THE rise of homeschooling is one of the most significant social trends of the past half century.  This reemergence of what is in fact an old practice has occurred for a distinctly modern reason: a desire to wrest control from the education bureaucrats and reestablish the family as central to a child’s learning. Homeschooling is almost always a matter of choice. Schools are generally available, but homeschooling families have chosen not to use them.