Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?

Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?

Each year more than a million children are homeschooled in the United States, and that number is steadily growing. While some parents believe homeschooling is an ideal situation, others fear that a student's education can be severely hindered in such an environment. When making a decision about your child's education, which is the more reasonable school of thought?

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Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?

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  • Oasthad
    Heroic

    I applaud any parent that has the courage to home school. I cannot imagine having the time and ability to undertake such a task. I imagine home schooled children learn a great deal more due to the individual attention. However, they may miss out on the 'school of hard knocks' lessons we all endured growing up. I don't know that I'm better off now because of those lessons. Given a choice, I certainly would have skipped a lot of them.

    - Oasthad September 15, 2008 11:33AM

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  • tbk
    Would not go back anytime soon

    The reasons I took my kids out of school are not the reasons I am still homeschooling. It was going to be a one year "fix" until we moved. We are now on our third year. I can say I don't see them going back to "Public" school. Each of them are at different levels and would be lost or bord at school. I don't what that to happen. One is two grade above grade level and another that is 1 grade below and then one that is on grade level. I also like that I can pick their books that work for them. That means I need to learn how to teach more than one way. but it is worth it.

    I think the teachers are getting upset because they see how well these homeschool kids are doing on their tests. It may be making the "Public" schools look bad.

    - tbk September 16, 2008 5:57AM

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    • reckoner
      a question

      how are homeschooled kids taught the more advanced subjects like calculus or physics?

      - reckonerUS September 16, 2008 3:19PM

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      • karribest
        re:question

        "how are homeschooled kids taught the more advanced subjects like calculus or physics?"

        Lots of ways! Some take jr. college classes, if they choose, some buy a book and read and learn the material, and like many in public schools, some kids choose not to take these classes. One can't be good at everything or be an expert in every subject. So many of these classes aren't available to most students in public schools anyway. As homeschoolers, we at least know how to find the answers and help our kids get the information that they need or want.

        - karribestUS September 16, 2008 3:29PM

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        • reckoner
          let me see if I understand

          they either don't learn it (which you seem to justify heavily) or they go to a community college to learn it?

          - reckonerUS September 17, 2008 8:57AM

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          • nlj
            They do learn it

            Many homeschoolers learn advanced subjects. And just because a student is in public school taking those classes doesn't mean they learn the material. That's why so many tutoring businesses are out there!!!

            Homeschoolers have the advantage of learning those subjects in a way that makes sense with the way they learn. They can take a class, have independent study, a virtual course online, or buy a textbook. Homeschooling families are very resourceful.

            But I do think it's a bit disingenuous to imply that these so-called "advanced" topics are crucial. I was a grade ahead in math in the public schools when I was a kid, but I don't use trigonometry in my daily life.

            Education should and can be tailored to the talents, interests, skills, and abilities of each individual student. Public education is mass education. Homeschool education is individualized.

            - nlj September 17, 2008 2:43PM

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            • reckoner
              surprised

              i'm surprised the tone I keep hearing is that kids don't need to learn advanced subjects.

              "Education should and can be tailored to the talents, interests, skills, and abilities of each individual student. Public education is mass education."

              I had good teachers that did tailor lessons for students or gave them one on one help. This is harder when class sizes are large, but this only means we should make them smaller. Do you not send your children to college because it's "mass education"?

              - reckonerUS September 18, 2008 8:58AM

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              • Lioness
                It depends on the teen's interests.

                I went to an A-level high school and even there not everyone was required to learn calculus and physics. But it's not too hard to find someone who will tutor those subjects if the student is interested. My husband tutors in calculus, physics, chemistry, trigonometry, biology, and computer science to both homeschoooled and public schooled students. He finds the homeschoolers much easier to teach because they have a much better foundation to learn from. The local schools tend to skimp badly on the fundamentals students need to learn before they reach high school

                - Lioness September 18, 2008 10:33AM

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              • alisaterry
                You misunderstand

                They are not saying children don't need to take the hard subjects, but they are saying that if your child is more interested in biology instead of chemistry, they can downplay the chemistry and help the child pursue their greater interest in biology.

                That is the beauty of homeschool. They can just learn the basics in chemistry in order to pass the SAT for college but can spend hours on end on biology is that is their passion. They can correspond with biologists, read textbooks, perform experiments, volunteer at a hospital, order a formal course from various curriculum providers, and do the same things public school students would do, but at their own pace, so if they want to spend months on plant cells instead of the two weeks they might spend in public school, they can.

                Some college classes really are no better than just reading a book. My university psychology class had over 400 students. I got nothing out of it. I wish I had chosen a smaller college.

