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There are notable drawbacks to homeschooling children. First, unless a parent is himself a previous honor student or a genius who mastered more than just the three R’s, a child may not receive quality home education. Even if a parent earned a degree in one or more areas, it may not suffice and could limit the scope of a child’s knowledge, unless a parent excelled in other major subjects or supplements with tutors in areas in which he may be weak.
Homeschooling was originally thought to be a good idea, but recently it has become the subject of late-night comics. Now, it is mostly frowned upon for all but severely disabled children or those otherwise unable to attend school for whatever reason. The priority should be what’s best for children. Homeschooling may fit a parent’s lifestyle or philosophy, but it may negatively impact his child.
Besides the issue of academics, there is another glaring downside for children: the socialization factor. Socialization per se is training of sorts. Children must learn to interact and get along with others beyond their immediate family members, preferably outside the home. In certain respects, homeschooling is tantamount to retarding a child by isolating him from the outside world. Social alienation may be as important a basis for opposing homeschooling as its other limits. Phobias and disorders in social settings are often salient results of homeschooling, and become most evident once a homeschooled person attempts to interact in the broader society.
A classroom setting for children has many advantages. In school, children are more likely to be challenged and encouraged by other students’ curiosity, and they sometimes benefit from the attention of an array of school staff. Schools provide structure and teaching beyond book-learning, such as behaviors and following orders, procedures, instructions, as well as participatory activities such as playing in the band, gymnastics, team sports, etc.
In addition, schools can be excellent monitors and whistleblowers for abused and neglected children. In most if not all schools in the United States, attendance records that are maintained draw attention to truants, children whose poor attendance can indicate their predicament. No such oversight occurs for homeschooled children in peril.
Teaching children that it is healthy and smart to sleep early and rise early for a worthy purpose is a lesson in itself. They learn that school and, in the future, work, will require punctuality. Less is learned when a child can be taught in his pajamas in the middle of the afternoon.
However, in some cases, homeschooling is mandated under state regulations, has curricula and works well; it can even be expensive. But its benefits do not compare with conventional schooling. Home schooling’s shortcomings far outweigh its advantages. Schools have trained specialists who have far better learning tools and techniques, and a whole system of support that is lacking in most homes.
Quality education and socialization are both imperatives, but one without the other is a disservice to children.
For more info:
www.ehow.com/about_5044333_social-disadvantages-homeschooling.html
finehomeschooling.com/disadvantage-of-home-schooling.html
www.allaboutparenting.org/disadvantages-of-home-schooling-faq.htm
Comments
With all due respect, have you ever met any homeschoolers? It sounds like you may be using a particular experience with someone as an excuse to malign the millions of other homeschool parents who are diligent, and turning out children who are intelligent, educated, interesting, highly socialized, involved citizens by the score.
There are coops of parents that band together to help each other teach the "hard subjects", community college classes for homeschoolers, enrichment programs where a tutor is hired to teach those subjects, AP classes, etc. NY is highly regulated and should meet your stringent requirements.
As for our kids not being exposed to the "real world", puhleeze. I'm not sure why people think that the multiethnic, multigenerational, world we live in everyday and expose our children to is any less the "real world" than the artificial environment of 25-30 people the same age in the same room, being spoon fed NEA-approved, politically correct information for 8 hours a
Expect alot of hits on your post. :-) Can we stop bringing up the socialization bugaboo? My daughter has many friends from park day, various classes, and field trips. There is no lack of socializing opportunities. Besides how were you socialized in school? I, for one, learned that I was rewarded for staying quiet and not voicing my opinion. I also learned not to make eye contact with strangers and mind my own business. I don't think children should learn that in school. And in case you haven't noticed, not all public schooled children are the epitomy of well-socialized beings. I was extrememly shy in school and not comfortable in social situations. School is not to socialization.
And how do you know how much learning can be done in your pj's in the middle of the afternoon? Last time I looked you don't need to learn Algebra at 8am in a shirt and pants.
Homeschooling may fit a parent’s lifestyle or philosophy, but it may negatively impact his child.
It is very easy to substitute 'Public schooling' for 'homeschooling' in that sentence and be just as accurate. Yes... decisions in life always have the potential to have a negative impact. But there are many opportunities for positive impact.
