I have seen a trend lately with homeschooling here in South Florida. It is on the rise. Now, honestly, I have seen it go good, bad and then very ugly. As an employee in a school and a parent, I understand the parents point of view. They can control what is being taught, when it is being taught and accommodate any special appointments or relocations easily. What the parents don’t see, I get in my office…..Here are few of my insights to encourage you keep your child in public school.
- Real world is mean. It doesn’t care if your child is sensitive or not.
- Mental illnesses are fostered and coddled more causing the child not be able to cope.
- It takes work to make sure your child is socially acclimatized. If you aren’t willing to drag your child to various clubs, homeschool groups and sports, then you really don’t care.
- Once you start homeschool, sending your child to public school will put them in a state of shock they will never recover from.
- Some homeschoolers never develop the skills to communicate with their peers.
- You have taken the opportunity away of my child being your child’s friend.
- You have taken food out of my mouth. By keeping your child at home, they are not counted for funding for the public school system.
- The curriculum will eventually get beyond your comprehension to assist with. Who do you hire? Guess what! A teacher!
- You have to have the student’s portfolio review every year to make sure they are on academic level. Guess What! A teacher is the one certified to do that! And you have to pay them.
- Homeschooling does not stop drug use, teenage pregnancy and malbehaviors. It fosters negative behaviors because there are no other positive role models
I have seen the drug use in home schoolers. I have seen teen pregnancy due to the fact that the girl grabbed the first guy who gave her attention. I have seen a young lady graduate home school and go to Moody Bible Institute and become a wonderful preacher. I have seen other cases where the young ladies married the first guy who said boo and ended up in domestic violence shelters.
Please, please understand, that homeschooling is admirable. I even dabbled in it with my son for Pre-K. He was driving me crazy. It was a way to keep him busy while I worked with his sister.
But, you have to take the time to make sure the child is socially active. I have been to many functions where the homeschooler will hang out with the adults and ignore age appropriate interactions with other students. Also, if your child has a learning disorder, you may end up feeding it instead of helping the child to overcome it.
As usual there are always two sides. I know plenty of moms who have made homeschooling work. Those moms really worked at it. Don’t go into it thinking it will be easy. Be warned about the down sides and really think and pray about that decision.