The estimated number of home-schooled children (grades K-12) for the 2001-2002 school year was between 1.7 million and 2.1 million. Out of this rough estimate, only a small fraction, about .8% of these children are Black children. Why is this, because Black families do not have the conveniences of choice like many white families do. Any home-schooling family has a certain advantage when deciding to home-school but only after making an extreme sacrifice.

This advantage is that, one of the parents has to be home to teach the child or children. Well, Black families fall short of this convenience because the majority of Black families are two-income families, if there are two parents, which is also a rarity among Black families.

In other words, first, there has to be two parents in the family, then, one of them has to be making enough money for the other to stay home and teach the child. Furthermore, both parents have to see the benefits of home schooling, which means agreement between the two. All or both of these cases should be met before home schooling is considered.

What are the benefits of Home Schooling?

Parents home school their children for many reasons that are often unique to their family situation. Some of the reasons parents gave for home schooling in the Parent- NHES: 1999 study was: It was the child's choice; to allow parents more control over what their children were learning; flexibility; and parents wanted year-round schooling. Other common reasons are:

· Better education at home
· Religious reasons
· Poor learning environment at school
· Family reasons
· Develop character/morality
· Object to what school teaches
· School does not challenge child
· Other problems with available schools
· Student behavior problems at school
· Child has special needs/disability
· Transportation/convenience
· Child not old enough to enter school
· Cannot afford private school
· Parent's career
· Could not get into desired school

So why is it that more whites have taken the initiative to school their own children and Blacks do not seem to see the benefits? When will Blacks begin to realize that there are advantages in home schooling their children?

The fact is, too many Black families are single parent families and too many Black families are two-income families. The traditional family is not popular with Black families, and never really has been. Traditional family as in father works, mother stays home and takes care of the kids. First, Blacks have to see the benefit of the traditional family before they can see the advantage of teaching their own children.

A reason for this type of thinking in the Black mind is that we believe "it takes two to make it today." That means that because of our economical disadvantage in society, we have to work twice as hard as whites in order to even survive, let alone thinking about just one spouse working. We are trying to escape poverty, not prolong it. We want our children to receive the best education possible; therefore, we will pay for it, move to where it is, and hope that everything turns out all right.

Do you see the benefits of home schooling? If so, would you consider home schooling your children? What are some of the obstacles that prohibit you from home schooling your child?

© 2003 by AfroStaff