Educational Media Reviews Online

The growth rate of homeschooling continues to increase from 15 to 20% per year since 1981 and includes 3% of the 53 million school age children. The first part of the two part series, Alternative Education: Choices Beyond the Public School System, this video examines the homeschooling phenomenon and the belief of many parents that "there is no place like home" for schooling children. Chris Klicka, Senior Counsel and Director of the Center for Homeschooling and Dr. Leonard De Fiore, President of the National Catholic Educational Association show their support and discuss the positive reasons for this type of education. The film interviews parents, teachers, and two home schooled students currently in college, to illustrate the varied reasons behind it and students reactions to being educated in this manner.

Professor David Sikkink, Assistant Professor of Sociology, University of Notre Dame discusses opposing views of professional educators, specifically questioning if parents can objectively evaluate their children as well as recognize any learning, social, or emotional problems as quickly as educators. The format of the film with comments from proponents and opponents provides a more balanced perspective of homeschooling. The statistics on home schooled students, standardized test results, and state requirements help to examine the facts in the debate. Technically, the video is good quality with excellent audio. Printed statistics clarify the numbers cited by the narrator. The film is a good addition for educational collections and recommended for public libraries and universities with Schools or Colleges of Education.