Homeschooling?

Question

What are the social benefits of homeschooling compared to regular school? I mean how do homeschooled children learn to communicate with other children? Is it healthy for children to be with there parents all the time? When a homeschooled child enters high school how do they attend Prom or play sports?

***don't bite my head off - I am just wondering - I am not condeming or judging anyone****

Answer 1

Home schooling really harms the social ability of children. The parents who home school will deny this, but i have seen it over and over. My aunt and uncle did for years with their two kids, and it took years more for them to adjust to being in social environments. The same goes for 2 others friends of our family. Your best bet is to let them go to school, and work with them on their homework, and help them anyway you can. That way they get your influence and learn to handle social situations at the same time.

Answer 2

My guess would be: there are may homeschooled kids today and they can get together for various functions or outside groups, the Y cub scouts and so on to learn interaction. Don't see a problem with kids being around the parents,, as long as they get time to relax and play with other children or something different. As for prom good ?? Maybe, another social club or as to sports many citys offer leagues. Good luck and again-just my guess.

Answer 3

I wrote a huge feature on this for a newspaper and spent a lot of time with homeschooling families. People who say homeschooling socially retards people don't have their facts straight. True, if the parent keeps them home all day at the kitchen table, then it's detrimental. But most home-schooling parents have their kids in sports, play groups, church groups, volunteer groups, etc. so most of the time they're not with their parents the entire time. In fact, most of the families I talked to had school a few hours a day with their kids, then they went off to their other activities. The ones who had kids start high school did much better on their tests, since they were actually learning at home instead of being babysat. There are definite advantages, but only if it's done correctly. There need to be guidelines.

Answer 4

I was homeschooled from 7th grade on up. For me meeting people wasnt an issue because I had my friends that I made when I was in public school , and I just stuck with them. As for children who are homeschooled their entire lives, they have tons of programs and gatherings for homeschooled children to get together and make friends. Theyre not cut off from society, they just dont go to regular school.

In cases of socializing, if parents and kids take these opportunities, and go to these events set up for them, theyre actually getting more socialization then kids in regular school. Kids in school see the same faces, in the same setting, every single day. When youre homeschooled, and go to these gatherings, clubs, etc, Youre seeing different people (as well as a lot of the same people) and being in different environments.

Ive been to both, and I think if the parents are dedicated, and the children are dedicated, then theres absolutely nothing wrong with homeschooling. People want to homeschool their kids to protect them , a lot of the time. And I cant say that I blame them. Have you seen some of the things going on in public schools? I wouldnt want to put my kids through that either.

Answer 5

The social benefits are having children who can relate to people of all ages, not only those their own age.
Children are not exposed to the social darwinism and shallow materialism of schools.
Kids are more able to resist peer pressure when they're not subjected daily to it's whims.
Homeschooled kids base their friendships on what THEY think of a person, not what others think of that person.
Homeschooled kids develop their own tastes in music and clothing, and aren't as influenced by the ideas of others.
Parents teach better values than peers.
Homeschooling, when done well, socializes kids through society, by going out into the real world, not the artificial environment of sitting in a class with 30 people one's own age.

Answer 6

Okay,you are getting a first hand experience at homeschooling from me,an eighth grade homeschooler since second grade. I haven't been too crazy about it,soccially speaking. You have to join 4-H,or Skye,or other crazy homeschooling groups,for your kids to socialize. All the girls I met were (sorry to say it!) cows,thinking there way was the only way,and that,you were screwed if you went to public nusery school,pre-school,kindergarten,and first grade. Many homeschoolers are very aloof and aren't the least bit accepting. They are (from what I have found),very gossipy,and so you have to watch your back,because only a few will be your really friends. It does get really irratating to be around your parents all the time. They learn to communicate by going on homeschooling field trips,joing clubs,and seeing their friends,at least twice a week,emailing them,calling them,IMing them,and going to anyother social situations.You'd be shocked at how many homescholing parents,never send their kids back to public school,most al homescholing groups,have hsing proms,and alot of soccar teams,basketball,swimming,etc. Most homeschooling parents kids whom go back to school,do very well,and adjust within a few months. Or less. Curriculum can be very exspensive,mine and my brothers and sisters,was one thosand dollars. I have a private school used curriculum,and system,and they teach,one grade above what you really are. I have the highest g.p.a.,and I work hard,and get straight A+'s. Personally,I am doing very well socially,but most dont do so well. It is a personal choice,and it really depends on the child your making it for. If you want a better education,I would suggest homshooling or private schooling,and if you want better socialazation,go for public school,or homeschooling with clubs. Good luck,I just want to give you a real veiw of how it is. But I do enjoy it.

Answer 7

So now that you've gotten opinions from people who have NEVER homeschooled or spent much time around homeschoolers, here's mine.

We've been homeschooling for two years. Our kids have known how to communicate with other kids the same way kids who are in school do, starting at a very young age with unstructured play. It continues as they get older without being restricted to peer mates in a situation in which there are not enough adults to say what is inappropriate. How can you undo seven hours of inexperience egging them on or teaching things that are wrong?

They do play with kids at the park and at the library. They have neighborhood friends, friends from sports and scouts, friends from church, friends from family. They even have friends I don't like. They aren't restricted to age mates, kids their age, they learn how to socialize with kids who are younger, kids who are older, adults, etc. I think that is a real social benefit, because once you are out of school and working, never again will you be limited to working with people YOUR precise age with such a limited awareness of the world and restricted interests. My children learn how to interact based on differences as well as similarities. They can talk to kids about videogames, sports book, etc, but they can also talk to adults about politics, history, hobbies, etc.

My children do not stay with me all the time, they are able to go to friends houses, just like any other kid, they walk to the video store, spend the night with friends. We have a very healthy relationship thanks to homeschooling, they've never been taught that adults are to be hated, they've never been taught to despise their siblings or mock them. That's exactly what is learned at school. I think it's unnatural to expect kids to be away from mostly adults, after all, who has more experience dealing with the world, social skills, etc, than people who have already lived it? Kids who think they know everything already?

There are many social groups and homeschool groups for homeschooled kids. Most offer proms, graduation , intermural sports teams. If not, many leagues will offer homeschoolers special admission onto other teams.

Tried to stick with just your questions.

Answer 8

For all the drawbacks of peer pressure, bullying and drugs, I'm still grateful for the few hours I have without my children to do grownup things.

There are so many varieties of family life, it's difficult to say what is good, bad or ugly any more! It's a trade off between socially active children and carefully molded ones...

Answer 9

There are no social benefits to homeschooling. Attending school allows children to become better well rounded children and eventually adults. If you absolutely have to home-school your children make sure that they are involved in social groups and church groups. Good Luck!

Answer 10

You have pointed out some of the very valid reasons to NOT subject a child to homeschooling! The child will indeed miss out on ALL those social and societal factors. It's almost never a good idea to keep them out of regular school.

Answer 11

As so many others above have said, homeschooling is a breeding ground for never gaining socialization skills. Yes, in "real" school there are tempations and negative influences on kids that being locked in Momma's kitchen protects the "homies" from....but THAT IS LIFE....good, bad and ugly...why hide from it. Send them to school and they will be better off.