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Laquita Brooks
Jessica Gravely
Argument Essay
03 December 2008
Learning at Home
When hearing the phrase, “I was home schooled,” perhaps most may find the person interesting, but others automatically define the person as different. Many stereotypes about home
schooling exist. The first stereotype people may have is that children who are home schooled are
not social enough. They seem to believe children who are home schooled are not getting enough
social opportunities, because the child is not attending a school with a lot of children their age,
and learning the conventional way of the classroom. Home schooling can teach children to accept themselves for who they are, therefore preparing them for healthier relationships with others. Kamala Baudichon shares her story with “Skipping Stones”:
Kamala was home schooled all her life. “Just before freshman year I had a melt down! I
was tired of having a small group of friends.” Kamala’s parents let her go to public school; “Being home schooled allowed me to develop a strong sense of self, which helps me to not be influenced by others [in public school].” (9)
Some people may view socialization as hanging out with friends, whereas others believe
it is when children learn to conform to culture norms. In Revisiting the Common Myths about
Homeschooling, Romanowski argues that home school opens children up to other institutions
(e.g. YMCA, Ti Quan Do, or boy/girl scouts), thus exposing them to a wider variety of people.
They are not only their peers but a mixture of all age groups, which can help them adjust to multiple people (125).
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Many also believe that home schoolers do not do well in a college environment. According to Romanowski, college admission officers look for home schooled children. These college
representatives go as far as attending conferences in order to speak to parents who choose to
home school and are interested in scholarships for their child. Romanowski goes further to argue
that home schoolers exhibit strong work ethics and high moral values, which he believes play an
important role in succeeding in college (125). In fact, research has consistently shown that children who are home schooled score 15 to 30 percentile points higher on standardized academic
achievement tests than public school students. Their average on the ACT is a 23, while the average for a public school child is a 21 (Ray, 822).
Lower test scores and many other factors have seemed to upset parents who decided to
send their child to public schools. Is home schooling a better alternative? There are many incentives in choosing to home school; this is why there is a 7 to 15% increase in homeschoolers every
year. Many parents prefer homeschooling because they like the idea of educational freedom. In
other words, the children can learn things they are more interested in for longer periods of time
(Shaw).
Others parents choose home schooling, simply because they believe it can teach their
children to appreciate education more as a child, so, in return, they will be trained to learn by
their natural curiosity and drive rather than aiming to please authority figures. A study in 2004
showed that 31% of families who home schooled did it because they were concerned about the
environment they may be potentially placing their children in, and the other 30% declared it was
due to religious reasons (Lerner, 428). The 31% of the families who are concerned about the environment they are placing their children in, believes safety has become an important issue in our
society today. “Schools have become so dangerous; if you home school you don’t have to worry
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about who is taking knives to your local schools,” states a concerned parent in Practical Homeschooling.
This may be true, but not every school has murderers running around terrorizing the students, nonetheless, unfortunately, every school does have bullies, cliques, and peer pressure. The
fact is six out of ten American teenagers witness bullying in school at least once or twice in their
lifetime (Pride). According to Pride, “Moving children away from an emotional pressure cooker
of peer pressure and cliques may produce learning gains.” Many parents agree that unnecessary
emotional stress would hinder their children’s academic performance. Peer pressure can also affect a child’s academic performance. “Most people don’t get their drugs from home, they get
them from school,” says Pride. In line with Pride, Shaw adds, “Home schoolers live in the real
world, where their lives aren’t depicted by adolescent trends and dangerous experimentations.”
Many parents appear to agree.
Religious beliefs are another key reason parents choose homeschooling. Parents can
benefit because they will have the opportunity to instill their morals and values in their children
(Ray, 825). In addition to religious beliefs, family ties are an important factor in why many
choose to home school. Home schooling is a full time job for both parent and child. Parents are
with their children all day and every day. Therefore, they get to know their children much better;
the siblings are playing, growing, and learning together, which definitely builds strong family
bonds (Pride). Since siblings are together more, they build trusting relationships; for that reason
they tend to have stronger relationships (Ray, 822).
Even though there are many pros within the reasons to home school, there are many
things to consider before making any conclusions. One of the disadvantages to home schooling is
the lack of time. It takes research, preparation, time to set up, clean up, organization, and of
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course, teaching in itself. This is a lot to factor in, including outside work and the daily tasks
necessary to run a family (Alcott).
With much to accomplish and little time to do it all, many may forget about cleaning. It is
hard to keep up with routine chores when much of the week is devoted to school (Alcott).
