[00:00.00] It's difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. Legislation and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity. Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving instruction in state approved curriculum. Supporters of home education claim that it is less expensive and far more efficient than mass public education. Moreover they site several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthened family relationships, lower dropout rates, the fact that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased motivation, higher standardized test scores, and reduced discipline problems. Critics of the home schooling movement contend that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools in favor of home schooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources at their disposal than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way inferior to more highly structured classroom education.

It's difficult to estimate the number of youngsters involved in home schooling where children are not sent to school and receive their formal education from one or both parents. Legislation and court decisions have made it legally possible in most states for parents to educate their children at home and each year more people take advantage of that opportunity. Some states require parents or a home tutor to meet teacher certification standards, and many require parents to complete legal forms to verify that their children are receiving instruction in state approved curriculum. Supporters of home education claim that it is less expensive and far more efficient than mass public education. Moreover they site several advantages: alleviation of school overcrowding, strengthened family relationships, lower dropout rates, the fact that students are allowed to learn at their own rate, increased motivation, higher standardized test scores, and reduced discipline problems. Critics of the home schooling movement contend that it creates as many problems as it solves. They acknowledge that, in a few cases, home schooling offers educational opportunities superior to those found in most public schools, but few parents can provide such educational advantages. Some parents who withdraw their children from the schools in favor of home schooling have an inadequate educational background and insufficient formal training to provide a satisfactory education for their children. Typically, parents have fewer technological resources at their disposal than do schools. However, the relatively inexpensive computer technology that is readily available today is causing some to challenge the notion that home schooling is in any way inferior to more highly structured classroom education.