                - alisaterry September 19, 2008 9:34PM

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              • dmsharp
                Not every kid is going to be an engineer

                Most public school students would not be caught dead in Physics or Calculus. Why should home schooled kids be that much different? Also, at the community college where I work, we have hundreds of high school students enrolled in classes. We bill back their high schools for the instruction. If a home schooled kid takes a community college class, how are they different than the public high school students?

                Some homeschooling parents are much more qualified than the public school teachers their children would have. Personally, I wouldn't home school my kids, though I'd be qualified to teach physics and calculus and a lot of other subjects at a high school level. For example, my engineer neighbor who home schools his kids - he'd be qualified, too. My engineer friend who home schools could do the math and science, and French, too, since he taught high school level science at a private school in France for a few years. Home schooling parents are generally pretty smart. That's why their kids outperform public school kids, on the average.

                - dmsharpUS September 29, 2008 7:34PM

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          • UltraConservative
            This is not true

            From my own experience with Home School, you do not have any choice in whether you take those classes. They are in the Materials we use for home schooling in our Church. When you get to that level, you have a multitude of choices, you can either teach it, use live video feed, use video feed, or use computer based learning for it.

            - UltraConservative September 22, 2008 7:56PM

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          • eclecticeducation
            I think what they mean

            is not all children that homeschool choose to take those subjects, just the same as they don't always choose to take them in public school. I went to public school and never had them. The highest I went was biology (but I got A's in college level astronomy) and geometry. My oldest is only 12 and I'm already checking into math programs that I don't have to understand the higher levels myself to teach. There are some great programs out there. The one I will be using teaches by DVD and book. It also has a feature that it goes through each problem in the entire book step by step on the computer so if your student misses any problems, they can see what they did wrong. My husband was a computer science major, so he can help the children, if I can't. Even if I didn't have him as a resource, I could find someone to help. The homeschooling community is VERY helpful to each other.

            - eclecticeducation September 24, 2008 1:14PM

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      • kjoyr814
        Higher-Level Subjects

        I know some HS kids who are tutored (I went to public school and I was tutored in Physics--by one of my teachers) by others in the community, attend a college class or a night class offered by the school district or some kids don't either want to take classes like physics (i went into psychology for my BA, so physics was something i took for the Regents (NYS) diploma, not for my college degree) or don't need them for their career or college pursuits. Other kids/parents learn together, take an online class or read a physics text.

        There are so many opportunities open to Homeschool kids just by virtue of their flexible schedule. Taking classes that mom or dad (or whomever does their homeschooling primarily) should never be a problem.

        - kjoyr814 September 17, 2008 8:23PM

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      • bmm1097
        an answer

        I can speak only for my own children but with that caveat - Yes my children will be exposed to "advanced" subjects like calculus and physics. If you want the specifics my husband will handle the calculus as he's the numbers man by profession and I'll handle the physics because I'm the science nerd.

        To be honest though this question irritates me but not for the reason you most likely would think. I get irritated because nothing and I repeat NOTHING that I learned in my high school years is so very complex that I cannot share that knowledge with my children. That isn't saying that what I learned was less than stellar. It was a good, solid mid-western education. But really the most advanced courses in high school are nothing compared to the course work at a college. Just because you are public schooled doesn't mean that you have an advantage of any sort. That still depends very much on location. Small, mid-western high school on the "college track" barely prepared me for the level of work demanded at my college of choice.

        - bmm1097 September 17, 2008 8:29PM

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        • UltraConservative
          I agree

          I agree with you. I too went to a small mid-western High School. It did little to prepare me for what was ahead of me in College. (I spent more than 13 years in Higher Education) I am thankful that the curriculum we have chosen for my Childrens Home School education will be preparing them for that as they reach high school. It has pre-college courses that they will have to take. They will even have the opportunity to enroll in college classes when they are seniors in High School.

          - UltraConservative September 22, 2008 8:38PM

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      • Laughing at you
        Are you serious?

        Do you truly believe that only 'school teachers' have the corner on these subjects? Maybe you should do a bit more research.

        - Laughing at you September 18, 2008 7:31AM

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        • reckoner
          be direct

          your implications sound stronger than it really would be if you said your point directly. I do not believe that "only" teachers know those subjects. I'm sure I could teach it since I took a lot of math and science in college, but people with such a background are a small fraction of society and I'm guessing homeschool parents have the same proportions.

          - reckonerUS September 18, 2008 9:02AM

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          • Laughing at you
            You are guessing wrong.

