Homeschooling: Beneficial or Not Beneficial

A fourth grade girl that lives in the United States, was homeschooled for the year
of third grade. For the period that she was homeschooled, she was socially unstable
and had no idea what it was like to experience extracurricular activities, such as clubs
and plays, that are provided by school. The third grade girl also made her schedule and
did her work whenever she wanted. This may seem like a valid thing but it was not
because she never did her work and was stuck doing her school work until the middle of
August. When the third-grade girl got back to public school, she was so behind in her
schoolwork because her mother did not know the curriculum. The student then wound
up being forced to take summer school going into fifth grade because she could not
keep up with the other students in her class. Contrary to popular belief, homeschooling
is not beneficial for students in kindergarten through eighth grade because of the social
and academic consequences.
To start, in kindergarten through first grade students receive lack of necessary
socialization. When students are first starting out school they have little to no friends. If
a child is started out by homeschooling then he or she will not be able to have many
friends and experience what it is like to be on a playdate. Elaborating on, The Negative
Effects and Aspects of Homeschooling expresses, Home schooled children may not
have as many opportunities to interact with other children in comparison to children who
attend regular schools. Forming bonds and socializing with children their own age is
important for the childs developmental health and development of social skills. The
children should be able to form bonds at a young age in school. Many parents friends
have children and they are the same age so young children do have friends but from
their parents not from school. Children can make friends because of their parents and
those relationships may last a lifetime. Some children may not feel as much pressure to
make friends when they are being homeschooled. The author on the website
Homeschool Socialization states, ...homeschoolers were generally more patient and
less competitive. They tended to introduce themselves to one another more and they
did not fight as much. In some cases this could be compelling to not have many friends
because they wont cause fights. Their only friends can be their friends of the parents
children. Children can become friends with other homeschooled children, but it is very
different when special effort has to be made to arrange for the kids to play. Children can
play with their friends at school. It is harder to play with friends when the student has to
do school all day and then the child could be too tired to then play with their friends.
Homeschooling conveys All kids need to have friends and be around other children.
Some homeschoolers may feel cut off from kids their age or feel like they spend too
much time with their families. When a student is homeschooled they may spend too
much time with their families so it can be hard to make friends later in life. Spending too
much time with their families can also cause the child to become extremely shy.
Socialization is very important for many people especially students as of young ages.

Continuing, in grades six through eight there are less opportunities for
extracurricular activities. In middle school there is most times an opportunity to join
clubs or sports teams. These extracurricular activities force students to interact with
each other and experience what it is like to be involved in their school. Home
Schooling: An Overview declares, Homeschooling advocates believe that parents are
able to provide adequate socialization for their children through the presence of
selective extracurricular activities, such as community sports, art programs, local library
programs, and joint field trips with other home-schooling families. Further,
homeschooled children are shielded from school-based social interactions that parents
perceive as overly competitive, intimidating, harmful, or violent. Parents can provide
sports or activities for their child to do but it is not the school experience. They do not
know what it is like to be in a middle school or any school with extracurricular activities.
Kids can still join sports teams after their homeschool day is done. When a child is
homeschooled they can still join sports teams or do activities after they have finished
their school work. An article on Point:The Home School Advantage says, Rather than
being homebodies, the average home-schooled student is involved in 5.2 activities
outside the home, according to NHERI, and 98 percent are engaged in two or more
activities. Many homeschoolers are engaged in two or more activities after they are
done with homeschooling. Even though kids can join sports teams, they are unable to
join yearbook club, or newspaper club, etc. Being on sports teams are not the only
extracurricular activities that middle school students do to experience what it is like to
fully be in middle school. Point:The Home School Advantage presents , Homeschoolers
today take advantage of a wide range of resources, from public libraries and museums
to the Internet and courses offered at public or private schools and colleges. The vast
majority belong to home school associations, which provide opportunities for interaction,
such as study groups, field trips, and athletic teams. Many homeschoolers use public
facilities for their learning and many non-homeschoolers believe that it is a waste to use
these facilities. When a student is in public or even private school they go on field trips
and their teachers tell them about the facts. Parents do not always know what the
facilities like museums have in them. When their are less opportunities for
extracurricular activities and there are many consequences for not doing any
extracurricular activities.
Adding on, homeschooling still has to be done even if the student is sick. When
there is an emergency, the student it sick, or they need to take a break it will be hard to
focus with other people in the room or with the student but homeschooling must be
done. Homeschooling Cons suggests, There is an emergency, or your least favorite
aunt has phoned to say she is coming to stay for two weeks and you have been using
the guest room to store the children's 'rat' experiments. If the student does not keep
continuously doing school then they will fall behind and be still doing homeschooling
into the summer. Most homeschool programs let students and parents make their own
schedule so the students can skip numerous days. Because of the programs parents

