[img]https://www.sermonindex.net/images/forum/2004/may/featured_news.gif[/img]WASHINGTON (AP) - Almost 1.1 million students were home-schooled last year, their numbers pushed higher by parents who are frustrated over school conditions and who want morality and religion taught along with English and math. The estimated number of students taught at home has grown 29 percent since 1999, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the U.S. Department of Education. Last year, 4,929 students in Nebraska were home-schooled, according to the Nebraska Department of Education. Iowa does not keep track of a comparable number, but its most recent estimate was that 3,000 children were taught at home in 2002. Surveys indicated that parents offered two main reasons for choosing home schooling: 31 percent cited concerns about the environment of regular schools, and 30 percent wanted the flexibility to teach religious or moral lessons. The third main reason, at 16 percent, was dissatisfaction with academic instruction at schools. "There's potential for massive growth," said Ian Slatter, spokesman for the National Center for Home Education, which promotes home schooling and tracks laws that govern it. "Home schooling is just getting started," he said. "We've gotten through the barriers of questioning the academic ability of home schools, now that we have a sizable number of graduates who are not socially isolated or awkward - they are good, high-quality citizens. We're getting that mainstream recognition and challenging the way education has been done."
_________________SI Moderator - Greg Gordon
Almost 1.1 million students were home-schooled last year, their numbers pushed higher by parents who are frustrated over school conditions and who want morality and religion taught along with English and math.
