The Justice

While, of course, my experience is not the same as all homeschooled children, I would say that it isn't outside the norm. In my experience, criticisms regarding homeschooling most commonly center around the idea that there is no socialization. However, it is absurd to think that socialization only goes on in school. Even before school, children socialize all the time. Beyond that, there are many homeschooling groups in which children do socialize with other homeschoolers in the area during times that other kids may be in school.

Homeschoolers also learn important social skills that are not necessarily taught in regular schools. Because they aren't in a school all day, homeschoolers are free to socialize with adults and with their own families. I find it very sad to see children who see adults as nothing other than unrelatable authority figures who need to be obeyed. As someone who works with kids, I don't like being treated as an authority figure. It seems like the kids feel they aren't worthy of being talked to as an equal. This comes as no surprise, as institutional teachers see no problem asserting themselves as unquestionable presences.

The myth that all homeschoolers are from damaging religious families is just that, a myth. While it is true that many religious families choose to homeschool their children, teaching them specific values that they find important, this is hardly different from sending a child to a religious school. Moreover, public school teachers do not have the authority to teach certain values to children because it is considered overstepping their boundaries. In contrast, in a homeschooling environment, schooling subjects can be tied into life values. Because of this, there are many homeschooling movements that focus on better ways to teach children important values that aren't necessarily tied to any religion.

Homeschooling is becoming more popular today due to bad experiences with traditional schools or just because parents think it's an excellent option for learning. From my experiences I agree with this assessment and would not want to give my future child anything but the best education, which, in my opinion, is homeschooling.



The writer is a member of the Class of 2010.

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