As a teacher, I am concerned about homeschooling only because of the varying quality of education a student will get depending on his/her parents. I think that wanting to homeschool a child makes a lot of sense in certain situations, but because it can often be associated with religious zealotry (parents finding school materials blasphemous) or overprotective parenting, many people assume the worst of homeschooling rather than finding out more about it. I know it’s already been addressed, but socialization is probably the biggest thing that my teacher friends and I have discussed. Students spending time going on errands and helping in “real world” situations is all well and fine, but spending 7 hours a day away from one’s parents has a profound effect on a person and shouldn’t be underestimated. There are also social dynamics that play out almost exclusively in classrooms that students will not face when homeschooled…while it’s great for them to avoid the cliques, make-up/break-up dramas, and negative peer pressure, they also never come up with ways to cope with those situations in case they do encounter them later.

This always depends on the case of each family, though. Many homeschooled children are on sports teams, in clubs, and do other peer-ful activities that will help socialize them while allowing primary education to take place at home. I think the concern that many people have, though, is that it’s up to each parent to make sure all that happens in a safe, nurturing, helpful way. They don’t give parents licenses to have kids, but they do give teachers licenses to teach, so unlicensed teaching raises a red flag for me. Is this parent trained to teach this material? Is this parent going to cover everything this child needs? Does this parent have a personal and professional network to help him/her in teaching?

There are a lot of questions, and a lot of people may assume the worst, but I think it’s up to every parent. I personally would recommend public school for most children, especially in adolescence, but it’s not anyone’s choice to make but the family’s. I respect the decision for parents to homeschool children, but I do not consider it always to be the best option.

As an elementary teacher I can say there are some ideas that homeschooling is a bit “wacky”..this is usually thought because they’re not aware of the parent’s background or reasons for homeschooling. I have met some children who have been homeschooled who were brighter than the average child- had great social skills, was given alot of hands on education and well-rounded.

I’ve also seen the opposite spectrum where the mother handed her kid a math book for an hour a day and pretty much let the child goof off. She’d take her to the pool and say that covered her gym time. There is so much more that’s needed.

I think homeschooling is great if the parent realizes the child needs social interaction w/ children his own age, a diverse lesson plan that doesn’t rely on self-teaching (like reading pages and pages from a book) and field lessons are encorporated.

I took my son out of public school for 2 hours a day to homeschool him in math…went from getting a D to A+. I also took my weekly lesson plans in and asked another teacher (anyone can do this, I’m sure they’d offer to give feedback) to make sure my child was progressing with his age group.

There can be great experiences with homeschooling, it’s just important to realize it will be more work than ever thought before, and asking for outside help is not only needed, but necessary!

I am a former teacher that now teaches privately. I assist many parents who chose to homeschool. In some cases the parents would be better off if their children were in public education for their children are not getting the social skills they also need. Others are right in chosing this method of teaching for their children need more one-on-one training than schools can provide. I recommend to parents who homeschool to make sure to ask for help or hire a tutor for those areas where they may not be qualified and make sure their children have a social life.

Sighs..Personally, I don’t agree with homeschooling. Not for the fact that many are parents who’ve had no formal education in teaching, there are a few who take classes to be able to teach their children at home. My issue, being in education myself and have worked in a non-educational setting with homeschoolers, is that these children aren’t getting a well rounded education which involves socializing with others. I know that there are organizations designed so homeschooled kids can get together for games and activities, however, they are still not getting out of their “norm”. All these children have something in common, and can relate to being at home and studying with mom/dad, aunt/uncle, brothers/sisters. In a public/private school environment, you are meeting children, teachers, administration from all backgrounds in a more in-depth method. Though we don’t like to admit it, parents can be less strict at times on our own children, in our own homes, compared to non-relatives who demand discipline and don’t let them falter. School systems give students a sense of responsibility and scheduling and structure, where they may get it at home, but it is a comfort zone. How can one learn to “make it” in the real world, in real businesses with other people when all they know is their home, their parents and that one room where their lessons are. Its just my opinion, I can’t write everything here. Many can and will disagree. I just think they don’t get the socialization that they need to survive in the world. (I do have to say I’ve seen some that have “made it”, but majority of young kids I’ve come in contact with are more immature than non-homeschoolers)

I am not a teacher but I trained to be one.

I think that there are situations in which home schooling is a benefit – for instance if you have a group of qualified people who share educational responsibilities. I firmly believe that someone without those education qualifications is doing their child a disservice by taking them out of school and keeping them at home no matter if they’re in some sort of structured lesson situation.

For example, my high school educated (at the time) mom kept my brother home from the system when he was a teen and though she worked rigiously on some set materials she brought home, when he went back to school he was not prepared to advance grade wise because her teaching methods were ineffective and basically when she proctored tests she tended to help more than leave him on his own to tell what he really knows.

Additionally, homeschooling doesn’t prepare kids for the sort of classroom setting and situations they face in college. College is not an individual experience. You can have 500 people in one classroom and if the child is accoustomed to help until they get it they’re ill prepared for that sort of educational experience without even going into the social aspects.

I have no negative opinions about homeschoolers – although when it comes to homeschoolers opinions about us, this isn’t the case.

From the experience I have had, homeschooler’s want to focus on religion more than any public or private school will allow, and keep their own historical and factual point of view rather than what textbooks say.

Although, the saddest and most actual truth is that I am a college instructor – and I have yet to come across ONE homeschooled child. Now this, I wonder – why?