Why I Homeschool
I have been a homeschooling mom for almost three years now, starting with homeschooling my step-son when my husband and I pulled him from the public school he was attending for the purpose of homeschooling him. This was not a decision we took lightly or made without much thoughtful consideration. After the raids on our home and subsequent incarceration, I continue to homeschool our son and am convinced that it is the best thing that I can do for my son and daughter.
There are many reasons why I home-school my kids. Firstly, I refuse to be pressured by the system to drug my children into submission. This is one of the primary reasons that my husband and I pulled my step-son out of public school. Secondly, I have often said it jokingly that I am a bad enough influence on my children that I do not need my children influenced by all the children whose parents could care less about their behavior. This is only a half-joke, really. I am going to make mistakes, and I feel that it is incredibly important for my children to see me learn from those mistakes so that they know how important it is to do so. Next, after researching homeschooling before I ever started, I learned that home-schooled children outperform their public- and privately-schooled counterparts in all subjects. The statistics from many studies support the conclusion that homeschooling is a more effective way for children to learn than public or private school. Not that I would encourage my children to join the military, but even the government is recognizing the benefits of homeschooling by giving homeschool graduates preferred enlistee status in all four branches of the military. Then, of course, there is the problem of government indoctrination by public schools. I would much rather not have to un-teach the falsehoods taught in the public school system and rather teach all points of view so that my children can learn all of them and think for themselves. The public school system does not do this. I had many complaints about the way things were being taught when my step-son was in the public school system while he was living with me, and have heard many of the same complaints from parents who choose to have their children enrolled in a public school.
I have heard so many times people ask how a child is supposed to be able to socialize when they are homeschooled. This is a popular myth that even I was concerned about when I first started homeschooling my step-son and my own son, but I have learned that it is a common misconception based on the assumption that homeschoolers stay at home all the time. Many homeschooling families do many field trips to museums, zoos, and the like, as well as getting involved in community-based activities as well as homeschooling groups. Socialization is important, to be sure, but the socialization that occurs in public and private schools is not the only way that children can and do learn to interact with other people. It has been my opinion for a while now that it is more important for children to learn to interact with all age groups rather than just their own, which is exactly what they get in public and private school.
No matter which way parents choose to educate their children, I think that homeschooling should be considered, at the very least. I can recognize for many families that public schooling is a “necessary evil,” but at the same time, there are too many parents that assume that this is the only way for children to learn without being an outcast and there are also too many parents that have qualms about homeschooling that are completely unfounded. With the numbers of homeschooling families rising, it is easy to see that many families, like mine, are finding that these myths and “problems” with homeschooling are completely ridiculous.
