Homeschooling in the United States has attracted little attention until recently. It has been poorly studied, and there is a relative lack of concrete statistics on the number, characteristics, distribution, or outcomes in the traditional academic literature. The recent October 5th 1998 edition of Newsweek Magazine featured commentary on the homeschooling movement. The article written by Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Winger noted that there were no national statistics available on homeschooling. They did report that researches with whom they had consulted had conservatively placed the number of homeschoolers in the United States at approximately 1.5 million. It was noted that this estimate was five times larger than the estimated number just ten years earlier.

Debbie's mother is a high school history teacher. We affectionately refer to her sometimes as "one of them". Debbie's mother has traditionally demonstrated pride with respect to the performance of her students, particularly her honor AP students. She has been an advocate of public education who feels that the system has the potential to work. Her observation of public school shortcomings lie primarily with the "conscription" of students through mandatory attendance laws. As she sees it, there is an attempt to reduce high school drop out rates by forcing attendance. What actually occurs is that students who don't want to be in school spend most of their time being disruptive. Disruptive students lead to a diminishment of the time available for learning. Teachers spend more of their time maintaining classroom order, and less time teaching.

My father retired two years ago from a Florida school district. I am unsure of his exact tenure with the school system, other than to say it was in excess of twenty years. During his stead in public education he was a classroom teacher, collective bargainer for the teacher's union, political candidate for school superintendent and finally a school principal. He was an outspoken advocate for public education. While we did not discuss the matter directly, the fact that my father emptied his pockets to pay for my sister and I to attend a private school was testament to the fact that he felt that his particular school system was broken. Our limited conversations on the topic as I grew older usually focused on the academic shortcomings of public education rather than safety or philosophical issues.

My mother was another person who never questioned the appropriateness of public education. Echoing the concerns of my father that public education was an institution that was necessary and perhaps even entrusted with the future of our society, she felt empowered to work change on the system. Like my father she felt thankful that through their hard work my sister and I had been put through private school. Once again, only for academic reasons. She herself ran for school board and was elected. She toured schools, she endorsed standards, she increased spending, she put computers in the classrooms, she reduced classroom sizes, she watched performance drop, violence rise and drop out rates escalate. She hoped that eventually a formula would be developed to fix the system. She held this hope so at least her grandchildren could benefit.

My sister, Susan, is a classroom teacher. She initially taught in the public school system. Now she teaches in a private school. She had her children in the public school system. Now she has her children in the private school where she teaches. My parents removed my sister and I from the public school system on academic grounds. My sister removed her children from the public school system because her son was physically assaulted on a school bus and had to go to the emergency room. Recovered from the assault, my nephew returned to school and was left by his teacher to wander, lost, around the school yard for several hours until found.

Debbie and I met at the University of South Florida. I was working on my master's degree in economics, and she was pursuing an undergraduate degree in elementary school education. My intent was to go on and obtain a Ph.D. in economics and become a college professor. Debbie was content to raise a family. As it would happen I finished up my master's degree and we married. A decision was made that I would go to work. Working at a bank in Miami, Florida, lasted for less than one year. I went back to school to get that Ph.D. in economics. I also secured a position as an adjunct instructor of economics at a community college which was close to the university I was attending. Teaching was great. The pay was not. A year after my arrival I enrolled in chiropractic college. We were still both content with the public school system.

Debbie and I both come from families with a rich tradition in public schooling. We had both bought into the thought that the public schools were primarily responsible for the education of our children. Our responsibility as parents was limited to overseeing the process, supporting our schools, voting in elections, paying taxes and making sure our children did their homework. So what happened?

When Debbie and I initially moved to our community our first concern was the quality of the school system. We researched the standardized test scores for the local students, and while not stellar, were at least better than last place. Being myself a product of private education, the local private schools were looked into as well. None of them were accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. We settled on the public system, and decided that we would get involved and make a difference in our children's education.

With a little asking around we were quickly directed to the "best" elementary school in town. We were told that it was the newest school and that it's principal was concerned, involved, and very particular about who he had on