Why would anyone want to homeschool their kids?

Question

Don't we need a break from our kids? It seems they need a break from us parents. They also need to get socialized.

Answer 1

Most parents do it for religious reasons but here are some other reasons:

1. Homeschoolers generally recieve a better academic education

2. Parents can control what their kids are exposed to and when.

3. Homeschoolers generally have better social skills than their traditionally schooled peers (mostly because parents are there to help with social problems as they arise)

4. Homeschoolers have closer relationships with their parents

5. Homeschoolers are less likely to hav behavioral problems

6. The symptoms of many learning and developmental disibilities (sucah as Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD) become significantly more mild and in some cases disapear altogether when the kids are switched from a classroom setting to homeschool.

7. Homeschooling works around your family's schedule rather than the family having to work their lives around a schools schedule.

Answer 2

First off, someone said that when you homeschool....you can't get into an accredited college...which is untrue...and I suggest that they not write about something that they don't know. (I personally am working on my second degree at a University. I was homeschooled from k-5 all the way through high school, and started at a community college at 16. And please for the record....socialization was NEVER a problem. I was almost over socialized! haha. Between, dance, youth group, softball, music lessons and work (yeah, I had a job!)...I made more friends than I knew what to do with...there was never a lack of 'hang out time'...if that's what people are worried about.

HOMESCHOOLING is not for everyone, nor does every kid turn out the same way with homeschooling.

PUBLIC SCHOOL is not for everyone, nor does every kid turn out a perfectly socialized human, ready for college.

So, don't put homeschoolers in a box! People homeschool for many different reasons...a few are:

Religious Reasons-whatever they are, the parents want to make sure their kids know what they believe...(eventually the kids will believe what they want, but, can you blame the parents for trying?)

Education: (some kids are way too gifted for PS and their parents want them to move faster) or (some kids need special attention and are a bit slower, and the parents want to make sure that they LEARN the material, not memorize just to pass an end-of-grade test)

Their Local Public School System is bad: Everyone must admit, that no two public school systems are created equally, some are really, really good and should be used...some are just really bad. If the parents can do a better job that the failing system..why not let them?

So because each 'homeschool' is made up of different people, results are going to be different. As with anything...there are extremes (the ones who move to the woods, grow their own crops and their children are only allowed to play at night...I exaggerate for laughs of course).....but they don't make up the majority. I stress: just because you've met ONE homeschooled kid, doesn't mean they are all like that. (If one was a brilliant, mal-adjusted science whiz..doesn't mean we all are).

But please.....everyone stop with the 'socialization' question. It gets soooo old.
(And I didn't miss out on Prom, I went to 3....and they are very overrated)

Answer 3

As a 16 year old homeschooled student, I can tell you exactly why my parents chose to homeschool me.

My sophomore year was hell; not that I didn't have any friends or was teased, quite the contrary, I was very popular. (Although God knows why.) However, I describe it as a 'hell' because the other kids I encountered had absolutely zero interest in learning. They chose to smoke pot, go hunting, and brag about who they had sex with on the weekend. They lived in a bubble of ignorance. I hadn't met anyone who didn't know the name of the Vice President or that Asia was, in fact, a continent. They didn't know how to string a coherent sentence together properly without aid. In a town where football was king and education was the least important thing, I can't fault them.

However, these were NOT people I wanted to be around. I came home depressed, angry, and frustrated at their stupidity and why no one seemed to care. I just...wasn't meant to be in a place like that. My parents offered me a way out and I took it with both hands.

Of course, every situation is different, but these are just my two cents. If you want to chat about this more, feel free to e-mail me. :) blacktwilight96[at]yahoo[dot]com

Answer 4

Home schooling is an excellent option. Some parents dont like the way thier school system works, or thier kid has a medical problem. In my case, I missed 32 days of school because of stress related migraines and stomache problems. The next year I started homeschooling and many of the headaches and stomach problems stopped. I used Thompson Eduation Direct which is a correspondance school. My grades rocketd from c and d to a and b in a couple o months. As far as socializing, there are many groups that help homeschooled kids and thier parents get together and go on trip and other stuff. There are other options too, but I'm not going to go into them.
And to those that say homeschooled students cant get into accredited colleges, theyre wrong. as long as their scooling is well documented and they ahve taken the ac or sat's you CAN go to ACREDITED colleges. I attend KAPLAN university in iowa which is one of the top schools in the country

Answer 5

Personal opinion completely, and I'm not asking anyone to agree with me, but here it is. I was homeschooled k-12. I wouldn't change any of those days my mother was willing to sit down with me on those rainy or sunny days and teaching me how to multiply, or how to use watercolors. We had plenty of rough days, and I probably made her want to pull her hair out, but she felt that it was most important that she gave us a well rounded education. We weren't hermits living in our home, shunning the neighbors. My mother and father always taught us to be respectful, and encouraged us to carry on a conversation with an elderly person, or a kid our age. My sister and I (my sister still is, recently accepted into Symphony) where in a well known orchestra, I took art, and we were taught music privately as well. They always encouraged us to entire contests, hit the amusement parks or mall with our friends. I wouldn't change the way my parents raised me, sociably and school wise. I'm happy working with people and don't find it difficult carry on a conversation with a stranger about a sale or the weather. I am initially a shy person, but I can assure you that my other homeschooled siblings are not. My eldest brother is very outgoing as is my older sister. Regardless, I love talking with people about the big and small things: from morals to the latest fashion trend in shoes. I think that a majority of the time, parents who homeschool their children, soundly, will find that they won't really need a "break" from their children, because the children have been raised to know what can and can't be done.

