Homeschoolers A Small But Growing Minority

The Harvard Crimson reports:

Crystal E. Winston ’06-’07 never had a prom. She never rode a school bus, went to gym class, or received a report card. Like a growing number of students around the country, Winston, went to school by staying at home—from kindergarten through senior year.

Winston, a history of art and architecture concentrator in Mather House, says her mother taught her at home because the St. Louis school district where she grew up was “way terrible.”

“There weren’t many options for us,” Winston says. “My mom wanted us to have a certain set of values growing up, and she wanted to make sure that we got those if we were homeschooled.”

The Department of Education reported in 2003 that 2.2 percent of the American school-age population was homeschooled. And experts at the Graduate School of Education say that a majority of those families choose to homeschool their children for religious reasons.

Public education isn't for everyone.