Homeschooling: A Carefully Considered Option
For the past two decades, the number of parents who have chosen to homeschool their children for nonreligious reasons has grown steadily as they have become disillusioned with public schools. Gifted children make up a large number of these students, estimated between 50,000 and 140,000 homeschoolers, "due in part to the limited or nonexistent programming available for students with gifts and talents under the No Child Left Behind Legislation" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 122).
In their 2012 study of parents who homeschool gifted students, Jolly, Matthews and Nester found four main themes related to the experience of homeschooling: Parents know best, isolation, challenges and family roles.
Parents Know Best
Of the parents surveyed, all chose to homeschool because "remaining in traditional private or public school no longer made sense for the child or the family" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 126). Most had attempted to work through traditional schooling before turning to the homeschool option, but found their children's needs were not being met. In the homeschool setting, parents were able to tailor, through trial and error, an education to meet their child's needs -- whether that meant emailing a physics professor at the University of Texas or taking an advanced mathematics program online.
Isolation
Both the children and parents in Jolly, Matthews and Nester's (2012) study reported feeling a sense of isolation. The parents found "identifying engaging intellectual and social peers for their children continued to present a challenge" ((Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 128), as did finding support from other parents whose children were not gifted. As one parent described the situation:
In their 2012 study of parents who homeschool gifted students, Jolly, Matthews and Nester found four main themes related to the experience of homeschooling: Parents know best, isolation, challenges and family roles.
Parents Know Best
Of the parents surveyed, all chose to homeschool because "remaining in traditional private or public school no longer made sense for the child or the family" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 126). Most had attempted to work through traditional schooling before turning to the homeschool option, but found their children's needs were not being met. In the homeschool setting, parents were able to tailor, through trial and error, an education to meet their child's needs -- whether that meant emailing a physics professor at the University of Texas or taking an advanced mathematics program online.
Isolation
Both the children and parents in Jolly, Matthews and Nester's (2012) study reported feeling a sense of isolation. The parents found "identifying engaging intellectual and social peers for their children continued to present a challenge" ((Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 128), as did finding support from other parents whose children were not gifted. As one parent described the situation:
"The vast majority of home-school support groups are Christian based. As a non-reliious family -- we have had to 'hide" our true identities to blend into the local support group. We are a minority within a minority: 1) we homeschool, 2) my girls are gifted, 3) we are not religious. This leads to a sense of being the only ones like us" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 128).
Challenges & Family Roles
In addition to the social challenges of homeschooling, parents had to deal with multiple struggles, including the transition from public to homeschooling, "family focus, lack of resources, stressors, and motivation" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 128). In most families, the mother was the one in charge of instruction, as well as being the primary caregiver and the one responsible for carrying out regular household duties. "Reaching an equilibrium that would meet these needs was not always possible, and these mothers felt pulled in various directions" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 129).
In addition to the social challenges of homeschooling, parents had to deal with multiple struggles, including the transition from public to homeschooling, "family focus, lack of resources, stressors, and motivation" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 128). In most families, the mother was the one in charge of instruction, as well as being the primary caregiver and the one responsible for carrying out regular household duties. "Reaching an equilibrium that would meet these needs was not always possible, and these mothers felt pulled in various directions" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 129).
"Creating a better learning environment for their children was a strong motivator for parents to make the switch from traditional schooling to homeschooling. Although it is unclear whether the gifted students' learning needs were better met in the home, these parents believed that this was the case" (Jolly, Matthews & Nester, 2012, p. 130).