Cassie Jian
Davis
Honors English – 7th
30 April 2010
The Pros and…Well, More Pros of Homeschooling The pros and cons of homeschooling a child have long been debated by the leading experts and specialists. In the eyes of many, growing up and learning in a private, secluded environment is socially and academically unfavorable for children. Since the practice first started, questions have always been asked: does it really help at all? The answer to that question is yes. With the number of homeschooled children increasing every year, it’s obvious that being raised in and exposed to the homeschooled environment gives children many advantages over those that are public schooled. Making friends and meeting new people has always been a necessity in life; interacting with others is vital to being able to survive. Homeschooled children are stereotyped to be secluded from other children; critics argue that a homeschooled child will not be able to function properly in society if they are not exposed to other children early on (Jenkins). They are assumed to be socially awkward, and therefore deemed not able to function as well as children that have been public-schooled. Linda Dobson, author of many books centered on the topic of homeschooling, says that many confuse “socializing [-] talking and playing with other kids,” and “socialization [-] learning the proper rules of behavior for a culture” (Dobson 79). Neither of these matters are required to take place at a school environment, despite the beliefs of the masses. In reality, many families that practice homeschooling “do not even separate academic work from other aspects of life at all” (Gathercole 53). Moreover, homeschooled children participate in many of the same extracurriculars offered to public schooled children. In fact, a study conducted by Brian D. Ray, president of the NHERI (National Home Education Research Institute), shows that the average homeschooled kid is involved in at least five extracurricular activities in the community, with 98% involved in two or more activities (Pride 575). Five activities, which is one for every school day, give homeschooled children plenty of interaction with people their age, among others. Another survey done by Ray in 2003 indicates that previously home educated adults are happier with their life and also more involved in social activities (Davis 96). With even one extracurricular activity, meeting new people and beginning relationships is incredibly easy. Homeschooling also strengthens family relationships and lengthens the window of opportunity for parents to deposit positive influence on their children. These days, at public schools, students – especially those in the upper-level grades of high school – spend an excessive amount of time doing school work or school-related activity. By the time their homework and chores are finished, there is not much time left to spend with their family (Bittner 291). The ties between a child and the parents are stretched farther and farther, until both are completely isolated from each other. In a homeschool situation, naturally, the family spends much of their time together, and it creates strong bonds between the parents and the children, as well as the brothers and sisters (Kochenderfer 14). Furthermore, the more time a student spends with his or her parents, the more likely it is that the parents will have some positive influence over their child. It is human nature for people to do what they know, and learn from the people they make contact with the most. At public schools – with the child spending seven to eight hours a day, five days a week there – peers and friends, as well as teachers and counselors, hold a relative amount of weight on a student’s values and ideas. Homeschool allows students to be free of the “peer groups and courses that actively encourage kids to reject their parents’ beliefs and morality,” and instead gives families a chance to build close, eternal relationships (Pride 40). Debra Bell, former public-school teacher turned homeschool educator, agrees that homeschooling a child would increases the chance of parental influence (Bell 16). Even though a student will his or her own ideas and opinions as they grow older, starting them out at the right place is always important, and homeschooling is the ideal way to transfer family values and morals over to a child. A homeschooled education gives students more options than a public-school education would. The curriculum of a homeschool is often specifically tailored to the needs or desires of the child in question; each child is different from another, and with the homeschooling technique, a student can go at his or her own speed, or study the materials as he or she wishes. In public schools, the educational board places children on an “artificial timetable” (Bell 18). If a student does not meet the requirements for their specific age level, he or she is deemed “slow” or “behind,” and is sometimes even forced to repeat another year of the same grade. Expert Elizabeth Kanna, co-founder of homeschooling.com, argues that the entire public school system is flawed: “Public schools were designed [to deliver an] assembly line education to create conformist citizens. The ultimate one-size-fits-all” (Kochenderfer 3). The curriculum of public and private schools group students all together as one, with no opportunity for diversions or variety. In the case of homeschooling, parents can schedule subjects for their child to learn that typically would not be included in traditional curricula (Lim). Parents and their children are free to begin new material whenever they wish while the child is interested, which motivates them to learn. The scenario is the same should a child not understand the information at any time: the