Home School Numbers Increasing; Curriculum, More Attention Noted

Upper Cumberland Home Schooling numbers continue to rise, something that began with the 2020 COVID lockdowns.

Daniel 1 is a church-related school in Cookeville, which serves home school parents by satisfying state requirement. Office Administrator Terry Gant said parents are choosing home schooling out of frustration. Gant said that can often stem from the direction of public school curriculum.

“A lot of folks who would not have considered homeschool are starting to consider it because there’s trepidation about what’s being taught at schools,” Gant said. “Some people may not be satisfied with the academic achievements some people may be concerned about the social messaging that’s being done in certain places.”

Gant said the number of parents choosing to homeschool their children compared to public schooling is still low in Cookeville. Still, the Putnam County Schools reported an increase in home schooling numbers during its enrollment report earlier this month. White County Schools also reported enrollment numbers down from pre-COVID.

Gant said though most parents have chosen to keep their children in public school, they are certainly much more aware of the curriculum. He said barring ethical concerns, many choose homeschooling to give their children the academic attention they may need.

“As they grow and develop interest in things you’re able to do what they want to do which will lead to more academic success,” Gant said. “Because it’s stuff that they’re interested in doing and it probably things is things that, in a lot of cases, that they would do on their own time.”

Gant said that parents who homeschool and pursue their child’s hobby academically have often turned it into a school credit. He said that homeschooling also allows families more options in tailoring their children’s foundations in pursuing higher education.

“A child that is struggling or failing in a public school setting gets kind of a second chance with homeschool and they will do better in a lot of cases in homeschool,” Gant said. “Because a lot of the factors that were obstacles to their success are removed.”

Gant said that some of the factors that often inhibit children’s learning are social problems which are eliminated with homeschooling. He said that another obstacle to students is the timetable in which classes move in a more corporate education setting. Gant said that children can be negatively impacted if their class is moving too fast or slow, an obstacle removed with homeschooling.