Homeschooling has been legal in all 50 states for a few decades now. Yet, misunderstandings or negative news stories continue to bring up objections. Sometimes, friends and family may question your educational choice. To help you respond to these, here’s a list of common objections and some answers.
What about Socialization?
To answer this classic question, you can ask, “Besides your school years, has there been a time in your life when you only interacted with people of your own age?” You want to point out that spending your day only with people of the same age rarely occurs outside school.
Or you might ask, “Which situation do you prefer? Having your 13-year-old socialized by a classroom of young teens or by guiding adults in a multi-age group setting? It’s better for kids to learn social skills from their parents than from their peers.
You may also want to ask what they mean by socialization. People may have different ideas about what that means. Then, based on their reply, you can form an answer.
Aren’t They “Sheltered”?
One of the reasons many people choose to homeschool is to shelter their kids from the evil in the world until they have reached the maturity level to handle it. Today, so many children are prematurely exposed to adult ideas and images. Such exposure causes some children to develop emotional or mental problems such as anxiety or identity confusion.
Homeschoolers prefer to protect their children’s innocence. We parents will discuss the uglier side of life only when they reach a certain level of maturity. At that time, we can guide them through the information at a level they can understand.
Granted, life events can bring such issues to the forefront, and we need to help our children process the information at that point. As a parent, I’d rather be the one to explain the horrors of the Trail of Tears or the sexual deviancy of our culture to my children than have a school teacher, whose worldview may differ from mine, teach it.
How Will They Know about Different Kinds of People?
To begin with, you may want to ask the questioner how she might envision homeschooling. Does she imagine your children spending every day sitting around the dining room table reading books or listening to mom teach a lesson? For many homeschoolers, the term “homeschooling” could be replaced with “carschooling.” More often than not, we homeschoolers transport our children to various learning experiences throughout the week and only enjoy a few days at home.
Even during my first year of homeschooling in 2004-05, we participated in activities outside the home. My kindergarten son attended Home Zone (PE, art, and swimming lessons for homeschoolers) at the local YMCA each week. In addition, we had regularly scheduled playdates, weekly women’s Bible study with childcare, and the occasional field trips to factories or the zoo. As a family, we regularly attended church, and my son attended AWANA on Wednesdays.
Because I rarely hired a babysitter, my son joined me as I ran errands. Consequently, he saw much more of his community than the average kindergartner who spends three to six hours at school and perhaps a few more hours in before- or after-school daycare. As my errand buddy, my son became familiar with grocery clerks, the woman at the local post office, and other people and places in our community. Over the years, my kids have participated in community sports and clubs, youth group activities and camps, and volunteer opportunities in the community.
As part of our school, we attended several plays and other performances, some of which expressed messages contrary to our biblical worldview. Sonlight’s Eastern Hemisphere curriculum, which I highly recommend, exposed my children to various religions, cultures, and worldviews that differed significantly from ours. Novels and nonfiction narratives read for school depicted people from many walks of life and times in history. In science, we looked at both evolutionary books and creation science books. All of these opened the door for discussions about people different from ourselves.
These activities and educational experiences have equipped my kids with a broad view of our society. Other homeschoolers have done the same. Thus, I believe that homeschooled children actually experience a higher level of socialization than classroom-educated children.
Will They Learn all They Need to Know?
To answer this question, I consider my audience. If a parent wants to learn about homeschooling, I point her to books that list what a child should know at a specific grade level. If the question comes from a skeptic, I ask if he has any gaps in his education.
We all have educational gaps, especially those who moved frequently. Fortunately, I attended school with the same kids from first grade on. Yet, gaps occurred. My class of 1985 was taught Maps & Globes for two different years in elementary school. My sister’s class of 1986 didn’t receive that instruction. But her class learned the capitals of the states. I never did.
Yes, even homeschoolers miss covering some material. These gaps often happen when parents let their children’s interests guide some curriculum choices. We strove to meet English and math standards, but I have been somewhat flexible with history and science topics. For instance, my daughter loves nature. So, from second grade on, all her science courses covered the natural sciences: biology, botany, oceanography, and astronomy. She didn’t have physical science until her sophomore year.
As another example, my son never studied the last 500 years of world history as a course. Our chronological history plan was diverted to accommodate other topics. He studied the wars of the twentieth century and current events.
Educational gaps, however, must be avoided in the three Rs. You can explain to a concerned friend that homeschoolers often use standardized tests to determine whether their children are on track. In Washington State, all homeschoolers from ages 8 to 18 must be either assessed or tested annually. Other states have similar requirements.
Through these tests, a homeschool family can see how their children compare with other children in English and math. Typically, homeschoolers score well on these tests, which may soothe a worried grandparent.
So, before you meet with friends or family who may challenge your educational choice to homeschool, review these questions and prepare yourself to answer them in an engaging way.