With a dedicated homeschooling parent a child can be presented with material appropriate for their learning style, rather than grouped with 30 others and having to learn in whatever style the local school board deems appropriate.
I find it ironic that of the three links provided one directly contradicts the author saying the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, one has an easy link to the advantages also contradicting the author, and the last seems to argue the main disadvantage is how much work it is for the parent. It certainly doesn't appear that she took the time to read even those short articles.
OBVIOUSLY written by someone who has no CLUE about homeschoolers. Not all socialization is good socialization. In fact, what most people refer to as "socialization" is actually one childs bad manners and habits rubbing off on all the other children.Have you BEEN in a public school lately?(I have one child who recently graduated from PS) The kids behave like animals.
My local co op has organized classes, low child to adult ratios, and more field trips than ANY person could possibly take advantage of. They do volunteer work in shelters and missions as well. Many homeschoolers see school as an artificial environment, at no other time in your life are you socially interacting with only people your own age. My "unsocialized" 13 year old had a huge pizza and video game bash with all of her homeschooled friends in our finished basement recently.
As for the "Whistle blowing" aspect, that is pure bunk. My son had several friends in public school who were abused. No action was taken...
OBVIOUSLY written by a parent who is biased. My goodness women. It's the PARENTS fault the kids behave like animals. And excuse me, but im pretty sure there are PUBLIC SCHOOL children who have worked in shelters,food banks and such.
I think your OPINIONATED comment is pure bunk.
Grow up, mom.
people like you put a bad name on homeschooling parents.
This sounds like an article written by someone who had a deadline and no interest in the subject. Perhaps she is a good example of public school results- money motivated, excellence not a priority.
I have homeschooled 8 children. One is now entering a prestigious law school (married with 2 children), one is training to be a fireman and finishing a BA,one is on the nat'l U20 rugby team, the others are big participants in several sports, church and community. They do good deeds randomly, care about their elderly neighbours (without it being a school project or producing marks) and are the epitome of flourishing,growing, community members. They belong and are appreciated in their community.
It does not take a genius to provide a good education. It requires someone who knows the child, cares about them, and can encourage their desire to learn. Quite often this person will be a parent.
Also, check some statistics. Homeschooling has been GROWING (try other than NEA...)
Sigh
This article is so off target. Do your homework next time!
my advice if you want to discourage drivel like this is to ignore it. the more comments she gets, the more "successful" the article is viewed by her management. the worst thing you can do to people that consider themselves to be journalists is to ignore them (search engines and her management agree as well). the more traffic and attention she gets, regardless of the quality and accuracy of the work, the better her metrics.
We have a national debt of about 11.6 trillion dollars. And by the time I press the send button to post this comment it may reach 12 trillion. This country desperately needs to pay down this debt, and it needs to do it by being productive. To be productive, we need scientists, mathematicians, geneticists, and engineers. Those are the people who are likely to design and build products and services for this country to export. Only then will we, as a nation, actually earn money instead of borrow it to pay down the debt. Knowing that, why in the world would we place such a huge emphasis on socialization when public school graduates must rely on a calculator to multiply six and four.
My homeschooled kids have many friends, but they socialize away from their school work. We separate the two. The result is that they are at least 3 years ahead of their peers in each subject including knowing their math facts, and have many friends. BOTTOM LINE: America needs homeschoolers.
There are so many errors, misconceptions, and outright incorrect assurtions this article could have been written by an 8th grade PUBLIC SCHOOL kid at midnight for the next day's test. Oh, but, they actually take multiple choice tests because the teachers don't have time to grade 45 students' essays.
There is statistical data refuting the lie that a partent's education effects a homeschool student's. Also data refuting the ASSurtion homeschooling is declining or thought of negatively. Late night comics make fun of the President too.
I am SICK of all the socialized graduates who don't give me any attention as a customer EVERY where I go. They are incompetant, lazy, inconsiderate, and too busy "socializing" with their co-workers, just like they learned in public school.
My children don't need "more" socialization; we all need less! Public school scores vs. homeschool speak for themselves. Whatever you are pushing lady, is akin to "snake oil". Only uneducated people will buy it.
