A concerned parent feels that when you look at the current state of the American public schooling system, you have to be insane not to want to homeschool your children.
From fights that aren’t intervened in by teachers because they fear getting penalized to kids bringing literal guns to school, safety is a serious concern.
While they grant that lacking socialization is a valid concern for homeschooled children, they argue you can get around that by intentionally taking them out to be socialized. After all, is that any worse than the chance of being bullied at school?
They argue there are many more palatable options for children’s education, including hiring a private homeschool teacher or online public schooling. Sure, schools function as federally subsidized daycares for parents that can’t watch their children during the day, but a private homeschool teacher could fix this problem.
—–If you’d like some STEM activity ideas for kids, make sure to grab our FREE eBook of 25 STEM activities here.—–
Table of Contents
Plenty of Parents Should Not Homeschool
Some users argued that homeschooling would not work for every child because many parents, such as high school and college dropouts, aren’t fit to be teachers. Having a school dropout homeschool their child is like drafting someone who doesn’t play basketball for the NBA, they said bluntly.
Another commenter named Luna agreed, going so far as to say that most parents shouldn’t homeschool their children. Another point was that parents often lose their temper when trying to help their kids with homework, let alone trying to teach them an entire course.
It Isn’t Financially Viable For Many Parents to Hire a Private Tutor
One of the respondents suggested that because most parents need to work full-time jobs to make ends meet nowadays, homeschooling is an unrealistic goal for the average family. They joked about needing a cloning machine so time wouldn’t be a barrier, which is true.
Most people work from 9-5 Monday through Friday, so where would they find the time? A similar comment came from another individual, reminding them most people need the luxury of affording a private tutor or being able to stay home.
Homeschooling Poses Problems for Abusive Homes
A mandated reporter of abuse in children warned that there are more severe consequences to homeschooling than just finances, time, and socialization. Some kids come from abusive homes, and school is their only escape.
Public schools are often their only bastion of resources like food, learning materials, basic health facilities, and trusted adults. Despite public schools having many flaws, they think people would change their tune if they listened to some of the recordings of abuse that occurs behind closed doors.
Public Schools Provide Important Resources for Children
Various commenters touched on the irreplaceable skills and resources provided by public schools that children would lose access to if they were homeschooled, from socialization and school relationships to food, learning materials, and basic health facilities. One user commented that homeschoolers underestimate how much training, effort, and resources it takes to teach children effectively.
There’s a Right and a Wrong Way to Homeschool
One mother expressed that there is a right and wrong way to homeschool. She explained that some parents who are proponents of homeschooling are serious about it and put in the time, work, and money required to provide them with a quality education to ensure they’re up to national standards.
Parents can do this by ordering formal homeschool curriculums that provide the necessary materials to get them up to national standards and carry out standardized testing. Comparatively, some parents take an “I’ll do it myself” attitude, promoting quackery and neglecting to ensure that the education is thorough and up to par with public schools, the latter of which they equated to child abuse.
Trust In Institutions Is Eroding, Including in Our Schools
Unfortunately, the push for homeschooling is because many no longer trust our most sacred institutions, especially not the public schooling system. Another commenter observed how sad it is for people to want to form their little bubbles because they can no longer trust strangers, police, or teachers.
Well-Funded Homeschooled Kids Outperform Public School-Educated Kids
My favorite comment came from this nuanced person who conceded that homeschooling is incredibly successful if you’re wealthy enough to do it right. They offered an anecdote about their high school experience, where their school incorporated about six students into their first-year class to get their diplomas and specific AP courses.
They discovered that the homeschooled kids weren’t just outperforming their classmates; they were years ahead of them, performing high-level math like Calculus 2 when the rest of the grade could barely do Algebra.
They continued by saying that if you have the means to outsource education to high-level credentialed professionals, it’s incomparable to public school, and other kids the same age in these public schools can’t compete with them.
Finally, they granted that homeschooling is often taken advantage of or weaponized by uneducated stay-at-home moms who get roped into pyramid schemes. Does that even qualify as homeschooling if no learning occurs anyway? This last sentence perfectly encompassed the problem: “it only takes a pinch of wealth to surpass public education easily. And that’s sad.” Sad is an understatement.
This thread inspired this post.