Household organization is more difficult; this means regular household chores like washing and
shopping have to continually be done, in addition to cleaning the mess home schooling creates
on its own (Dewald).
Seeing that home schooling is a full time job, it requires a parent to stay home full time to
teach the children; the reality is, there would just be one income. The curriculum can cost up to
$500 per child per year, not including the social activities such as field trips and activities with
other groups (Dewald). In theory, a family who participates in home schooling has to budget.
With the added difficulties in preparing, teaching, cleaning, and now, managing a thorough budgeting; home schooling can accumulate tremendous pressure. It is human nature to look
at what others are doing, then comparing ourselves, and finding undesirable shortcomings (Alcott). Parents have to realize there are no wrong ways to teach. Many parents may lack the ability
to teach their own children because they constantly fault themselves for their children academic
short comings.
Even though there are some positive arguments about children being social enough, others may argue the opposite. There is the possibility that parents choose to home school for the
wrong reasons.
“Too many, although far from all, homeschooling parents do so (home school) for reason
I find inconsiderable: keeping their kids from evolution, sex education, or anything that
might lead them to think for themselves rather than accept what their parents think.”
(Burhart).
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Indeed, there are some parents who would rather not see their children socialize. Furthermore,
Dewald adds that home schooled children may have a lack of contact with other children. Home
schooling can be an environment where children spend little time with anyone other than their
family. This can hinder a child’s development of social skills especially in primary or elementary
school years.
Most parents feel the pressure of giving their children the best education possible. They
research, attend meetings, and help their child with nightly homework. This is a lot on its own.
For those who choose to home school, they have accepted the high and lows that comes with the
tremendous amount of work and responsibility. Parents who choose to home school have to continuously engage themselves in their child’s academic life, devoting every drop of energy to preparing, teaching, and organizing; whereas, a great deal of families cannot imagine living off one
income. The ability to prepare a child for a competitive future is a challenging task. However, if
a parent has the time, energy, and income to home school, their child would benefit in many
ways.
Considering all of the pros and cons presented in this paper it is safe to conclude that the
advantages that support homeschooling outweigh the few disadvantages. Homeschooling can
teach children to appreciate learning, will establish strong families, instill essential religious beliefs, and will move children away from unsafe, emotional stresses of peer pressure. Even though
studies have proven that anyone can potentially pursue the job, only few do. Parents who undertake the trials of homeschooling have to be commended and supported for their dynamic and
challenging work.
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Works Cited
Alcott, Christine. “Homeschooling Pros and Cons.” suite101.com. 8 Jan. 2007. 21 Feb. 2008
<http://homeschooling.suite101.com/article.cfm/homeschooling_pros_and_cons >.
Baudichon, Kamala, and Nicole Perkins. “’I was homeschooled!’” Skipping Stones Jan. 2008:
p.9. Gale Vitual Resourse Library [Evanston Public Library]
Burhart Ass. Ed, Jessica. “Reality: High School v.s Public School.” teenscenemag. 13 Feb. 2008
<http://www.teenscenemag.com/sections/reallife/teen411/homeschool.php>.
Darnay, Arsen J. “School Performance.” Social Trends and Indicators USA vol. 2:Community
and Education: 229-250. Gale Virtual Reference Library [Evanston Library]
Dewald, Ama-Canuck, Andreas Viklund, and Matteo Turchetto. “What Are The Disadvantages
Of Homeschooling ? .” www.allaboutparenting.org/disadvantages-of-home-schoolingfaq.htm . 2008. 26 Feb. 2008 <http://www.homeschoolingpages.com/homeschooling/
what-are-the-disadvantages-of-homeschooling>.
Lerner Ed., K. Lee, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner Ed., and Adrienne Lerner Ed. “Homeschooling.”
Social Policy: Essential Primary Sources. P.426-431 ed. Gale Virtual Refrence Library
[Evanston Library]
Pride, Mary. “Getting Started in Homeschooling: The First Ten Steps.” Practical Homeschooling
Oct. 2006. Gale Virtual Library [Evantson Library]
Ray, Brian D, and James J Ponzetti, Jr Ed. “Homeschooling.” International Encyclopedia of
Marriage and Family. Vol. 2 2nd ed. p822-828 ed. Gale Virtual Refrence Library [Evanston Library]
Romanowski, Michael H. “Revisiting the Common Myths About Homeschooling.” The Clearing
House (Feb. 2006): p.125. Gale Virtual Reference [Evanston Library]
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Shaw, Isabel. “Homeschooling v.s Public School.” Family Education. 13 Feb. 2008. 13 Feb.
2008 <http://school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/parenting/29861.html >.