by Lee Safley

Homeschooling puts academic and moral excellence within the grasp of children of all races.

Bob Herbert of the New York Times wrote recently that "black children must be prepared to succeed." He reiterates what retired Gen. Colin Powell said at a recent NAACP conference in Atlanta, that there would be no point in preserving affirmative-action programs if black youngsters were not prepared academically or socially to take advantage of them. He quotes Hugh Price, president of the National Urban League: "The data tell us loud and clear, that our (black) children are decaying academically." He also quotes Mr. Price as saying: "We say we want our youngsters to do well in school, but how involved are we in making certain that actually happens? Blasé is the word. There's no other way to describe why we tolerate the lackadaisical attitude of many of our children and the lousy performance of the schools they attend."

Many black young people are not prepared with necessary academic or social training to achieve life success, when and if they graduate. With the reality of that concern evident, perhaps it is time for more in the minority community to examine why parents of all races choose to homeschool.

Homeschooling offers parents the opportunity to build character and moral underpinnings in their own children. Homeschooled children average 30 to 37 percentile points higher than their peers in public school, across all subjects on nationally normed standardized achievement tests. Is it really any wonder then, that parents are returning home?

In a comprehensive study, conducted by Brian Ray of the National Home Education Research Institute, solid evidence is presented that minority families who choose to homeschool have indeed found a powerful education tool. Dr. Ray notes that in reading, the nationally normed test score average for homeschooled minority students is at the 87th percentile, the same as for homeschooled whites and 37 percentile points higher than the national average for all students. Math scores also reflect similar high achievement. Homeschooled minority students are in the 77th percentile, 27 percentile points higher than the national average and only 5 percentile points lower than homeschooled whites.

Dr. Ray says, "Homeschoolers have been able to substantially eliminate the disparity between white and minority scores, even when the samples are adjusted to reflect the same proportion of American Indians, Asians, blacks and Hispanics (as that found in the public schools)."

So why do so few in the minority community choose to home school? (According to Dr. Ray, only 5 percent of the 1.2 million total homeschooled students are minority.) One reason may be very simple. Most minority parents have not been presented with the opportunity to seriously consider the homeschool option. They have not witnessed firsthand this tremendous opportunity to teach character and valuable life lessons while achieving academic and social success.

A second reason may be that historically many in the education establishment have been quick to discourage parents from considering this very successful method of education. While most educators may say parental involvement is necessary for a student's success, the educational establishment often pursues policies limiting the role and involvement parents actually have. The good news is that parents from all races do not have to let these or any other reasons stop them from considering homeschooling.

If popular education methods have not been working, then a valuable key to life success for many more minority children can be found as close as a teaching parent, sitting at a kitchen table. The data does tell us loud and clear that minority homeschooled students are succeeding.

For any parent willing to make the sacrifice, the rewards of home education can last a lifetime.

Mr. Safley is president of the SCHEA, and the father of eight homeschooled children.