Let's balance that other definition; homeschooling is an option for any parent, even those who can afford private school tuition.
Because of their structure, there are things that institutional schools can't offer as well as homeschools, things like independence, choice, parental responsibility, freedom, flexibility, a tailored curriculum, one-on-one attention (for longer than five minutes) and far better teacher/student ratios.
Institutional schools lend themselves better to peer pressure, intimidation, student rivalry, cliques, faking one's way though class, indifference,
truancy and functional
illiteracy.
If a parent were a musician and formally taught their child an instrument at home, no-one would be concerned. Yet, when it comes to the
3 R's, that unnerves people.
People who oppose homeschooling throw up stereotypes like sheltering and hating everyone else. But if your knowledge of something comes from stereotypes, then what does that say about the quality of your education? The internet is used by
homeschoolers, and has made information more accessible, giving a far wider range of viewpoints on any subject than a time-strapped teacher being steered by a predetermined, state-approved curriculum.
Homeschoolers don't believe that institutional schools (or those in them) are 100 per cent evil. You get good students in all types of schools, and bad ones too. But in institutional schools, it's easier to
fall through the cracks, simply because they're bigger.
Person A: I am homeschooling Madison and McKaylynn because the Bible encourages me to.
Person B: I went to public school, go to church every Sunday and try to
live my life in a manner that would please God. I've read from Genesis to Revelation--I don't remember seeing that.
Person A: Why don't you remember
Deuteronomy 6:7 along with Luke 4:4?
Person B: Because I've got better things to do than teach my children or remember those verses, especially if it's the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus said that we are to live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, but The
Gospels are impractical.