter half of the 20th century. Standards of living improved dramatically for almost everyone. In colonial times, homeschooling was effectively reserved for the wealthy simply due to financial realities. But today, homeschooling is available to almost everyone. The average homeschooler spends $600 per child per year—a significant sum.


Bread can provide a useful analogy for the historical trend we see in education. Homeschooling in the colonial times can be described as homemade bread. It takes time to make, but produces a high-quality and unique result. The mass education of the 20th century can be likened to sliced bread. It's uniform and mass-produced.


Today, many parents are rediscovering homemade bread.


Modern homeschooling does indeed fit a historical trend: a return to quality as parents become financially able to provide their children with a tutorial education, which has always been known as the best form of education.


And until next time, I'm Mike Smith.