Gibson 1 Jennifer Gibson Miranda Million English 102-23 Research Essay: Final Draft December 15, 2011 Homeschooling

is Not the Answer Imagine what it would be like to not get to have your first day of school as a child. For a child that is homeschooled, they never get to walk through the doors on their first day with a new backpack, new school supplies, and new clothes. As little as this issue may seem, it is important for people to understand the effects that homeschooling can have on the cognitive development of elementary age children because by not being exposed to the resources and relationships children can get out of public school, they lack the benefits that come along with the system. Children cannot develop their emotions and problem solving skills, which could result in them being less successful in the future. The next generation is important to society because they are the ones that will help America progress, so people need to ensure that they are getting the best education for their child. Although many parents believe that homeschooling can be beneficial to children because of the convenience and closeness to home, thoroughly examining the negative effects it has including a lack in the cognitive development, limited exposure to problems associated with the public as well as not having the benefits of a relationship with teachers and other students can prove that homeschooling are deleterious to the cognitive development of elementary aged children.

Gibson 2 Understanding the stages of development as well as the influences early education has on a child will help prove that homeschooling does not fulfill the psychological needs of a child. According to Michael Palardy in his work Elementary School Curriculum: An Anthology of Trends and Challenges, the people that children interact with outside of their home environment are key to helping the children figure out who they are. Being exposed to the social norms around them will help them learn to build strategies of dealing with rejection, leadership, following and compromising. These are all factors that will help them understand the human experience. During elementary school, children learn who they really are and begin to relate and deal with people outside of their home life. They learn to be self-confident and also how to control their inner emotions (Palardy 99). A child that is homeschooled is not exposed to these opportunities that public school offers. They would not be able to form relationships with other students and teachers that are so imperative to their development. Another benefit provided by being enrolled in a public school is the availability of teachers for support and security. Teachers help children establish a secure base with figures outside of their family as well as provide them with someone to look up to. According to Marilou Hyson in The Emotional Development of Elementary Aged Children, teachers observed students entering public school with a well-established sense of trust, emotional security, and psychological safety. These children simply needed the teachers help to extend an already existing secure base, transferring feelings of affection and trust from family to other caregivers and, in time, to peers (Hyson 37). This quote is an example that can help prove that homeschooling is not beneficial to a childs psychological development. Since children that are homeschooled do not have a

Gibson 3 relationship with a teacher, they are not able to extend their feelings outside of their home life. Understanding how a child learns will help people understand how big of an impact classrooms have on a child. In the text written by David Elkind called Child Development and Education, he thoroughly describes the different stages of development a child will go through in their early years and the different things that influence this development. During the early stages of a childs life, they go through three different stages of learning, operative learning, figurative learning as well as connotative learning. Operative learning is engaged through interaction with materials that a child may play with or be exposed to. A child learns to memorize and use associative processes through figurative learning and lastly they begin to understand the deeper meaning of things in the world through connotative learning (Elkind 113). By being exposed to a public school classroom, children are encouraged to partake in figurative, operative, and connotative learning. Even small things such as having their own desk, being able to interact with small groups of other children their age, and having access to bulletin boards posted in the classroom have an impact on the development of these different types of learning (Elkind 221). It is apparent that without attending a school where a child can associate with others as well as have access to posters and other learning stimulants they may not fully develop as they should. Without attending school, children will not have the complete fulfillment of these different types of learning. They may not have access to their own personal desk and chair, most families also do not post educational bulletin boards throughout their homes which are vital to the development of these stages of learning. Lastly, children at home

Gibson 4 do not have the option to work in groups with other children their age, which also has a huge impact on their cognitive development. By attending a school outside of the home they are more likely to be exposed to these things, which have such a huge impact on their cognitive development. The feeling of accomplishment is something everyone loves to experience, especially young children. Joan Isenberg reviews in her work Major Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education that although children may feel successful after completion of a homework assignment or a good grade on a test that was given through homeschooling, it is very important for children to experience success in school and the community (Isenberg 30). Children need to be told by people other than their families that they are successful and have done a good job on something. Although parents may be able to acknowledge their childs success, children always long to hear from others and can begin to see through a parents word. If a child is homeschooled, they will not get to hear the types of feedback from their peers and teachers that is associated with public school. These children need to grow up with positive influences in their lives in order to succeed. Conditions for this environment can only be fully provided by the use of the variety of stimulating materials and relationships provided in the public school setting (Isenberg 37). Overall, children who do not attend a school outside of the home are less likely to feel as successful as those who attend public school and are told by people other than family that they are doing a good job or are successful. By being around people with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, children are able to understand and accept these different styles of living. Relationships with other children and adults are one of the most vital parts of emotional development in early

