Is homeschooling beneficial for children, families and society?
Yes, it is good all around.
Side Score: 9
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No, homeschooling is damaging.
Side Score: 7
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3
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I've only known about five or six sets of children who have been home schooled and I would have to say that the schooling itself was among the best I've ever seen. That being said, I've only wondered about the lack of interaction with other children their age. I think parents need to fill their children's lives with such things that would round them out so they can be with others their age. Whatever it is...Scouting, sports, hobbies, church involvement or special interests. Each of these and more can give a child the rest of what he/she needs to be successful in life. Side: Yes, it is good all around.
Benefits for the child are immense - educational freedom, learn at his/her own pace and own style, no bullies, no bad school lunches. Family benefits include more time together. Children aren't removed from the home for 8 hours just to come home and have busywork/homework to complete and extracurricular programs, classes and sports to fit in. Families can travel off season and create bonds that last a lifetime. Society has benefits and a downfall. Then negative for the general population is that involved, concerned parents are taking their children out of public schools changing the dynamic in the traditional classroom. On the other hand children who are homeschooled typically have and give more of their time to charitable endeavors and overall they finish high school better critical thinkers and more well read than their public school peers. Side: Yes, it is good all around.
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i believe that, although some of the benefits you mention are true, in general the negatives far outweigh them. First, you say educational freedom. This means that the parents are free to teach the children what they want them to learn. Although this may make the parents happier, it can be limiting to the children. What if the parents are closed minded? What if they're ignorant? All of these traits will almost certainly be passed on to their children. Schools on the other hand allow children to experience a variety of different perspectives and points of view. Seeing the world from numerous diverse perspectives, is a vastly superior system then simply learning every thing through the lens of simply one or two people (how ever well intentioned or knowledgeable they may be). You give bullying as an example of a negative of school but, you ignore the positive social interactions that occur. Home school denies these opportunities. Spending time with one's family is great, but spending time exclusively with one's family? Kid's need to have friends otherwise they;re emotional growth will be stunted. In addition, learning to deal with issue such as bullies will be useful skills in the future. As for your idea about children who are home schooled being smarter, allow me to give you a related example of the flaw in logic. Parents whose children who attend public schools often want to choose the public school they attend, even if it's not the closest. In areas where laws are passed allowing parents to do apply for a change, it is shown that those students who change schools receive better grades then the average student. This would lead you to believe that the change helped these students right? Well, they looked at those students who applied for a transfer, but were not allowed to change schools. Guess what they found? Their scores were higher too! So what does this mean? It means, that those students whose parents care enough about education to try to get their children into the best school, preform better then average students regardless of whether they changed schools or not. I would assume the same would be true for home school kids. Their parents care enough about education to pull them out of school and therefore the children are more likely to do better. Had these same students attended school instead, it is likely they would have still been above average. For me the social impact that school has on children is too much of a sacrifice for any of the rewards that may benefit the family (or more specifically the parents). Side: No, homeschooling is damaging.
1
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I believe that, although some of the benefits you mention are true, in general the negatives far outweigh them. First, you say educational freedom. This means that the parents are free to teach the children what they want them to learn. Although this may make the parents happier, it can be limiting to the children. What if the parents are closed minded? What if they're ignorant? All of these traits will almost certainly be passed on to their children. Schools on the other hand allow children to experience a variety of different perspectives and points of view. Seeing the world from numerous diverse perspectives, is a vastly superior system then simply learning every thing through the lens of simply one or two people (how ever well intentioned or knowledgeable they may be). You give bullying as an example of a negative of school but, you ignore the positive social interactions that occur. Home school denies these opportunities. Spending time with one's family is great, but spending time exclusively with one's family? Kid's need to have friends otherwise their emotional growth will be stunted. In addition, learning to deal with issue such as bullies will be useful skills in the future. As for your idea about children who are home schooled being smarter, allow me to give you a related example to show how your logic is flawed: Parents whose children who attend public schools often want to choose the public school they attend, even if it's not the closest. In areas where laws are passed allowing parents to do apply for a change, it is shown that those students who change schools receive better grades than the average student. This would lead you to believe that the change helped these students right? Well, they looked at those students who applied for a transfer, but were not allowed to change schools. Guess what they found? Their scores were higher too! So what does this mean? It means, that those students whose parents care enough about education to try to get their children into the best school, perform better then average students regardless of whether they changed schools or not. I would assume the same would be true for home school kids. Their parents care enough about education to pull them out of school and therefore the children are more likely to do better. Had these same students attended school instead, it is likely they would have still been above average. For me the social impact that school has on children is too much of a sacrifice for any of the rewards that may benefit the family (or more specifically the parents). Side: No, homeschooling is damaging.
