There is also homeschooling, where the parents of the child(ren) teach them at home instead of sending them to public education.
I'm glad you mentioned this, James. I was going to mention this too. While I attended public schools growing up, my husband and I decided that homeschooling was the best option for our family.
However, Homeschoolers tend to follow the guidelines of the state they are in.
Definitely true. Some states require yearly standardized testing. Others allow the use of private accredited "umbrella" schools. And in some states, like Virginia, there is also a religious exemption statute for families that feel that homeschooling is part of their religious convictions. HSLDA, Home School Legal Defense, has a website that shows what the homeschool laws are for each state, if anyone were to need that info for potential fanfic info, by the way.
Some homeschooled children advance faster than their public school conterparts because they have personalized attention and the schooling tends to be incorporated into every facet of life. The 'loss' of knowledge over summer break tends to not happen to them, because of this
This is definitely one of the benefits I've seen with the kids I know who are homeschooled. Although my kids do swim team in the summer, so I definitely treasure a little break from teaching in the summer.
However, we use that time to pursue other kinds of educational endeavors, like lots of "free reading time". I do like that we can vacation at odd times, however. We took our Spring Break in February to do DisneyWorld when it was not so crowded, and so while the school takes their break we work on through.
In any case, I was glad to see some positive attention about homeschooling from someone, as most of what the media usually highlights is abuse situations. I am not attacking the public school system here, so please no one take it that way. I have friends who are teachers and I respect them greatly for what they do.
Just sharing my knowledge of the subject.
Thanks,
Marcy
