Reprinted with permission from ParentingTeens.com http://www.parentingteens.com

Homeschooling is a legal option for educating children in all 50 states. While laws and requirements vary from state to state, more parents are choosing homeschooling for their children’s education. Parents of teenagers are no exception. Cafi Cohen is a homeschooling speaker and author of several books on homeschooling including her latest, ?Homeschooling: The Teen Years.? According to Cohen, families who have always homeschooled, enjoyed it and found it successful may see continuing through the middle and high school grades as a natural course of events. Parents whose children have attended public or private schools in the past opt for homeschooling their teens for a variety of reasons. Dissatisfaction with either academic or social aspects of the school is at the top of the list.

Why Homeschool?
The mother of two children, Karen Cebenka from Delaware City, Del., will be homeschooling for the first time this year. Although her middle school daughter, Nicole, was accepted at a Catholic school that had extremely high academic standards, they later found out that the school was not emotionally supportive. When the Cebenkas decided to homeschool her younger brother, Nicole asked if she too could be homeschooled. ?After much prayer,? says Cebenka, ?we decided to put our best foot forward and give it a shot!? Academics were one reason Kathy Richard of Saugus, Ma., homeschooled her son Kevin for one year. Having previously attended a parochial school, Richard felt that the quality of the curriculum and the discipline the school used was substandard. Says Richard, ?I thought I needed to intervene before he went to high school unprepared.? Another reason parents of teens might choose homeschooling is because of safety concerns. Karen Lovett of Jasper, Ala., initially began homeschooling her high school daughter, Heather, because of some health problems that prohibited her from attending school for a year. She briefly returned to her public school the following year, but Lovett quickly transferred her back to the homeschool setting when bomb threats became a frequent occurrence at her school.

The Parent’s Part
While teenagers can be relied on to do much of the work themselves in a homeschool situation, parents need to consider three things before making the decision to homeschool. First, can they be available to their child for guidance when needed? Are they capable readers themselves (as homeschooling involves a lot of reading on the parent’s part)? Most importantly, do they like the idea of being with their teen? These are essentials to a successful homeschooling experience with teenagers. Although parents are the supervisors of their homeschooled children, all of the teaching does not need to fall on their shoulders. When it comes to more complex subjects that older students face, parents who don’t feel prepared might choose one of several options. Lovett made use of Internet materials while Richard hired a tutor to handle the math aspects of the curriculum. She also made use of television programs such the Discovery Channel Learning School, which includes downloadable lesson plans for subjects such as history, literature and science. Many parents take part in local homeschool support groups, organizations that * in addition to encouraging homeschool families sometimes offer programs in subject areas such as art, music and creative writing. Some homeschoolers choose to add a religious element to their curriculum as they feel that this is an important part of their family’s life, and it is something that they otherwise might not receive in another school setting. Although her daughter attended a Catholic school in the past, Cebenka’s vision for her daughter’s homeschooling experience is that she will receive a more concentrated Christian education. For parents who see the religious aspect as important, faith-based homeschooling groups are plentiful.

Social Opportunities
The question of socialization often arises with regard to homeschooling. Will the student have enough opportunities to interact with peers? Homeschooling parents overwhelmingly report that this is rarely a problem. If anything, homeschooled teens have much more time for social activities. Cohen recalls having trouble keeping a lid on her children’s activities. ?They were involved in 4H, church, choir, volunteer jobs * they were gone more than they would have been had they been in school.? According to Cohen, this is a typical scenario. Whether or not a teen will be able to participate in activities with their local school district varies from state to state, school district to school district. Each district has the power to regulate how much, if any, interaction homeschooled children may have with school programs. There is no federal law requiring schools to permit homeschooled children to participate. If your school district is one of the ones that does not allow participation in sports, music or education opportunities, one option is to ask around at area private schools, as they will sometimes be more open to participation from homeschooled students. In many cases, homeschool associations also offer extracurricular activities.

What About College?
According to Cohen, today’s homeschool graduates can expect favorable responses from 96.5% of the country’s colleges. The statistics even appear favorable for homeschooled students at some schools. For example, Stanford University recently admitted only 13% of traditionally schooled applicants, yet they accepted 27% of their homeschool applicants. 3.5% of U.S. colleges, however, currently require some additional admission criteria from homeschooled applicants to which traditionally schooled students are not subject. Without a doubt, homeschooling families enjoy many benefits other than those of an academic nature: reduced peer pressure, more time for activities and the opportunity for closer family relationships. For Cohen, she feels thankful to have had all that time to be with her children in their teenage years, and homeschool parents echo her sentiments all across the country.

Lisa Beamer is a freelance writer and mother of three—including one teen. Her work includes many articles on parenting, some of which have appeared at InteractiveParent.com, Minnesota Parent and Atlanta Baby. Lisa can be reached a lmbwrites@home.com