Why Some People are Against Home Schooling

Whether it is through private or public schooling, the majority of people in American society have attended regular school. Those same people tend to be against home schooling. The people who take a position against home schooling do so for many different reasons.

Those Who are Against Home Schooling Have Valid Reasons

Children develop socially and emotionally in accordance with their surroundings. The child who has been home schooled all their life is thus more apt to be withdrawn and shy around outsiders. People who are against home schooling cite that regular schools give children the opportunity to make friends, and join school clubs – activities that promote a healthy social life. For the children who have been home schooled, their chances of making new friends are limited, depending on their family situation, and for home schooled children that have siblings, those siblings become the primary friends.

Regular school also provides a solid curriculum. People who are against home schooling argue that parents cannot provide their children with the same level of academic stability and opportunity. Parents who home school their children have to rely upon either their own planned curriculums, or curriculums that they find – curriculums that differ widely and thus can lead to different levels of academic preparedness.

People who are against home schooling also count the topic of real-life knowledge among the reasons why children should not be home schooled. Regular school does not only offer instruction regarding academic matters with the opportunity to join clubs and make friends, it also prepares children to deal with life issues through classes such as social studies.

Parents who home school their children may be able to teach this, but to what extent? Allowing their children to read newspapers or watch television news can lead to biased opinions. Teachers know this, and teach children the skills they need to be able to rationalize social truths for themselves. Those who are against home schooling argue that parents teaching their children are ill-equipped to deal with such situations.

While socialization factors are perhaps the most prevalent reason why some people are against home schooling, one cannot deny that, like it or not, home schooling is a choice made for children on the part of the parents. However, parents should not have the ultimate choice as to whether or not to home school their children. It is the children who need to learn, thus they should be allowed to choose the method that they think is best for them.