Homeschooling is becoming more and more talked about these days. There are plenty of advantages and benefits of homeschooling. However, there are also a lot of homeschool misconceptions out there that I would like to further address.
Homeschool Myth #1: Homeschooled Kids Can’t Go to College
One common criticism that people give of homeschooling your child is that your child will be unable to attend (or unprepared for) college. This is far from true. In reality, homeschooled kids can actually have an advantage over their pubic school counterpart. Because they are able to work at their own pace, many homeschool students are able to move ahead quicker than they would in a traditional school setting. They typically are more familiar with independent learning. They are more likely to have studied a wide variety of topics and are able to study topics they find interesting at a greater depth. They also have more free time available to earn college credits, thus giving them a bit of a head-start. As long as homeschoolers follow the guidelines of their state where it concerns high school graduation requirements and do their due diligence when applying to colleges, there is no reason that they can’t go to college and thrive. In fact, there are homeschoolers in some of the top colleges and universities, including Dartmouth, Princeton, Cornell, Harvard, Rice, and Brown.
Homeschool Myth #2: Homeschooled Kids Can’t Participate in Extracurricular Activities
Many parents might hesitate to pursue homeschool because they fear that their children will be barred from participating in extracurricular activities. However, there are a wide variety of activities, clubs, and organizations that are open to homeschoolers. In addition to community activities (such as 4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, martial arts, dance, gymnastics, etc), homeschool children are also entitled to participate in interscholastic activities. For more information on this, please research the Tim Tebow Bill in your state.
Homeschool Myth #3: Only a Few People Homeschool
Although homeschool is certainly not the norm, it is gaining in popularity. Because of the varying homeschool legislation, it is difficult to get an accurate count of how many homeschoolers there are. However, as of the 2015-201 school year, there were an estimated 2.6 million homeschoolers in the United States alone. Homeschooling is also a growing trend in other countries around the world – notably, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.
Homeschool Myth #4: Homeschooled Kids Don’t Receive a Quality Education
Some people feel that homeschoolers can’t possibly receive a high-quality education. However, most parents who choose to homeschool are intent that their children are well educated. In fact, their desire that their child excels academically is often an impetus for them to homeschool in the first place. Homeschool parent is usually diligent about putting together a curriculum that will yield the best results for their children. They are also open to taking extra measures to ensure their child’s success, such as hiring tutors for the more challenging subjects.
Homeschool Myth #5: All Homeschool Families Are Very Religious
Though some parent does choose to homeschool because of their religious beliefs, it is not the primary reason that people go this route. There are a variety of reasons that someone might choose to homeschool their children. Some common reasons include feeling like the public school setting is not one in which their child can thrive, wanting their child to receive a more customized education, having a child that has special needs that a public school would not be able to address, and wanting to be able to focus on values and beliefs not espoused in the typical public school setting.
Homeschool Myth #6: Homeschooled Children Are Unprepared for the Real World
Another common misconception is that homeschool children will not be prepared for when they have to go out into the real world. However, the reality is that many homeschool parents make extra efforts to ensure that their children have a very well-rounded education that includes not only academic learning but learning essential life skills. It is not uncommon for homeschoolers to learn about gardening, sewing, cooking, running a household, budgeting, interviewing, and a variety of other things that can help them once they enter the real world. Most homeschool families also have hands-on learning experiences by going on field trips and traveling. Things that they may not be able to do as often if they were in a public school setting. They are also often highly involved in their communities, which means they are not only able to communicate well with others but are also likely well-networked.
Homeschool Myth #7: Homeschool Parents Think Public School is “The Big Bad”
Although homeschool parents have decided that public school is not the best option for their children, that does not mean that they have an inherent issue with public education. In fact, some families consist of some children who homeschool and other children that are in public school. We realize that homeschool is not for everyone.
