Home schooling works only if the parents are qualified to teach children. I know so many children that are home schooled that so are far behind their peers. And they have no social skills whatsoever! These kids don’t have any friends, they don’t play sports and as teens they don’t go to dances. It is really sad because I see these kids (they live near me) and it’s not because of religious convictions that they don’t have fun but it is scary because they are totally clueless. Home schooled children should have to take the state tests to see if they are being taught, just like the kids in regular schools.

Roxy,

I’m sorry your exposure to home schooled children has caused you to think that way. I am married to a man who was home schooled, and his siblings are still home schooled. They are some of the friendliest, most intelligent, socialized kids I know, and I am a public school teacher. The socialization depends upon the parents - it doesn’t have anything to do with being home schooled. The parents, as my in-laws did, can choose to get their children involved. My husband played sports (baseball and basketball) all through high school, went to public school dances with friends, worked part-time jobs, and always tested above his grade level on standardized testing. I understand that in some cases, home schooled children do fit into the categories you mentioned, but as a public school teacher of 150 teenagers a day, I can assure you that many public school students fit into those categories as well.

One on one tutoring is the essence of homeschooling. Plus, the edition of loving. caring parents provide emotional security that every child needs. The statistics bear out that homeschoolers consistantly test higher than their “formal” schooled counterparts. And all children are “socialized” if they are in a society. Roxy is apparently a young person whos world is still small. There are now thousands of homeschooled children who are grown & presently in society working, paying taxes & raising children here in Missouri. The “homeschool law” passed in Missouri in the 80’s has proven to be a success.

Roxy, if your example is true it is an unusual case. As a rule (verified by studies), home-schooled children academically out-perform their public-schooled counterparts. If the children you speak of truly “don’t have friends, don’t play sports and don’t go to dances” then they truly are out of the norm for home-schoolers, as these opportunities are readily available. In fact, your post generally sounds like a fictional regurgitation of the worst myths about home schoolers. My wife and I once held to these myths until we began home schooling, and became involved in the home school community, because the public school did not adequately challenge our son. Certainly there are rare cases where families who “home-school” are truly neglecting their children’s development, just as there are public school teachers who are inept at their job. Requiring everyone to be tested, however, wouldn’t weed out bad home schoolers any more than bad teachers, and it would generally serve to embarass the public school in comparison.

I hope Margie isn’t an example of someone who was home schooled. Her poor spelling and grammar are embarassing.

Two “r”s.

I am glad to see so many people are more knowledgeable about homeschooling than in the past.I am still amazed that the whole issue of “socialization” is still being dragged out anytime homeschooling is mentioned.We homeschool partly so our kids are not subjected to all the negative socialization that has become even more common and vicious now than it was when I was in school.Our kids are able to converse with a wide range of people, not just their age-matched peers,and on many subjects, not just Hannah Montana or MTV.My kids are also at the higher end of the intelligence scale,as I was, and I was bored silly throughout most of my school years.Fortunately, I am a compulsive reader, so I tended to fill in the gaps in my education on my own and got an education despite attending SLPS.I definitely did not want my kids’ academic progress dictated by the lowest common denominator in the classroom, and I don’t want their love of learning to be lost due to boredom.There are so many more educational resources available to homeschoolers now, which makes it much easier to cover the required subjects and still have time for all kinds of enrichment activities, like 4H,gardening, nature studies,dog training….Not everybody is into organized team sports, yet we manage to raise healthy, happy, emotionally-stable kids who grow into productive,responsible adults.

Parents have the biggest impact on a child’s attitude towards learning, and many parents don’t seem to realize they ARE their child’s first teacher,for better or worse.Most homeschoolers are more willing to accept that responsibility and make the most of it.We happen to like spending time with our kids and encouraging them to be more self-reliant and self-motivated to learn beyond the minimal requirements to pass a given class.I am not saying that other parents don’t do the same, but I have seen many who seem perfectly happy to let the schools raise their kids and don’t encourage them to develop the ability to think critically for themselves.Questioning what you are taught in school is generally not encouraged, even though much of the history taught in schools is either highly sanitized for political correctness, or is just left out.I want my kids to learn the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding history, and to actually understand and apply whatever they learn in any subject, not just memorize something to pass a test and then forget it.I think that is why millions of parents are choosing to homeschool these days.Many people tell us they understand why we homeschool, even though we are in a good school district.

Great rally today. It was nice to see such respectable behavior, and not have to tell my boys to look away from all of underdressed girls. Kudos to Maynard Wallace for making the appropriate changes to the bill. Proud homeschool mom of 6, who go to dances, socialize with all ages, and do very well academically. Which is typical with most homeschoolers, according to the studies.

As a homeschooling parent of 4 children, I have experienced both worlds. I pulled my daughter from the public school system after only two years. It is always amazing how those who know so little about homeschooling make such large generalizations. If one were to begin a list of all the failings of the public school system, it would far outweigh the very few irresponsible homeschoolers. How many irresponsible public school parents are there? Just ask a teacher…..

As a former public school teacher and administrator, I have no porblem with homeschooling. Obviously, there are those who parents should not home school their children and most educators can relate stories of kids who came to them from home schooling woefully unprepared. On the other hand, science fairs, spelling bees and other academic competitions often include home schooled studetns in the top positions. Also, I am sure each Ivy League and other elite university in this country includes students who were home schooled. Finally, I am not sure that we should be in the business of forcing kids to go to school. We might be better off if we got rid of compusory education laws. The notion that “All children can learn” is pious nonesense that has caused untold damage.