Homeschooling: Friend, Foe, or something else entirely? It’s difficult to decide the best way to educate a child in today’s world, and homeschooling seems to be picking up momentum: “There are about 2.3 million home-educated students in the United States….It appears the homeschool population is continuing to grow (at an estimated two percent to eight percent per annum over the past few years).” This is according to NHERI, a homeschool research institute, and it shows just how popular homeschool is now. But quantity doesn’t mean quality. Homeschooling, as I’m here to prove, is not a good way for a kid to learn. Let’s talk about the reasons.

One of the most talked about negative aspects of homeschooling is the social effect it has on kids. As a culture who values friendship, connection, and community, how can a child be ready for the real world whenever he or she is not exposed to large groups of people with multiple viewpoints, races, and backgrounds? Yes, I know, many parents set up church groups or clubs, but it is likely that the parent will not pair their kid with a child that they are dissimilar with. This might seem fine but think about the big picture. In the workplace and everyday life, we all have to deal with people with opposing viewpoints. So how will a homeschooled child cope with adversaries when they’ve had no prior experience with them? The truth is, they won’t. They might cower in fear due to inexperience with that sort of thing.

Besides social issues, homeschooling can affect money. The parent must buy all the items needed, and by the end of one month of homeschooling, one can imagine that the parent must have nothing left in the budget. It is also rare for a homeschooling parent to have all the facilities and supplies needed: A parent won’t be able to supply the chemicals needed for a science project, and I seriously doubt a parent will have access to the gym needed for physical education.   

Then, of course, there’s the matter of the parent and their beliefs. It seems to me that many homeschoolers are hoping to shield their sons and daughters from the “evils” of the outside world. Wishing to keep their child safe. It’s impossible for most parents to tell their child “you failed” so they will instead tell them that they did a great job. It’s the same case with participation trophies: the kid is blind to his own imperfections and will become narcissistic because of this. While the kid does feel better after receiving praise, (they experience a happy feeling when complemented like everyone) many studies have shown that parents who hover or those who are over-involved in activities tend to mess with the child psychologically: the kid becomes too dependent.  

Although some claim that homeschooling protects kids from bullies and drugs, these negative experiences shape a person and lets them know what to avoid in their later life. Nothing teaches better than good old-fashioned experience.

So what can you do? Well, petitions to let the government examine homeschools and what they are teaching are circling about — so if you are interested you can sign those.

In conclusion, I honestly think that homeschooling is not a viable way for a child to learn. I’m not even a huge fan of school, but I would much rather be exposed to all these different and interesting people than be holed up in my house all day.