Single parent homeschooling

Single parent homeschooling is the practice of conducting homeschool by a parent who is the sole breadwinner for the family. According to the peer review journal Education Policy Analysis, based on the findings of the National Household Education Survey, of the National Center of Educational Statistics, between 1994 and 1999 the number of single parent homeschools almost doubled [ [http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v10n26.html EPAA Vol. 10 No. 26 Bauman: Home Schooling in the United States ] ] . No further statistics are currently available. It is the general perception, by most homeschooling advocates, that most single parent homeschools are led by a self-employed single parent, one that is receiving public assistance, or has received a life insurance settlement. In some single parent homeschool circles it is thought that most single parent homeschools are run by parents who work full-time jobs away from home. Again, no statistics have been compiled to confirm or invalidate either supposition.

Single parent homeschooling has its own unique problems. It has been well documented and researched from a variety of organizations from the United States Department of Education, or the DOE, to the United States Bureau of Justice, or the DOJ, that the needs of children in single parents households are different from the needs their counterparts in two-parent households. For example, according to WebMD, a European study, published in the Lancet in January 2003, suicide and mental illness are as much as twice as likely to occur in single parent homes than in two-parent homes [ [http://www.webmd.com/baby/news/20030123/absent-parent-doubles-child-suicide-risk Single-Parent Homes Increase Risk of Child Suicide ] ] . Therefore, single parent homeschools are not only more likely to face coping with homeschooling while earning the sole income of the household, they also are more likely to cope with homeschooling a depressed child. One sociological approach that addresses this problem is structural functionalism [Norlin, J. M., Chess, W. A., Dale, O., and Smith, R. (2003). Philosophy of social work. Taken from Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Social Systems Theory. 4th Ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing] . According to this approach it is essential that the children of single parent families stay adequately connected to the community.

Two methods for staying connected to the community are public school dual enrollment, and single parent homeschool support networks which do not allow the children of single parents to stay home alone while their parent is working.

Public School dual enrollment was designed so that high school students could attend college and high school at the same time. But in Colorado it is being allowed by public schools for homeschoolers [http://www.homeeducator.com/FamilyTimes/articles/9-2article15.htm Home Educator's Family Times - Single and Homeschooling ] ] . Dual enrollment allows students of any age to attend homeschool part time, and the local public school part time [Denver Public Schools Student Services, 900 Grant, Denver, CO 80203 [phone]] . It allows the public school to report increases in their enrollment numbers, and therefore increases in their tax allotment. It allows homeschoolers to attend school while their parents are working. For example, if a single parent works outside of the home from 8AM to 5PM, instead of staying home alone all day, their children can attend a dual enrollment public school program in the morning, work on self-directed projects or on a self-selected volunteer job in the afternoon, and then stay at a two-parent friend's house until their parent get home from work.

According the Home Educator's Family Times, single parent homeschool support networks are instrumental to the success of single parent homeschooling . Support networks can include grandparents, relatives, friends, neighbors, other homeschoolers from a church or religious organization, homeschool supplemental programs, traditional homeschool support groups, transportation like kid van pools, and volunteer work. To prevent gaps in education, substitutes or backups in the event of the failure of all or part of the support network are advised. As a side note, in this economy where the unemployment rate for teens can be as high as 38% [http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/The_2006_Summer_Job_Market.pdf] , self-selected volunteer work is a great option for any teen as it often leads to high-paying satisfying employment.

See also

* Homeschooling
* Unschooling

References