Home School Heartbeat Radio Program

Mike Smith:
The academic benefits of homeschooling have been well documented. Study after study shows that regardless of the education level of the parent, homeschooled students test higher, on the average, than non-homeschoolers.

What other benefits does homeschooling offer? In a 2003 study done by the U.S. Department of Education, 30 percent of homeschooling parents said that their most important reason for homeschooling was to provide religious or moral instruction. Thirty-one percent said their most important reason was concern about the school environment. In other words, academics are not the only reason why parents choose to homeschool.

This makes sense when you consider that it’s impossible to teach pure academics. No matter what subject is being taught, moral and ethical questions will arise. And children encounter a host of non-academic issues as they walk between classes, eat lunch in the cafeteria, and play together during recess. For eight hours a day, nine months out of the year, the schools are teaching their brand of moral values in addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Your children will absorb whatever values are being taught to them on the most sustained basis. This is why homeschooling is becoming a must for more and more parents. They want to communicate their deeply held beliefs to their own children—and they realize that the only way they can successfully do this is through home education.

And until next time, I’m Mike Smith.