Homeschooling Is The Lack Of Socialization

Public schooling establishes a diverse atmosphere and stimulation for students to succeed. Student’s need more stimulation than any one parent can provide for their child. “Home schooling does not encourage and facilitate children to make peer relationships. In both public and private schools, children have the benefit of being grouped together in classes and activities, and in turn, they have an opportunity to get to know one another. Home school lacks this type of environment and can retard a child’s social growth” (Home Schooling – The Benefits of Learning at

Imagine what it would be like to not get to have your first day of school as a child. For a child that is home schooled, they never get to walk through the doors on their first day with a new backpack, new school supplies, and new clothes. As little as this issue may seem, is it important for people to understand the effects that homeschooling can have on the cognitive development of elementary age children because by not being exposed to the resources and relationships children can get out of public school, they lack the benefits that come along with the system. Children cannot develop their emotions and problem solving skills, which could result in them being less successful in the future. The next generation is meaningful to society because they are the ones that will help American progress, so people need to ensure that they are getting the best education for their children. Although many parents believe homeschooling can be beneficial to their children because of the convenience and closeness to home, thoroughly examining the negative effects it has including a lack in the cognitive development, limited exposure to problems associated with the public as well as not having the benefits of a relationship with teachers and other students can prove that homeschooling are harmful to the cognitive development of elementary aged children.

Not long ago, my parents received an endless amount of criticism, similar to the Walls’ family, for their decision to homeschool my siblings and me. Many “feared” for us, because according to them, there was no way we were going to learn effectively at home, what we could in a formal school. My mom tells me stories of how people she’d known expressed genuine concern over the idea of educating children in a different way than what is deemed “normal.” I do not blame these people for their concern, as they were raised in a society that emphasizes a single approach to learning. Although there were definitely times growing up when I wished to attend a brick and mortar school like “normal” people, after a certain age I genuinely appreciated my parent’s decision. Being home-schooled has taught me so much more than just the basic principles of education. I grew up being highly self-reliant due to my online school requiring students to be almost entirely responsible for keeping up with their work. Similar to college, I had a syllabus provided to me, and had no one other than myself to make sure I was on top of everything. This helped me to become a responsible and well-organized individual. I also gained a quality education, despite all of the fear and concern of those around me. I still have to answer the questions, “Why were you homeschooled?” and, “Didn’t you want to go to regular school?” more

Education in our society is a very important factor in shaping our future. One’s future is depended on the education they receive and everyone is somehow affected by this. Children from the ages of kindergarteners to seniors in high school, college graduates, and stay at home mothers, are all shaped by the education the government provides us. There are many different ways to acquire an education some through private schools, public, charter, and being homeschooled. However, homeschooling is growing more in popularity than it has ever been.

While the American public school system educates the majority of students today, a fast growing population is beginning to accept homeschooling as an adequate alternative. Anyone with kids desires only the best education and experiences for them. Those who face this decision have to take in the plentiful list of differences and decide which will suit their family best. For years, most people saw homeschooling as an ineffiecent replacement to the government-provided schools already in existence. However, in the last ten years, studies have proved that homeschooling well equipps a student for college and beyond, changing the minds of many(http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college?page=2). In order to make this crutial decision between public or home school, one must account for the social and extracurricular opportunites, the educational aspect, and what role the family plays in education.

An article from 2015 about homeschooling and public school stated that “it’s estimated that as many as 2 million American students are being educated at home.” There are several families that would prefer homeschooling over public school for several reasons, which will be discussed in this essay. The two topics that will be discussed are homeschooling and public school. There will be multiple topics discussed in this essay, such as pros and cons of homeschooling and public schooling, and which option would be the best option for certain types of families and students. These two topics will be contrasted by explaining which topic would be the better option for specific groups of people, and certain families. The purpose of this essay is to describe the advantages and disadvantages of home and public schooling. Also, the purpose of this essay to show statistics about which system of education would be best for certain families, specifically those who are low-income families, and want the best option for their children. Whereas public schooling is inexpensive and gives children a chance to make friends, homeschooling is the best option because it gives children a safe, and more compatible learning environment.