LOL. I homeschool so that my kids don't "socialize" with people like this writer.
Hahahaha! Sorry that tickled me. Me too! Although we have some in our family who might write something like this. Ugh.
If only professional teachers were former honor students and geniuses in every discipline and earned degrees in more than one area . . .
Those who cannot do, teach.
Did you do any research aside from Googling the phrase "disadvantages of homeschooling"? If you did, your article did not reflect it...
Of course she did, she clearly talked to a friend who has a friend who has a cousin who has a friend who knows someone whose kids were homeschooled and turned out "weird." That's research, right?
This woman's ignorance defies belief
Public education is broken - just do a search online for "students fail tests" or "teachers fail tests". I found hundreds of articles in one search. Many of my homeschool clients are former public school teachers who have seen first-hand how the system is not working.
I could write pages about the failure of the public school system if I had time, but I'm busy trying to help homeschool moms find a better way. Good for them for trying instead of waiting for a broken system to fix itself. I don't see that happening until our politicians and educating elite actually start trying to meet the needs of the people (both students and teachers) instead of themselves.
I believe in public school - I wouldn't have received an education had I not attended one. But, the public schools of today are not doing the job. So we're trying to find a better solution. At least we're trying - and, for the most part, doing a much better job.
Cindy Downes of Oklahoma Homeschool
As a writer myself I know that whenever you approach a topic, you are supposed to put in the required research. That is if you want to produce an article that is accurate and informational. You can tell this article has no research basis.
First, if a parents educational limitations had any impact on homeschool children, then why do homeschoolers frequently out preform their public school counter parts? Most states require standardized testing and most homeschoolers test far beyond their grades.
Second, if you had researched any homeschoolers at all, you would understand that the socialization thing is a myth.
We participate in co-ops where we share learning with many other families, p.e. groups, etc. Homeschoolers are also frequently involved with sports, lessons such as ballet and karate and music lessons, etc. We ensure that our children have plenty of interaction outside of the home.
Also, many have schedules that they adhere to.
Next time, do the research.
I went to public school, got a scholarship to an elite prep school, attended one Ivy League college and another Ivy League law school, and just finished 25 years of homeschooling our six children. From a purely educational standpoint, I can say that our homeschool provided a better academic education for our children than my prep school did. This doesn't mean that all homeschoolers will do a better job than all public or private schools, but in my case, homeschooling was demonstrably a good idea.
Ms. Biu, you are either misinformed, delirious or a propagandist. Did an editor review this before publication? Are you paid for such blather?
Really this is all crap. First of all she said if they are in public school then they can see if a child is being abused. Tell me one abuser that wants there kids at home all the time. Socialization - that is so messed up. I went to public school and wished I had been homeschooled and it was because of the bad socialization I got. Kids can be mean and when you are being teased all the time it makes you not even want to be there. My son and daughter are doing wonderful. They love to be homeschooled and they still have friends and activities after school not during school where they can get interrupted.
This is just silly. Children learn very naturally - it's institutional schooling that is unnatural. Does this author really believe children only need parental tutelage until the age of 5 or six (during which time parental "non-experts" somehow miraculously oversee kids learning to walk, talk, go potty, etc.), and then they need "experts" to prepare them for their role in society? Ridiculous. I really think anti-homeschooling blogging is becoming the new attention-seeking genre, much like questioning the benefits of breastfeeding. It's silly and completely unfounded, but it gets everyone all riled up. Children learn best in their natural environment. Read Family Matters: Why Homeschooling Makes Sense - written by a public school teacher who homeschools his own kids. It's an eye-opener. Though perhaps what this author needs is really a mind-opener.
Most interesting to me is the fact that you provide no support whatsoever to back up your sweeping generalizations. This is just an example of poor writing.
Absolutely LAZY writing, zero research, and even LAZIER editing. Where is the editor in this piece?
OOOPS...or is this publication SLAM Jobs R' Us?
Otherwise her content, also known as drivel and malice, isn't worth commenting on.
This article is just to ignorant to even be worthy of a real comment.
Her public education was the finest !
