More than one million children in the United States do not go to school. Instead, they learn at home. Most often, their parents are their teachers. Educational companies, libraries and the Internet provide many families with teaching materials.

Parents choose home schooling for several reasons. Some choose it because of their religious beliefs. Others say it provides more time for the family to be together. They say the home offers a better place for learning. Some parents believe home schooling avoids learning. Some parents believe home schooling avoids problems of national schools. Critics, however, say children need to attend school with other children.

All fifty American states and the District of Columbia permit home schooling. Some states do not require much preparation by parents or testing of children. Other states have more requirements for home schooling. Home schooling in the United States began when the country was established. In farm areas, people often lived far from a school. Widespread home schooling took place until about the middle of the nineteenth century. Then, in 1852, the state of Massachusetts passed the first law requiring children to attend school.

Over the years, the American public education system strengthened and grew. By the 1960s and 1970s, however, some Americans believed that traditional education was not helping their children. So a number of parents began home schooling.

Home schooling expert Linda Dobson says many people have helped the movement grow. She says many kinds of people have joined the movement. These include rich people and poor people. They represent many races, religions and political beliefs. Ms. Dobson says the number of home-schooled children has increased an estimated fifteen to twenty percent each year during the last fifteen years.

小题1:Teaching materials for home schooling do NOT come from _______.

A．parents

B．libraries

C．the Internet

D．educational companies小题2:Which of the following is one of the reasons why parents choose home schooling?

A．it makes parents and their children have less time together.

B．Some people have different religious beliefs from the others.

C．It can’t provide a comfortable place for children to be in.

D．There are too many students in a home classroom.小题3:Home schooling was started in ________.

A．the 1960s

B．the 1970s

C．the 1850s

D．the 1776小题4:Home schooling in the United States now is __________.

A．facing many difficulties

B．struggling

C．growing fast

D．decreasing in large numbers