Two of the most common homeschooling myths are:

only those who have a degree in education should homeschool their children because they are “qualified”

and

what about socialization?! Aren’t you worried your kids won’t be socialized??

Today’s post will bust these myths!

I went to a workshop titled “Homeschooling: Discovering How and Why It Works” by Jay Wile. Dr. Wile got involved with homeschooling after his encounters with homeschool graduates while on faculty at Ball State University in Indiana. There was something different about homeschoolers and he set out to figure out just what it was. Over the years, he has followed academic and professional literature to see how others have evaluated homeschoolers and he has clearly seen that homeschooling works and works well.

Dr Wile shows us several graphs from data gathered that compared homeschool students to those schooled through public or private school.

One particular graph was especially interesting to me. It clearly showed that the quality of a homeschool student’s education does not significantly depend on the parent’s level of education. The graph showed that no matter the education level of their parents, homeschool students performed higher on standardized tests compared to public school kids.

I’ve had people tell me, “Well you are qualified to teach your children because you were a teacher!”. I don’t think “I don’t have a degree in education” is a valid reason to not homeschool your kids if you are considering or even have the desire to do so!

The difference here between the two groups is simple: parental involvement. I saw it in my classroom and it is definitely true for homeschoolers. The students’ parents who take ownership of their child’s education and are involved in their child’s learning processes, excel the most. It was very obvious when I taught whose parents were involved in their child’s education and whose parents were not. Those that had involved parents, excelled or, at least, did not fall through the cracks.

Parents have to be involved when homeschooling and no matter their personal education level, they are setting their kids up to succeed!

This was interesting. There was another graph that showed performance levels get better the longer you homeschool. The data shows it is more important to keep them home the older they get.

This changed my thoughts on possibly sending my girls to private school when they reach middle or high school. I am rethinking this now. Studies show students who are homeschooled but then go in to public or private school to complete their education actually perform lower than those students who are homeschooled all the way through.

Dr Wile showed us data that showed homeschool students scoring 67 points above the national average and homeschooling students scoring 2 points higher on the ACT.

I can remember a time when it was thought that homeschoolers were “dumb” and didn’t know as much as students in regular school. But we have reached a point in homeschooling history where the data is clearly showing homeschooling works and works well.

But what about socialization?!

If I never put my kids in school they won’t be socialized, right?!

I like what one of the speakers at convention had to say about the “socialization issue”. She said to anyone who questions her about socialization aspects of homeschooling, she turns it right back on them and asks them about the socialization of students in public school!

The main reason being because at no other time in our lives do we segregate ourselves by age, sticking people in a room for 6-7 hours a day with people their same age! We only do that in public schools.

Dr. Wile showed us a socialization test that homeschool students and public school students both took and the homeschool students scored in the top 75%.

Homeschool students are actually better socialized because they are forced to interact with multiple age groups regularly, they avoid many of the negative role models you find in schools, they are supervised more carefully and are taught morals.

As Dr. Wile was listing all of those, I could see that each one was lining up with my #1 reason for choosing to homeschool my children.

Kids are mean in school. Down right mean. They tear kids apart physically and emotionally on a daily basis. There is competition between girls to be the prettiest, most popular, etc. and children are growing up way too fast because of this these days. Some call homeschooling “sheltering your kids”, but I see it as preserving their innocence just a little bit longer and having the upper hand on what my kids are exposed to on a daily basis, especially when their minds are so gullible and moldable. And, in fact, I say go ahead and call it “sheltering”. So I don’t want my daughters learning about sex in 1st or 2nd grade or coming home and telling me such-and-such group won’t include her on the playground. I don’t want my kids dealing with that garbage.

I want them home with me during that time so I can fill their little hearts up with the things of God, building their confidence and self-esteem instead of sending them off into the battlefield to fend for themselves while the wolves attack. They will go into the world soon enough and be exposed to everything soon enough but it doesn’t have to be when they are just babies still.

Before you think I was one of those kids who was constantly picked on and left out in school, I was not. I was just there. Like a picture hanging on the wall, unnoticed. Quiet little Elaine. Hardly saying a word, sticking to my little circle of friends (of which some are still my friends to this day). I went to K-5th grade in in the neighborhood public elementary school located within walking distance to our house. Then when it came time for middle school, my parents couldn’t see sending their baby to the public middle school we were zoned for. So my mom chose homeschool and I am convinced that decision is what kept my confidence and self-esteem in tact during those incredibly awkward years of growing up. I think anyone who went to middle school (public or private) has a horror story to tell. I do not. My only memories of my middle school years are some of my fondest memories of growing up. At home, with my mom and brother during the day being homeschooled. Those were some precious days and hold some precious memories for our family.

I did not plan to go into all that when I first started writing this post, but it just flowed, so there it is. I’m also not saying to keep your kid’s self-esteem and confidence in tact, you must homeschool. Homeschooling may not be the right fit for your family and that is okay! I just know from my own life and my own experiences, homeschooling during my 6th-9th grade years probably had a bigger positive impact on my life than my parents even thought at the time. I am grateful for those years.

And I am grateful for the opportunity that lies ahead of me to be able to homeschool my children.

- Elaine