With all do respect, you spelled "to" wrong. It should be "just TOO ignorant" not "to."
So sorry, but you have no room to be criticizing anyone else's education, if you don't even know simple grammar.
Imagine the flak this paper would have gotten if it had run a piece on, say, Catholics. Or Mormons "retarding" their children and making them socially backward.
Yet it seems acceptable to say such things about homeschoolers. In my opinion, this was a very poor editorial decision which bespeaks the considerable hostility to homeschoolers in the community at large.
Just FYI on abuse and how wonderful the state is to watch over our kids during the school day? I pulled my son out of public school after he was locked in a closet on several occasions here in Missouri (KC metro area). It's totally legal, and is called a "safe" or "seclusion room."
I call it a closet and abuse. Yet there is nothing I can do but continue to work toward changing the law and informing people about what is really happening.
Then I have to hope that someone is listening.
As a writer, the only thing I kept thinking while reading this piece was, "Where are her sources?" Aside from the obviously Googled footnotes at the end of the article, there are none. Fear-bred ignorance.
I have found that when someone lashes out so hard and so irrationally, it's bred from insecurity in that area. I would be willing to bet this writer has some education anxiety in her own family and wonders if she is to blame. Lashing out at someone else, a behavior learned on the playground, is the typical response.
I was asked by a friend to read this article.
I actually don't care what this ill-informed idiot thinks and I will let a fellow New Yorker answer to her, John Taylor Gatto, 1990 New York School Teacher of the year. For those who have a brain, read his marvelous treatise, "The Underground History of American Education" at www dot johntaylorgatto dot com
Video at YouTube search for "John Taylor Gatto speaks about schools and brainwashing"
What a loada crappola. What world does this...ahem..."author" live in? Certainly not mine. I hope she didn't get paid for her uninformed opinion.
WOW! The author of this article is ignorant, uninformed, and stating her OPINIONS as fact. No wonder homeschoolers get such a bad rap...the public school system is TERRIBLE and kids aren't getting an education at ALL. As far as socialization, I have a post on my blog addressing that. I can't believe someone posted this article. And why do children need to go to public school for socializing??? DUH! Haven't you heard of scouts, 4-h, ballet, gymnastics...sports...OMG I can't believe this woman wrote this drivel. If this is HER job, she needs to be fired for poor research, and for presenting her opinion as fact!
I find it interesting that 2 of the three links that you listed on the bottom of your article disagree with your assertions. Shouldn't your foot notes back up your point rather than destroy it?
Ms. Biu said: "First, unless a parent is himself a previous honor student or a genius who mastered more than just the three R’s, a child may not receive quality home education."
I'm so glad to know that only honors students and geniuses are hired to teach in our public school system. I was certainly not aware of that fact. This of course explains why we trust them to give individualized attention to each and every one of the dozens of students they teach, whom they have only known for a short time and rarely interact with beyond the few months of one school year. Every one of these teachers carefully crafts their teaching and assignments to meet the personal needs of each and every student. Certainly such a feat would require exceptional genius!
This is a very poorly written article. Where is the research again?
Also growing up my husband was abused by his dad all the time. He went to one public school from the time he was in second grade till he graduated and guess what none of the teachers or other staff ever took notice! So public school sure didn't save him. Please do research before you write something for all to see.
My mother met a man once who tried to tell his teacher and school counselor that he and his little sister were being abused. He showed them his bruises and told them his sister had worse ones. Instead of calling the authorities, they called his parents and told his parents he was a liar.
as the other posts note, this lady is not even close to presenting a real argument.... I wish she would, so that we could have a substantive discussion.
So even though I have MBA and my wife holds a degree in Agriculture we some how are less capable of offering a complete education to our children than someone who has a BS in education. Ridiculous! I suggest you spend a little time looking into the facts and less time regurgitating stereotypical jargon that has been raised and disproved time and time again.
Dude what she said was funny! Dissargee of agree. LOVE how everyone gets so worked up. Here's the deal... homeschool kids are normally clingly. I've met them. We all have. They are normaly clueless to what this world has to offer because their parents are sheltering them! I don't care what you say, most homeschooled children are missing out! Don't hate society when your kids rebel! Blame yourself!
