Breaking the Misconceptions of Home Schooling
When I began home-schooling out first child, almost 10 years ago, we were looked at like some sort of on-the-fringe-hippies, and that was just by our family. Our friends thought we were just plain weird. I admit, at first, it seemed a little unconventional, but we had our reasons and they all seemed like good ones.
We began home-schooling for several reasons; 1. religious and social teachings. 2. we were a military family moving every 2 years. 3. our daughter was reading at the age of four and we didn’t want to place her in a school that wouldn’t recognize her potential, and “dumb-her-down”. Everybody’s reasons for home-schooling will be different, but our goals all seem to be the same; to give our children a higher standard of education and keep them from the downfalls of peer pressure. So far, for us, this has worked. The other similarities include the misconceptions that we are confronted with when we announce that our children are home-schooled. These misconceptions range from social ineptness, to parents not being qualified to teach their children.
Our daughter is a 13 year-old, ninth grader who has just begun to take courses on-line, with much success. She scores college levels in her standardized testing, and excels at most of her extra-curricular activities. By maturity standards she is above her friends in day-to-day behavior, she likes to cook and derives enjoyment from reading veterinarian handbooks. By street standards she is immature, she has no idea who Brittney Spears is. She can carry a conversation with most adults, but her friends think she is some sort of brain-child. There are many people in our society that believe that children that are home-schooled are socially inept, and they are wrong. This misconception is one of the first that is voiced when you start talking about home-schooling. A home-schooled child has more of an opportunity to know how day to day life is handled. Most know how to grocery shop, balance a checkbook and manage the managery of a home at a very young age. This is due to the fact that they are home, witnessing these goings on, as they school in the day-to-day environment. My eleven-year-old son, for example, is my right-hand man on grocery shopping nights. He knows exactly what is needed, the brand, the size and who to ask if he can not locate it on the shelf. I would like to think that these traits are what is going to help them survive once they enter the real world, and I would not be able to associate this with social ineptness. I think that most home-schooled children I meet are better adjusted socially than some adults that I have run into.
Another misconception is that home-schooling is on the fringe of society. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In our country in 1999, there were roughly 800,000 children being home-schooled, and the numbers grow daily. Parents are tired of the mediocre education their children are receiving in public schools, and for many, private schools are not an option. Home-schooling is a nice alternative. I even know of several local families where the father is a public school principle, but his children are home-schooled, that speaks volumes. These days most people know someone who is, was or has home-schooled, it should no longer be considered on the fringe, but see that it is up and coming in our society.
There are those who think that a child can not receive an adequate education at home. This is one of the biggest misconceptions for home-schooling. When we first started home-schooling, I was a little apprehensive. I had completed High School with a major in fine-arts, and had gone to complete college for a medical career as a Paramedic. I did not major in Math, History or Science, how could I teach a child these important subjects. The answers came easy once I received my Teacher’s manuals and saw that the books walked me through it. That coupled with my daughter’s desire to learn, made home-schooling a piece of cake. I found that I learned with my daughter, and realized how much I had missed, or had forgotten, since leaving school. Something else to consider is that a home-schooled child, more often than not, has one-on-one help when they encounter a problem, and that help comes from a source who is more concerned with their success than a public school teacher. A parent is more apt to seek out answers for their child, and make sure that the concepts are making their mark on their child’s knowledge. Who cares more about a child’s learning, than their own parent?
The final misconceptions that I would like to touch on are, attire and family size. There many that think home-schooled families only allow dresses for their daughters, or dress shirts for their sons. Overall, this is a misconception, but there is that percentage of home-schoolers, as well as public & private school families that adhere to a strict dress-code. Most families with enforced dress codes have their reasons, either religious or social beliefs. Although our family does allow our daughters to wear pants, and jeans, we would prefer dresses. We have also found that more times than not, our daughters enjoy wearing dresses. With our son, we would prefer that he wears polo type shirts, with a belt, but we are lenient, to an extent, when it comes to his attire. We prefer these standards for a reason; when a family is out in public their appearance is a representation of that family. When a child dresses in dirty, torn jeans and ratty t-shirt, I do not feel that is a good representation. Most home-schooled families want to make a difference in the community, they do not conform to societies way of thinking when it comes to their child’s education, so their standards for attire would naturally follow that same pattern. In regards to family size, many home-schooling parents have a large family. Whether this is synonymous with home-schooling families has yet to be proven. We have six children, but we began home-schooling long before we had them all. Some families feel that if it is easier to home-school, so why not have more children. Whatever the reasons, I believe that they are wide and varied, and are not just because of home-schooling.
Whatever thoughts you may have about home-schoolers it would be a credit to you, and them, to take a moment and seek out a home-schooling family to talk with. We are not as weird as some would purport, and it would be a learning experience for you to have your questions answered by an actual home-schooler. Most towns have home-school support groups and would be glad to connect you with some one in your area. Not to mention that it would break all of those misconceptions that you have had lingering in your head. If nothing else you may make a friend who could give you insight into a fast growing movement that’s sweeping our nation.
