schooling. Some examples are George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, Thomas Edison, Winston Churchill, Agatha Christie, Margaret Mead, Charlie Chaplin, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein, Charles Dickens and Mark Twain (Gorder, p.11, 1996). Most of these famous people were home schooled when it was a common occurrence and more than acceptable. Home schooling has grown substantially over the last twenty-five years. In that time the number of home schoolers was increased by 185,000 (Gorder 1996). Over the years there have been many legal battles over home schooling. The reality is that each state has control over its school system. Therefore, each individual state makes their own laws except that all 50 states have compulsory attendance laws. Most of these laws require children to attend school form age seven to sixteen (Gorder 1996). Home schooling your child is a big decision and not always an easy one. The process is long and often hard and when it takes its toll on you there are support groups to lend you a helping hand. Most people have some sort of support system be it a few friends or a large organization. These groups are beneficial in many ways. They provide a good way to make friends for parents and children (Hegener 1995). They help new home schoolers become more confident and revitalize the older ones. They help in keeping the group aware of the newest news on political issues surrounding home schooling. The typical activities of a support group may include meetings, field trips, classes, social occasions, curriculum fairs and many other things. These groups also have common goals. Some of those goals are to provide support and encouragement, share information about home schooling, provide educational opportunities and to represent home schooling to the community (Wade 1996). There are many positives to home schooling your child. However, it is important to remember that every child and family is different. So what...