The 2-3 homeschooled people I met seemed socially retarded to me. All the comments above are clearly from people lobbying for home schooling
Wow, considering that most homeschoolers have too many socialization opportunities between ballet, gymnastics, co-op, library events, museums, church and clubs, this writer must have made it a point not to do ANY research. And furthermore, when have you heard of a bunch of homeschoolers forming a pregnancy pact? Or passing out sex bracelets? Or raping other homeschoolers? Or shooting up their school--er, dining room? Never. Gimme a break
I am unbelievably insulted. I am homeschooled, and at twelve I just took the ACT. Granted, my mom is a major in education, but still!
Never judge someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes.
I have been homeschool my entire life....and I am tired of people like you saying negative things about homeschoolers....my gpa is higher than anyone I know!!!! I am socialized(more than some of my public school friends) so I am very insulted by this....so i just have one thing to say too you....Bite me
I was "homeschooled" and struggle to this day with social issues. As a child, I thought abuse was normal and was isolated from all social interactions outside church and family. I was never actually taught either because I had to teach myself.
Let your kids make their own theories and opinions about life. Let them interact with and learn from others. When they come back from school, you can teach them your views and morals. Afterwards, your child can decide what they want to believe. Don't bash others because they have different views either. It ruins your credibility.
I was "homeschooled" and struggle to this day with social issues. As a child, I thought abuse was normal and was isolated from all social interactions outside church and family. I was never actually taught either because I had to teach myself.
Let your kids make their own theories and opinions about life. Let them interact with and learn from others. When they come back from school, you can teach them your views and morals. Afterwards, your child can decide what they want to believe. Don't bash others because they have different views either. It ruins your credibility.
I was homeschooled, and I can definitely vouch for this article. It's a very bad idea. Any parent who considers themselves qualified to be the sole educator of their children, is naive, OVER CONFIDENT and idealistic. Even if they are highly educated, they may still not be cut out for teaching children.
I was socially stunted, and isolated. My mother lost her temper whenever some lesson was not understood, and used the threat of being sent to public school as a tool for motivation. Which left me and my siblings with nothing more than a fear of the outside world ... and a poor education.
Now I have so much catching up to do, and a bad case of agoraphobia to do deal with as well.
I was home schooled from second to twelfth grade by mother who dropped out of high school and got her GED. I'm now 19 years old and in college. I have found that my education was more than adequate and am constantly bored by the simple concepts taught in the university. I perfect scores without studying or trying because my education was so advanced. My mother was a wonderful teacher. She raised us to be responsible members of society. My brother, sisters and I learned to be independent and did not rely on my mother to coddle us through our schooling. We are not socially awkward or sheltered, but rather normal people with many friends. This article is not a fair representation of what homeschooling is.
I would also suggest that someone that writes an article on how poor homeschooling is should work harder to remove grammatical errors from her work.
Hi! Thanks to all of those who have defended us homeschoolers! I don't know where you got your information, but I don't believe all of it is correct. I can understand what you said about the abuse. I have heard many staries about that topic. But please realize, that not all homeschholed kids are social outcasts. And to " the normal teen" please reconsider what you have just said. I do however, understand some of what you are saying. I have as well met many. Homeschoolers that may not be " normal" in your opinion, and to many others. That's okay...but I think that you need to really get to know them before you throw that out in peoples faces! I don't mean to come across like a snob....at all! I'm a pastors daughter and have three sibilings and we are all normal...fyi! In Christ, Tori
Years ago I home-schooled my children for about three years, using an excellent, largely secular curriculum with a sterling reputation. It was a good system, but it is not enough. I had not even finished college at the time. Today, with three master's degrees (none of them in educ btw)I am horrified with what I tried to do years before with essentially no tools, no specialized training. My children struggled in so many ways later on. We did have fun home-schooling, but that doesn't mean we should have done it. Small, private schools are your best bet. My guess is that it is mostly un to under-educated parents that attempt homeschooling. Stop harming your kids and put them in a good private school. Stop forcing your "values" on children. They are individuals, soon confronted with the larger world. They must decide for themselves what path to follow. They are not your own personal "mini-me's."
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