We know it’s a biggie… the decision about which method your child will receive his or her education is of monumental importance. Even seasoned parents can find themselves gnawing their fingernails in a back-and-forth state of turmoil over what could be the best decision, or the worst. There are pros and cons to every schooling method – if there weren’t, it would be an easy, cut-and-dried matter. The best thing for a nail-biter to do is take a breath, back up a step, and calmly evaluate each system before making an informed and positive decision that is best for your child and your family.

This month Bridgeway Academy is showcasing our very own TV star! Already featured in an episode of Law & Order and in several commercials, Jimmy Alotta was born and raised in Allentown, PA and is currently a senior in high school.

In March 2010, my life drastically changed when I made the biggest decision of my life – an experience that would forever shape my future. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining, the air was a crisp 70 degrees, and I was very anxious to start the first day of my high school year. The plan was typical; I would go to high school for four years and then eventually move on to college and begin my new career. As I was on the bus on my way to school, I caught a glimpse of a rainbow as the clouds cleared the morning sky.  I looked around and gazed at the students that I would see for the next four years.

Homeschooling Is a Pathway to Success

Education tends to make parents nervous…and with good reason: your child’s social, emotional and economic future is at stake. Private and parochial schools may not be an option for your family due to financial reasons or other constraints, and with severe budget cuts starting to curtail learning and activities at our nation’s public schools, parents are anxiously looking for options.

Now that the first generation of modern homeschoolers is well established in society, I’m hearing a lot about how well these young people are doing. They are running businesses, excelling in college and homeschooling their own children. One has even written a best-selling novel! So what makes these wunderkinds so successful, and is it to be expected?

I’ve been asked so many times “What about sports? How can my child be involved in sports if I homeschool?”

The other common question I hear in reaction to homeschooling is “how do you socialize your child? Doesn’t she need friends and activities and sports to be ‘normal’?”

Whether or not you believe the public school system is broken – or whether you feel it just isn’t for everyone – homeschooling has proven to be a successful education model for families around the globe. I can tell you that homeschooling isn’t a new fad. There was a time when it was virtually the only way to get an education, and up until the 1850′s nearly all Americans were homeschooled. But is there a current trend toward homeschooling in the 21st century?

While the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was meant to improve our public education system and implement high academic standards for our children, it didn’t deliver. Ten years ago, the Act’s test-and-punish approach to education became the law of the land. It decreed that all students must meet a certain proficiency level in reading and math by 2014.

Sometimes the hardest thing about homeschooling is making the decision to do it.  Often parents wrestle with questions like “can I do it?” or “will they miss their friends?” or even “what will we do all day?”

You know, there are JOYS of homeschooling and there are the “joys” (tongue in cheek) of homeschooling.  We have our good days and our bad days.  But at the end of each year, or perhaps sometime during the summer, homeschoolers evaluate whether they will do it again next year.

And many of them do.  Why?  Because the JOYS of homeschooling  always outweigh the “joys”.