Despite home-schooling’s controversy because of the lack of teaching credentials for parents and socialization, homeschooling has big benefits for children. The first benefit is that while homeschooled, students receive individualized education. Parents spend all their time and attention to their children. Parents can devote all their time and attention to their children. Martin points out that parents understand their children best (Martin). Therefore, they can choose the best method to motivate their children to learn. “Parents are also able to evaluate their children on a daily basis and provide further instruction if needed” (Martin). Individualized education also provide necessary help as needed. As a result, homeschooled students achieve

Most schools show facts that the everyday socialization of students will help with the progress in becoming a better citizen for the future. However, statistics show “Seventy-one percent of homeschool graduates participate in an ongoing community service activity, compared to 37 percent of U.S. adults to similar ages.”(Romanowski 127) This shows that more individuals today partake in activities in the U.S. today that were homeschooled than people who went to public schools. “More important, the assumption that traditional schooling offers socialization experiences that homeschooling cannot is flawed. Schools are not the only place that children can learn these basic life skills.”(Romanowski 126) Children will have many other times in life that they can experience what’s like to be a round other people on a daily basis, get a better understanding of day to day actions. Myths about schooling are common, but when it comes to the benefits children acquire are far superior to public schooled

Stereotypes have continued to lead people to believe that homeschoolers are isolated from the real world. However, taking a closer look into public and private schools it becomes apparent that traditionally schooled children are the ones not living in the real world. Traditionally schooled children are confined to a classroom for around 180 days each year with minimum opportunities to be exposed to a workplace or to go on field trips. Also, they are usually only surrounded by children their own age. Lastly, in traditional school everything is provided for the students and the students are given little to no responsibility. These students are not prepared to be responsible at home or the workplace, making them unprepared for life after graduation.

She also had been a high school math and physics teacher along with holding a liberal arts and sciences degree from St. John’s College, and she hold a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University. Homeschooling can be a matter of consistency for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently. Parents need to be involved in their children’s home schooling and they don’t all need to have a certain degree to teach their children in their home. Although, home schooling only has a small number of students who choose that can have a be superior to public schooling. Even though home schooling has grown over the years there is a wonder if home schooling is a help to public schools or a harm. Marcia summarizes that academic achievement and homeschooling history are especially good. Tensions can be hard with decision on whether home schooling is the right way to go, but with Clemmitt’s article she shares that they can receive adequate education with parents teaching them, academic achievement of homeschooled children, and whether home schooling can help or hinder public

Throughout history, homeschooling has been practiced by parents, extended family, and tutors. However, a small number of children were being subjected to homeschooling as compared to the 21st century (Gaither, p.226). Homeschooling is regarded as the provision of education to young people in a private setting as opposed to public setting. Instead of being educated by the teachers, the children are educated by their own parents, relatives, or tutors hired and paid by the parents. Parents who opt to subject their children to homeschooling, do so for a variety of reasons ranging from religious demand, structure of public schools to personal preferences.

In the ten-year period from 2003 to 2012, the number of American children 5 through 17 years old who were being home schooled by their parents climbed by 61.8 percent. There has been drastic increases in home education over the last several years. It is estimated that a total of 2 million students (2.3%) are home schooled in the U.S today. This begs the question, why home school?

Once a parent has child that is old enough to start school, the parent has to think about if they want to enroll their child in public school or homeschool them. Today, many parents are homeschooling their children. A U.S. Department of Education’s report shows that approximately 1.5 million children were being homeschooled in 2007 (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). This is almost 3 percent of all school age children (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). A private researcher, the National Home Education Research Institute, estimates 2.5 million children were being homeschooled in the 2007 – 2008 academic years (Lips & Feinberg, 2008). By either count, homeschooling is growing exponentially.

With the many anxieties and stresses of public school, homeschooling is rapidly growing in popularity, with the numbers increasing by at least 7 percent every year. There are currently approximately two million children homeschooled throughout the United States. Recently in the years of public education, children have struggled due to the many distractions around them. Even in private schools, this issue has been evident. Sometimes the private or public school can be too slow for a student who is a quick learner. Sometimes the private or public schools have no fault in the issue, but the child suffers with a learning disability. With a committed parent or teacher, homeschooling can benefit their learning.

Many concerns are expressed for homeschoolers. When it comes to homeschooling, the first point of emphasis that critics point towards homeschoolers is the lack of socialization. “Critics charge that home-schooled children will be socially handicapped and unable to adapt to real-life interaction when older” (Jeub 1994). Ultimately, critiques get their conclusions with many observations and interviews that show how they do not choose to, or are not incorporated in social events or activities. Critiques imagine that the children are stuck with their parents all day and only go out when their parents allow them or when they personally go out. With this environment, critiques envision that homeschoolers get little to no cultural experience from their world surroundings (Anderman and Anderman, p. 468) In essence, the assessment is a never-ending speech from the critics that the number one flaw in homeschool is socialization and the