Gibson 5 childhood. By interacting with the world around them, children set themselves up for their future in relationships and development (Golbeck 115). Many children that are homeschooled may not be as accepting to children with a different background as them, because they had not been growing up around them. There is also the risk that parents may have a negative influence on a childs belief, causing racism or sexism. By going to a school every day where there are multiple different religions, cultures and races, children will learn to accept them and realize that everyone is different without feeling the need to harass anyone. Something that homeschooling cannot offer for children is a valuable relationship with teachers. Early childhood programs are an important context for childrens emotional development, and it is teachers who create the emotional climate and regulate the emotional experiences of the children in their care (Golbeck 114). Although parents do play a significant role in a childs important figures, relationships between a child and a teacher serve many different functions. Teachers are able to provide children with a secure base of exploration and are also able to serve as a safe haven when a child is frightened or distressed. Another positive factor of having a relationship with a teacher is if the childs home life is unstable. Children may go to their teacher for the support they would normally get from their parents (Golbeck 115). Without the opportunity to attend a school, children are not able to form a relationship with teachers, therefor resulting in them not having a significant role model in their life. Not only are the teacher relations a benefit for a child that attends public school, but peer relations also play a big role in a childs developmental needs. No matter how much an adult may try, they can never get down to the level of a child the way another

Gibson 6 child can. Another reason that peer relationships are important are because they help the child see others like themselves that can motivate peer contacts (Golbeck 158). Children that are homeschooled are not exposed to these relationships with people outside of their family, unless it is a brother or sister, which may not have the same impact as someone that is not related. One of the biggest factors that cannot be provided by homeschooling is the exposure of real life issues including drugs and alcohol, sex and sexuality, suicide and violence and conflict. Myra Immel in her work Homeschooling, believes that children that attend public school must face other children that may bully or tease them; they could be exposed to making wrong decisions, and even have to conform to the social norms or popular trends. Although they may make these wrong decisions, it is good because by being around issues like this, children learn to develop skills to cope with life. Public school in a sense offers children to learn dependence and can help make a child stronger through having to make tough decisions (Immell 90). Children that are not exposed to the real world early in life may feel the need to act out as they get older. They will long to experience what the world has to offer for them, and by not have being exposed to the issues that come along with drugs, friends or sex, they may rebel and make decisions that they wouldnt have made if they were educated about it early in life (Williams 61). Homeschooling is not able to provide these children with the opportunity to make their own decisions or learn from mistakes that they had made. By attending school outside of the home, they are exposed to all of these issues and are able to cope with things more easily in the future.

Gibson 7 Homeschooling has many different negative impacts on the cognitive development of elementary aged children including a lack of exposure to real world problems as well as not being able to form important relationships with people outside of their home life. Attending a public school can make such a huge and positive difference in a childs life through what it offers that homeschooling does not. It is important for people to realize the negativities that come along with putting a child through homeschooling and by being educated about the benefits brought with public school, hopefully parents make the decision not to homeschool their child.

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Works Cited Elkind, David. Child Development and Education. New York: Oxford University Press, 1976. Golbeck, Susan. Psychological Perspectives on Early Childhood Education: Reframing Dilemmas in Research and Practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Hyson, Marilou. The Emotional Development of Young Children. 2nd. New York: Teachers College Press, 2004. Immell, Myra. Homeschooling. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. Isenberg, Joan. Major Trends and Issues in Early Childhood Education. New York: Teachers College Press, 1997. Palardy, Michael. Elementary School Curriculum An Anthology of Trends and Challenges. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1971. Williams, Heidi. Homeschooling. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007.