use to homeschool their children, they are able to choose when and where their childs
school work is done. Some homeschooling programs make it easier for the student and
family so they can be more flexible. Point: Home Schooling is an Effective Approach to
Education proclaims, Among the many types of students who especially benefit from
the flexibility offered by home schooling are those who are interested in music, dance,
or acting. These interests often require time spent on the road, or lengthy practice
schedules that would not fit into a traditional student's schedule. Not only can students
do activities outside of school, they can create their own schedules to make the school
life easier. If the student is ill or there is an emergency the student will be able to miss a
day of school and make it up later. Despite that fact, If the student skips too many days
they can fall behind in their work. The students will have to do their schoolwork over
breaks or on the weekends or even in the summer is they miss too many days. The
article Online program offers blend of public school standards and homeschooling
schedule says, "It's a lot more flexible than general homeschooling," Luke said. "You
work at your own pace, but it's still structured like actual school. It's the same curriculum
as everyone else, but the fact that I can take a break whenever I want is great. And I
don't have to worry about any negative interactions with students, so it's safe from any
kind of negative high school experience." Some say homeschooling is better and
parents and students can make their own schedules but on the other hand, depending
on which program they choose they may not be able to chose their schedules. When a
student is sick it is hard to do school work and if a student falls too behind there can be
a problem for the student.
Moreover, parents are not trained educators. Teachers have patients for students
who work slower than others. Parents do not always have patients for their kids
especially when they take a long time to do their work. The Negative Effects and
Aspects of Homeschooling states, parents may lose patience when they are trying to
educate their children. Some parents may be too overbearing or impatient, which may
cause the child to react in a negative manner. It is may be hard for parents to draw the
line between educator and parent in the childs mind. Students may have trouble
differentiating from when their parent is being a parents or when they are being a
teacher. This may cause the kids to get distracted and be confused during their lessons.
Some homeschooling programs may have videos of teachers that will teach the
students so there is no need for parents to teach. On the website Time4Learning the
tour video shows that there is an automated system that teaches and grades lessons for
the kindergarten through twelfth grade. However, The teachers cannot answer
questions or teach slower or faster. Teachers on an pre-recorded video are unable to
answer specific or even any questions for the student while learning. The parents are
usually not up to date on the curriculum so they could not be able to answer questions.
Counterpoint: Home Schooling is an Educational Option that Short-Changes Students
articulates, In contrast, homeschooling parents are rarely held accountable for their
qualifications, their children's progress, or even the curriculum they choose to teach. In

2005, a homeschooling mother in Illinois was charged with allowing her son's truancy
from school because on the three separate occasions that a social worker visited the
family's home, no evidence was found that the mother was following any kind of
established curriculum for teaching her child.
If parents do not follow the curriculum it could affect the parent/teacher and the student
in a negative way. If a parent does not know what to teach their child that will be
extremely poor for a child.
Homeschooling is more more harmful than beneficial due to it creating many
crucial issues in a childs education. This is due to the fact that, students in kindergarten
through eighth grade who are homeschooled are not experiencing the best education
possible. Socialization plays a key role in going to public or private school. Going to
extracurricular activities make it easier to socialize and have fun with other people after
school. It is also hard to make their own schedule or do work when the student is sick
but, in public or private school does not force the students to do any of that. Parents are
not trained to be teachers so they cannot keep up in the curriculum. Due to, of the
reasons listed above many people can see that homeschooling is not beneficial and it
hurts a childs education instead of helping education.