Teacher compensation has soared in recent decades at the same time every indicator of student performance has plummeted. The consensus of hundreds of studies over the past several years is that these factors exhibit either no positive correlation with better student performance or show only a weak connection. The one ingredient that makes the most difference in how well and how much children learn is parental involvement. When parents take a personal interest in the education of their children, several things happen. Caring, involved parents usually instill a love of learning in their children-a love that translates into a sense of pride and achievement as knowledge is accumulated and put to good use.
Time spent with books goes up and time wasted in the streets goes down.
American parents were once responsible for educating their children. Until the late nineteenth century, the home, the church, and a small nearby school were the primary centers of learning for the great majority of Americans. Amid the sorry state of American education today are heroes who are rescuing children in a profoundly personal way. They are the homeschoolers-parents who sacrifice time and income to teach their children themselves. Homeschooling is the ultimate in parental involvement.