The number of American children who are being home schooled has grown more than 60 percent in the last ten years, and one proponent of home education gives some reasons why.

According to the U.S. Department of Education, the number of home schooled children between the ages of five and 17 climbed 61.8 percent from 2003 to 2012.

Farris

Michael Farris, Jr. of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) tells OneNewsNow some of the reasons for the dramatic growth.

"We've seen a variety of reasons why folks are home schooling -- from just being able to tailor an education to their child's individual needs, to the deteriorating conditions at public schools, bullying and academic digressions," he shares.

Farris also says that home schooling has become easier for parents over the past ten years.

"If a parent is not as familiar with something, say math or science, there are lots of tutors, there are lots of co-ops that home schoolers are able to go to," he points out. "So it's really a growing community, and home schoolers love helping each other out."

Since 2003, the percentage of all U.S. students in the five through 17 age group who were home schooled increased from 2.2 percent to 3.4 percent.