I'm against Home Schooling because:

[Steve Wyatt]

I'm against Home Schooling because:

1) Potential for abuse of the kid/kids (No continual oversight).
2) Lacks the standardized education requirements.
3) Social skills will not develop that enable the kid/kids to adjust to life's social intricacies.

[Creature]

Yeah, totally agree. I definitely got stung on all three categories. I'd add "1b: Increased possibility of medical neglect"--although schools are perfectly capable of allowing treatable conditions to go unrecognised and even of letting kids die on the premises, it at least creates more opportunities for problems to be spotted.

I was subjected to sustained medical neglect as a kid. Moon Unit F and Moon Unit M (my folks) didn't believe in medicating asthma so I suffered 15 years of uncomfortable and at times life-threatening attacks; and they never bothered to get my eyes checked despite clear signs of failing vision. I actually had to beg them to take me to an optician (who was scandalised when he saw the state of my eyesight).

What gets me is that it doesn't have to be this way. 1: Nobody makes anyone abuse their kids. If you've got issues, you get help. If you're finding that homeschooling makes your temper fray so much you can't control yourself, then either draft in outside help or put your kids back in school.

The Units knew full well what they were doing to me + my sibs. They read books on education, child psychology--allathat John Holt stuff, they lapped it up. Moon Unit M knew that ditching on our education and leaving it all up to Moon Unit F would be damaging. Moon Unit F knew that tearing up work in front of kids was contra-indicated, that standing over them and yelling "God, you're so stupid! You're ruining my life! I don't know why I don't just send you all back to school so they can stick you in the dimbos' class where you belong!" tends to produce less than optimal results, and that forcing a child to perform work that is very much beneath or above hir ability level is likely to cause difficulties for all concerned. Yet they did all of those things anyway.


2: I'm not that impressed with standardised education requirements myself; I consider them to be arbitrary and rather ridiculous. Be that as it may, they do exist, and they do affect ones access to certain little trifles such as University places or jobs. It's certainly possible for homeschooling parents to diligently inform themselves of the current standards and make sure that their kids can meet them, but so many just don't bother. (My first-hand experience of this would take too long to describe.)



3: Social skills are certainly imperilled by the practice of homeschooling, but once again, it doesn't have to be like that. Motivated, attentive parents can find plenty of opportunities for their kids to get out and mingle with their peers. Groups like the Scouts or the Brownies/Girl Guides (Girl Scouts in the US), small drama groups, first-aid classes, swimming lessons etc. run by volunteers are often an affordable option. You'll never quite be able to duplicate the mix of backgrounds, but at least your kid will get a chance to rub along with other children.

I myself used to attend a ton of these; I loved getting out and meeting other kids, and looked forward with the greatest excitement to the Junior Red Cross or drama class. The 'Units resented this & would complain bitterly about the expense and bother of taking me. In any case, when I was 12 we moved to a remote village where almost all socialisation ceased. This, coupled with the daily bullying I received from neighbours and family alike, did vast and permanent damage to my ability to connect with others. Too many HS 'rents take a similar attitude: socialisation doesn't matter, school-kids are beneath us anyway, family ought to be sufficient.

It's not.