Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Homeschooling Misconceptions

It’s often frustrating to hear people talk about something they obviously know little about. Home-schooling is one of those topics. Those who’ve spent their entire educational lifetime in public school classrooms shouldn’t be spouting opinions about the experiences of homeschoolers.

Some actually think Will is entering a classroom full of other students for the first time in his life. Myth! Will (and most home-schoolers) have attended regular classes for over six years (usually weekly or bi-weekly).

Some think homeschoolers lack the “socialization” needed to function in the real world. Myth! In fact, home-schoolers spend much more time interacting with mature adults than public school students…and less down-time hanging around immature schoolchildren. Do these thoughtless people think home-school parents also keep their kids out of Sunday School, youth groups, and the overwhelming selection of extracurricular activities available to children today?

There has already been so much written about the numerous advantages of homeschooling, that I can add little to. Research shows the many positive advantages of homeschooling. Research also shows numerous negative aspects of today’s public schools. When elementary aged students board buses before the sun comes up (without returning home until after dark), no one would say they’re spending those entire 10-11 hours productively.

Public schools do have many resources and opportunities unavailable to homeschoolers (some unfairly, considering homeschoolers pay the same school taxes), but for our family, the negatives of public schooling far outweigh these positives. We’re blessed to have the opportunity, though we sacrifice quite a bit for this chance. This too is an often overlooked detail.

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