flexible schedule allows the pace to be slowed down and taken at a comfortable yet reasonable speed. The most apparent reasons to homeschool a child are the countless academic advantages they can benefit from. Studies show that the majority of homeschooled students score equally or better than those that are public-schooled in a multitude of tests (Ray 301). Though some presume that homeschooled children are schooled so because they are slow learners or have learning disabilities, the opposite is found to be true. Children who have been homeschooled for the entirety of their academic career generally have high scholastic-achievement test scores than students who have attended traditional schooling at some point in their lifetime (Williams 76). In one study, the results pointed out that the average test scores for homeschooled students are 30 to 37 percent higher than public and private schooled children (Mattox). Part of this is because of the individualized attention that students receive when they take classes at home with four or five others, if not alone. The educator, in the homeschooling case, is able to focus more on each child’s unique needs, as opposed to attempting to help every single student in a class of thirty. The other part is due to the fact that parents are just willing to work harder to help their child succeed (Saunders). Compared to a public or private school teacher, who teaches students only in return for pay, a parent acting as an instructor is a hundred times better. A truly motivated guardian determined to see their child become an accomplished scholar will push them farther and fully inspire them to work hard. Homeschooling a child is the perfect way to prepare them for the real world. Their lifestyle and education prepares them very well for what is known as “the real world.” In a study of homeschooled adults carried out by the NHERI in 2003, none were unemployed or on welfare, and most believed that “homeschooling had helped them to become independent individuals and to interact with people from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds” (Gathercole 168). Because homeschooled children are not exposed to the artificial environment that public- and private-schoolers are raised in, they spend their whole lives living in the real world. When sibling rivalry and family relationship problems come along, kids are forced to deal with the problem; in this, they learn to resolve the issue instead of tossing it aside and hoping it will pass them by (Davis 99-100). Homeschooled children are also able to have the hands-on experiences that public and private schooled pupils rarely get to see. Chris Klicka, Senior Counsel for the HSLDA (Home School Legal Defense Association), argues that public schooled children are the ones not living in the real world, and even going as far as saying that the only thing homeschooled children are missing out on is the “unhealthy peer pressure, crime and immorality” of public schools. Confined to a classroom for 180 days a year, customarily schooled children have little opportunity to be exposed to workplaces and interact with adults or students of other ages (Klicka). Homeschooled kids, on the other hand, learn responsibility and independence from their educational career. The challenges they face everyday make them stronger, building up their knowledge to help them get ready for life on their own. The practice of homeschooling not only teaches students materials in great depth, but also helps them learn numerous life skills they are not able to discover anywhere else. It is a thriving educational practice that produces thousands of academically and socially able students who positively and greatly contribute to society. Whatever the objections to the practice of homeschooling may be, one cannot deny that homeschooling a child offers a superior education compared to those of public and private schools. Be it a social or academic excellence, the nature of homeschooled children exceeds, by far, the limits of conventionally schooled children.

Works Cited
Bell, Debra. The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling: 3rd Edition. Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 2005.
Bittner, Terrie Lynn. Homeschooling: Take a Deep Breath – You Can Do This!. Denver: Mapletree Publishing Company, 2004.
Davis, Mimi. So WHY Do You Homeschool?. Longwood: Xulon Press, 2005.
Dobson, Linda. The Homeschooling Book of Answers (Revised): The 101 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling’s Most Respected Voices. Roseville: Prima Publishing, 2002.
Gathercole, Rachel. The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling. Denver: Mapletree Publishing Company, 2007.
Jenkins, Diana "Disadvantages of Homeschooling - Outweighing the Potential Benefits of a Classroom." Disadvantages of Homeschooling - Outweighing the Potential Benefits of a Classroom. 19 Aug. 2009 EzineArticles.com. 24 Apr. 2010 .
Klicka, Chris. “Socialization: Homeschoolers Are in the Real World.” Mar. 2007 HSLDA.org 30 Apr. 2010 .
Kochenderfer, Rebecca, and Elizabeth Kanna. Homeschooling for Success: How Parents Can Create a Superior Education for Their Child. New York: Warner Books, Inc., 2002.
Lim, Ricky. “5 Advantages of Homeschooling.” 15 May 2006 EzineArticles.com 30 Apr. 2010 .
Mattox, William R. Jr. “Homeschooling Has Social Advantage.” The Ledger 10 March 1999.
Pride, Mary. Complete Guide to Getting Started in Homeschooling. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2000.
Ray, Brian D. “Home Schooling.” The World Book Encyclopedia: H, Volume 9. 2004.
Saunders, Donald. “The Results of Homeschooling vs. Public Schools.” 29 May 2007 EzineArticles.com 30 Apr. 2010 .
Williams, Heidi. Homeschooling. Farmington Hills: The Gale Group, 2007.