Kuklapolitan, parental choice has everything to do with this argument. The choice to murder a baby or give birth to it. The choice to educate that child at home, in public school or in private school - it's all about choice. So, uh, yeah, they are related...it all falls under the topic of choice. And, I'd love to move somewhere where there are no bomb threats at school, where the high school-aged students don't smoke pot in the bathroom. Can you tell me where this nirvana is located? Unfortunately, we can't live in an area that is completely free of deviants. Just like, ahem, homeschooling parents cannot shelter their children completely from deviants. In fact, if you check this site: http://www.missingkids.com/missingkids/ Most of us will probably find a sex offender living a bit too close for comfort. Some of us know all too well, that people who perpetrate crimes against others are right in our own families. Are we all supposed to pick up and move when we find out a crack head moved into town and attends the local high school where the children of the town might run into him/her. Side: Yes, it is good all around.
Homeschooling is wonderful. Educational freedom. I never understood why people are for pro choice when it comes to abortion, but a parent can't be pro-choice about their child's education. Someone, please explain the logic. The socialization argument is OLD and STALE. Read my lips ...OLD and STALE. Here is a run down of our activities for our two children: karate, jiu jitsu, wrestling, cheerleading, soccer, dance, FIRST robotics, Explorers. I finally had to put a stop to one of them and nixed basketball because we are gone more than we are home doing schoolwork. The social activities are so abundant, it's ridiculous. The only socialization my children are missing out on are the things like...oh, let's see, smoking pot in the bathroom, getting robbed at knifepoint, living through bomb threats----yeah, all things that happened at our local (very small town) high school. So, as long as the liberals support pro-choice for abortion, I'll support pro-choice for my (unaborted child's) education. Side: Yes, it is good all around.
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I too am PRO-CHOICE...but what has that to do with this question? I'm glad to hear your kids are well socialized so thanks for answering my concern. What you wrote in your last paragraph has me concerned though. Your take on things seems to be fairly politically based. Those are things that happen all too frequently at so many schools but your kids and everyone else's can be exposed to many of the same things outside of your home environment. Let's hope they won't be...but your small town, wherever it is, doesn't seem the type of place to raise children. All the people who perpetrated these things are probably not very far away! Side: Yes, it is good all around.
The history of education is full of heart felt, sometimes bitter, debate. There are all kinds of alternatives to public schools, and the more the merrier, I say. Parents have the right (and responsibility) to choose. I do appreciate the standards that are emerging around home schooling, standard curricula, etc., as well as opportunities for home schooled children to get together for field trips and other extracurricular activities. As long as public schools continue to be so mediocre, home schooling and other alternatives are essential. Side: Yes, it is good all around.
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First off, let me say that I don't think homeschooling is entirely bad; there are just things that parents considering homeschooling should be careful of. I was homeschooled from 6th grade to 12th and I feel like I got a decent education. I took a couple of classes at the local community college and got to be involved in things that, time-wise, I may not otherwise have been able to be involved in. On the other hand, my whole life was spent pretty far away from other kids my age. Even when I was in public school, I never really interacted with kids from school because my friends all lived too far away. When my parents made the decision to homeschool my sister and me, it was that much harder to spend time with anyone other than my family. We moved when I was in 7th grade and in 5 years, I never really made any friends my own age, even though I was involved in church and other activities. I went to a college in NY and lived in a dorm. That setting forced me to get involved with the people around me and that was a good thing...I found people that I really liked and I keep in contact with them, even though I haven't seen them in a couple of years. I've since returned to the town I was from and am attending the local community college. I'm nearly done with my associate's degree and am only now becoming comfortable enough to be interactive with those around me, much less finding friends. I'm not blaming my problems entirely on homeschooling, but I don't think it did anything to help. It allowed me to continue the habits that I'm finding so restrictive today. My sister returned to public school a couple of years before graduation and is a lot more social than I am, but she seems to collect friends no matter where she goes. The other thing that is something to be careful of (in my experience) is time planning. They say we're better at it than other kids, and I guess in some ways that's true. But I know I took advantage of the leniency I had. Fortunately, we worked through a correspondence school, which forced us to keep progressing. I wouldn't say that if we'd been on our own I'd still be in high school, but we might have cheated (it's possible in some states) or I'd be much further behind than I am. Basically, homeschooling isn't for everyone. There are certain things that those considering homeschooling should consider very carefully, and maybe even re-evaluate each year. A person's education and personal growth is extremely valuable and should not be taken lightly. I think it's entirely possible for a person to receive a very good education through homeschooling (in some ways, I think my education was much better than I would have gotten at a public school), but I also feel like I missed out on some things that people in a public school take for granted. Side: No, homeschooling is damaging.
The effects of homeschooling can vary depending on various factors, such as the quality of education provided, the home environment, the resources available, and the individual needs of the child. arlington tx Kitchen remodeling Side: No, homeschooling is damaging.
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