Every homeschooler has encountered these misconceptions at some point and to be honest, it gets kind of annoying hearing the same things over and over again!
Can we bust these myths once and for all?
Probably not, but we can try!
Myth Number One:
Homeschools will be Unsocialized
Most people don’t understand what they’re saying when they ask about socialization.
Socialization is the process of learning how to behave in a socially acceptable way. With that in mind, we all know that children within the school system can ‘fail’ at socialization. There are many kids who act in ways other people don’t find acceptable! Running wild at a restaurant, opening packages in the store, yelling and screaming in a library…
What people are really asking about when they bring up socializing and homeschoolers, is whether or not those children will have friends. The concern is that learning at home means kids never go anywhere else.
Well, that’s just not true. Could a family decide to totally isolate itself? Maybe, but most people don’t want to live that way. Homeschool families join groups of other homeschoolers, go on field trips, and do volunteer activities.
Check out these resources for more information about how homeschoolers do when it comes to socializing.
According to the research, homeschoolers are often better socialized than their schooling peers.
Myth Number Two:
Homeschool is really expensive.
Homeschool costs about as much as you want it to.
You can homeschool on a shoestring budget or on a corporate salary. Used books, the internet, libraries, notebooks, and pencils combine to make homeschool possible. You don’t need a special curriculum! There are free resources online and homeschool families often sell educational materials they’re no longer using at discount prices.
Families with only one parent and a single income are homeschooling right now. It may take extra planning, but when something is important to a parent, they can usually find a way to make it a priority.
Myth Number Three:
Parents don’t know enough to teach their kids.
This one is upsetting to me because it belittles parents and their abilities. Most adults are fully capable of helping their children learn.
Can you learn?
You can homeschool.
You do not need to know everything to teach someone else something. Not understanding advanced mathematics doesn’t mean you can’t allow your children to learn those things.
We live in a digital age. With internet access, the world’s information is at our fingertips.
Also, consider this. When people say they don’t believe parents are ‘smart enough’ to lead their own children’s education, then what good was the parent’s education to begin with? The adults presumably went to school themselves, but spending all that time in classrooms wasn’t enough to teach a six year-old to read? It wasn’t enough to help a high school student learn to write a research paper?
If schooling isn’t at least preparing parents to take care of their own children, then what is it doing?
Myth Number Four:
Homeschoolers can’t go to college.
This is false.
There’s no other way to say it.
In fact, studies have found that homeschooled students are better prepared for college than their peers. They hold higher GPA’s and are more likely to graduate.
Fortunately, we seem to be on an upswing in the homeschool community. People are interested, they’re learning more about what homeschooling can accomplish, and there’s less stigma surrounding it.
Any other homeschool myths you need busted?
