homeschooling

Let's balance that other definition; homeschooling is an option for any parent, even those who can afford private school tuition. Because of their structure, there are things that institutional schools can't offer as well as homeschools, things like independence, choice, parental responsibility, freedom, flexibility, a tailored curriculum, one-on-one attention (for longer than five minutes) and far better teacher/student ratios. Institutional schools lend themselves better to peer pressure, intimidation, student rivalry, cliques, faking one's way though class, indifference, truancy and functional illiteracy. If a parent were a musician and formally taught their child an instrument at home, no-one would be concerned. Yet, when it comes to the 3 R's, that unnerves people. People who oppose homeschooling throw up stereotypes like sheltering and hating everyone else. But if your knowledge of something comes from stereotypes, then what does that say about the quality of your education? The internet is used by homeschoolers, and has made information more accessible, giving a far wider range of viewpoints on any subject than a time-strapped teacher being steered by a predetermined, state-approved curriculum. Homeschoolers don't believe that institutional schools (or those in them) are 100 per cent evil. You get good students in all types of schools, and bad ones too. But in institutional schools, it's easier to fall through the cracks, simply because they're bigger.