Home Education New to Home Education.....Home Education Myths...Quality Education Requires Lots of Money Quality Education Requires Lots of Money According to my own cost estimates, I have concluded that educating children at home is less expensive than sending them to a "free" public school. I include in my cost estimates the numerous expenses which are laid upon parents who send their children to a public school. There are the required school supplies, transportation costs in driving to and from the school for various reasons—registrations, emergencies, and this and that meeting etc.—and shame shame on the parent who fails to take time out from their busy schedule to attend a meeting or conference. There are the gym clothes and shoes etc., to be taken into account. Consider, too, the cost of lunches, whether it be a "sack lunch" or a hot one purchased from the school. One must also take into account all the slips brought home from school "requesting" $5.00 or $10.00 for this or that. Regardless of whether or not it's a requirement, clothing is a major factor which in and of itself can easily be enough to offset the cost of a complete homeschool curriculum. In addition to the above, there is the peer pressure on a child to conform to the popular styles—"Reeboks," designer clothes etc. That also translates into pressure upon the parents. The cost for a child entering into extra-curricular activities can be staggering, but what public schooled child doesn't? Although it cannot be calculated in dollars, there are certainly some long term costs related to peer pressure which can eventually become very costly! It remains that homeschooling is less expensive than the free public school even when parents order a complete course from one of the many suppliers now marketing homeschool curricula. Many parents, however, Virginia and I included, prefer to develop their own curriculum which can be done very readily by simply using the numerous resources close at hand, such as: libraries, Sunday school supplies, the Bible, as well as daily experiences. There are also several homeschool suppliers who will gladly mail parents a complete catalog of available supplies from which to select. It stands to reason, however, that two plus two is still four and it doesn't make any difference whether it is two Cadillacs plus two Cadillacs or two pebbles plus two pebbles when teaching children to cipher. In fact, most children would enjoy throwing two pebbles plus two pebbles at bubbles into the brook, anyway. Money is not the source of either knowledge or wisdom. Expensive covers don't necessarily mean it's a good book. Neither do more dollars spent insure a better education. |