If homeschooling causes sociable problems in children, I would be a failure in college, but I find I’m doing very well and very well set.

Anyway, yup, theres my thoughts. You may be different.

Answer 6

I personally homeschool my kids because I feel that the public school system today is way too overcrowded and some children who need extra attention to grasp concepts are not getting that and are left to fend for themselves. I enjoy spending time with my kids and showing them all the wonders of the world around us, how to enjoy math, science, social studies, reading and history. A parent's excitement for teaching and learning can easily rub off on a child and that's the fun of homeschooling. I do get a break from my kids every now and then but, I brought them into this world not to ignore them or have someone else raise them but to teach them and nurture them and watch them grow into wonderful, well rounded human beings. What more could you ask for?! Where does socialization fit in? My kids are all 2 years apart from one another, they get along very well, they have cousins that are also homeschooled, and they have friends that they get together with on a regular basis. I was homeschooled and was a very social individual and I grew up with plenty of friends and best of all I learned to get along with my siblings and I can hold an intelligent conversation with anyone I encounter, no matter what their age is.

Answer 7

I've told my story before but basically school didn't work out for my dyslexic autistic spectrum ds: in K the teacher asked me to tutor reading. In 1st, the teacher asked me to tutor handwriting and math and then language arts. My ds had been crying and having stomach aches each day throughout the year. It seemed like I was already homeschooling, but why not do it at home, and without the stress? I enjoy being with my kids btw, but we take short breaks each day, we don't homeschool 24/7 and we also homeschool year/round, but consequently take frequent days off since we only have to homeschool 180 days a year.

Socialization? How is sitting in desks filling out worksheets socialization? Homeschoolers do lots of field trips, classes, sports, etc. And btw, legally we can do all the public school extra-curricular activities as well including band, cheerleading, sports, etc.

Answer 8

Some parents do need a break from their kids and some kids do need a break from their parents. Homeschooling would not be for them. However, just because a parent finds that they need a lot of breaks from their kids does not mean they should assume that ALL parents need the same amount of breaks from their kids.

Please think about what people did BEFORE all the kids were sent to school--were people suffering for thousands of years because they spent a lot of time with their kids? No. So, the current 'seeming' to need a break from parents/kids is not a general rule of humanity, but a current 'trend', if you will. Just like the whole "parents need to go out on dates on a regular basis". No, they don't. It's a recommendation that could be beneficial, but using the word "need" is a dangerous word that implies a necessity to human functioning that just isn't there.

If homeschooled kids will not get socialized, then please tell us all how kids were socialized before there were public schools. It has only been within the past 100-150 years that kids went in masses to schools. Are you trying to say that the majority of the people of the past were unsocialized?

I'm a former elementary school teacher. While this is not one of my reasons for homeschooling, I will say that I much prefer spending my days with my kids, raising my kids, teaching my kids, than I do spending my days raising and teaching kids from 30 other families, changing every year.

I do sometimes need a break from my kids, which is why dh and I will go out on dates and the kids have a decent bedtime and they are involved in extracurricular activities and we go to homeschooling activities during the day where the kids go off and do their thing while the adults hang around and do their thing.

Answer 9

Huh! Interesting bunch of responses so far!

As a former public school teacher, I have to admit that I couldn't figure it out either. I truly thought homeschooling was really weird and wanted my kids to have a "normal" childhood with all of the activities and social interaction that public school provided.

Now, as a mom, I see the other side. We actually did start off in public school, but now we homeschool. I did a ton of research on homeschooling before I had the nerve to try it. And when we started, it was only on a trial basis. We hoped we wouldn't mess our son up over the next semester. That was four years ago, and all of our kids are doing great!

As it turns out, it was one of the best choices we've ever made. At the risk of annoying someone with the facts which may come across as "bragging," our kids are very normal, and at or well above grade level in every subject. It turns out we are capable of teaching our own kids. Who knew?

There is just so much quality curricula that is available to the homeschool community as well. And, considering the public schools are filled with uncertified or "emergency certified" teachers, you might be more qualified than you think.

As far as needing a break from my kids, or vice versa? I really don't think we need breaks from each other. We really enjoy being together and get along great. However, since we all have very active lives, we do spend quite a bit of time away from each other.

Since I think I've been responding to the responses more than to the original question, let me go back and address that. We decided to try homeschool for reasons that would take too long to go into here. We've continued to homeschool because, after having experienced both options, homeschooling definitely is the best choice for our family. It allows us so much freedom and flexibility, and it allows our kids time to be kids. They have lots of friends and have time and energy for extracurricular activities without sacrificing our family time. We can plan our vacations and field trips at times when the majority are in school and avoid all the crowds. All this and an education, too! :-)

Answer 10

I'm homeschooled, and I love it. Plus, socialization isn't realy a problem. There are many resons parents homkeschool there children.

Here are a few:
1) It's a lot safer. (You know where yourt child is and what your child is doing at every second)
2) A better education.(Most universities are looking for homeschoolers because they are more educatated and have more dicipline.)
3) You know who your child socializes with.

Therefore, if you want your child to have better odds succeeding in life, homeschool is the way to go.