Homeschooling- Good or Bad?

There are three main issues to explore when considering homeschooling, and those issues are the social growth and experiences of the child, are parents really qualified to teach their children, and what they are being taught. These issues must be considered and explored in depth when thinking about homeschooling.

Now the social growth and development of a child determines how they will interact with people when they become older. Children who are homeschooled can miss out on important social growth that other children will have. Rachel Gathercole wrote in an article that children who are home schooled are happier and that "Homeschooling affords children with plenty of time and opportunity for social interaction"(homeschooling's TRUE COLORS, Rachel Gathercole). This can be true for some cases where there the child is living in a place where there are a lot of people like a city or large town where they can participate in many group activities and sports. Though the same cannot be said for a child who lives in a smaller community or a more rural town. There is also the child's ability to deal with strangers when they get older. This ability is developed early in life along with other socializing skills that we use in every day life when interacting with people. If these habits and understandings of social cues are not developed early in life then most interactions with others can be strained and difficult. Though this is not the only factor that must be considered, one must also look at whether parents are capable of teaching their children.

The next factor that must be considered is if parents are qualified to teach their children. Now their are very few teachers that are qualified to teach their children themselves but know their are online resources, tutors, and other ways to teach a child at home that doesn't involve that parents. Yet a child that is taught by their parents can still not get as far another child. After all one of the cons of homeschooling is "family crisis, illness, and lax supervision by parents can interfere with learning"(http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/homeschooling-pros-and-cons.html). This shows that homeschooling can impede a child's ability to learn and understand concepts that a child in a public school would not deal with. Though the child's learning can be impeded when one parent is against homeschooling. It's hard to homeschool a child and have them learn when their parents are fighting over the proper way to educate their child. This can effect what the child is learning from their parents.

The final factor that must be considered is what is a homeschooled child being taught. Many homeschoolers are taught the same subjects as a child in a public school. In an article published in The Journal of College Admissions it talks about how "research and probability show that the home-educated college applicant is very likely to succeed in college"(Dr. Brain D. Ray). This shows that a child that has been homeschooled can have the same education as a child in a public school. They have the same abilities and understanding of basic concepts of school subjects. So homeschooling a child isn't going to set them back but it does have it's down sides that must be taken into account. There is no real answer to if homeschooling is right or wrong. It's all up to the parents and child to figure out whats best for them in the end.