In my article, Don’t Believe Everything You Read About Homeschooling, I talked about misinformation homeschoolers might find on the internet about homeschooling. Now that I have discussed outright lies that are damaging to homeschooling, I will follow with exaggerations made in the favor of the homeschooler.
While many of the wonderful things said about homeschoolers are true, exaggerations are also made in favor of homeschooling:
Our children will not be bullied: This is not necessarily true. The truth is that our child will not be repeatedly bullied as we can choose to cut a bully out of our child’s life, at least temporarily. We will also have better access to the bully and their parent, as chances are they are relatives and friends.
Homeschooling is cheaper than private school: Not necessarily. If you use a packaged curriculum, or local classes, homeschooling can cost just as much if not more.
Homeschooling kids will turn out better than public schooled kids will. This is just not true. Homeschooling kids will turn out differently than public schooled kids. They will likely have different perspectives and vantage points than other kids, which will help them to shine as being original, but the rest really rests on the individual child, his or her personality, and his or her parents. Just as many public schooled children turn out differently than their parents expected, so do homeschooled children. Homeschooled kids can fail in life too.
By trying to clear up these positive but misdirected misconceptions about homeschoolers, I am not trying to discourage homeschooling. Instead, I am attempting to “keep it real”, or keep our expectations about homeschoolers in check. Homeschooling is not a cure to all the evils of the world. It is an alternate option for education that will give the parents a bit more freedom to raise their child the way they see fit.
*Have a question about homeschooling? Just ask.
*Want to know more about homeschooling? Start here!