            I've been reseaching homeschooling in all it's forms for over four years now. I have found an extremely large percentage of the parents are college grads. There are some parents who are only high school grads but even those parents are working hard to learn the subjects right along with their child or finding them mentors.

            Recently, there has even been a large amount of men blogging about being the homeschooling dad! Many of those men giving up jobs as school teachers so they could stay home and teach their children while their spouse goes out and earns the income.

            Also, please note, may parents of Mensa and gifted children choose homeschooling so their children can learn at their own pace. Me being one of them. My son was reading above an eighth grade level at six and
            at age ten, he is working in advanced Algebra and Biology. We tried public gifted classes and private schools. They all refused to let him go at his pace. Now we homeschool, actually, we unschool meaning he has the freedom to learn. My son also knows that if at any time he wishes to return to school, he can. He is also allowed to try it decide against it, and return home. His choice.

            For the sake of argument, I'll add that my oldest child finished college at eighteen and is now working in her chosen field.

            Do some research and you will find very smart people homeschooling their kids.

            Nuf said.



            - Laughing at you September 18, 2008 9:32AM

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            • reckoner
              selective sampling

              I'm sure there are kids who are served well from homeschooling, but that anecdote isn't going to convince me of the value generally. I knew a girl who was homeschool most of her life and her mother then convinced her to join the military. I'll simply say that she wasn't prepared for the world.

              We can trade anecdotes, but we both me they don't really mean anything.

              - reckonerUS September 18, 2008 12:21PM

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              • Laughing at you
                First

                I'm not trying to convince you. Not my place.

                Second. If the system worked for everyone, there would be fewer homeschoolers then there are. Every year, all year long, there are very sad parents signing on to the homeschool groups to learn more. They tell such heart wrenching tales of the sorrows their children are suffering at school and they see no other choice but to withdraw their children and learn about homeschool. I was one of them a few years back.

                Third. You say I gave you a selective sampling. You gave me one. My sampling is taken from an extremely large networking system of homeschoolers all over the world. Yes, I have done extensive research.

                There will always be 'bad' parents and they exist in every group. I could list many, many, bad parents that I've seen in my life. I've found far fewer in the homeschooling community.

                - Laughing at you September 18, 2008 1:49PM

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              • alisaterry
                Try these statistics for size

                http://homeschoolinformation.com/homeschooling/homeschool_statistics1.htm

                - alisaterry September 19, 2008 10:06PM

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              • Sudnem
                Military Career

                But this is just one example; an anecdote to an anecdote.

                A career in the military is an excellent career option. Many of those who join the military are highly educated. See http://www.heritage.org/Research/NationalSecurity/cda06-09.cfm

                - SudnemUS September 25, 2008 8:22AM

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      • Sudnem
        Advanced Subjects

        I dropped out of high school in the 10th grade because of the substandard education and the threat of violence. I began to educate myself through self study. I have self taught myself many advanced science and math courses. I am now about to complete my doctorate.

        My children are homeschooled. They learn advanced courses from me as well as professionals in certain fields.

        I do not believe that calculus and physics are advanced courses. they are essential courses. These are principles and theory that are taught right now to my primary school children.

        Physics, along with many other "advanced" subjects are involved in everyday discussion in our house.

        - SudnemUS September 25, 2008 8:18AM

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    • jaw
      homeschool kids do learn!

      We also took our daughter out of a private school where she was bullied and called names everyday. Our daughter takes hard subjects. We are homeschooling and she in middle school taking Algebra 1,Literture/composition, world history, and Physical science. Our daughter is learning and we have school everyday. Our daughter is happy and enjoys meeting new friends all the time

      - jawUS September 25, 2008 1:54PM

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  • MTheads
    Home school works

    Schools parcel out, explain, put in context, and test knowledge. They don't invent it. Knowledge on a subject can be acquired in any number of ways to include books, the internet, informal tutoring, OJT, experience, to name a few. It makes sense with limited resources to teach most children in a mass sort of way. But to claim schools have a monopoly on learning is ignorant. If anything, home schoolers quickly learn that knowledge is available to anyone with a desire to learn and access to resources. While the schooled child may erroneously come to think schools are the only source of knowledge, as many people against homeschooling seem to think.

    - MTheads September 17, 2008 2:39PM

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  • mofochickamo
    Just Another Choice

    I was home-schooled until 8th grade, at which point I switched to a private school. I was successful academically, graduating high school a year early and graduating from a UC school in computer science magna cum laude.

    On the flip side, my brother - also home schooled - didn't graduate high school (though he eventually passed some equivalency test).

    This is all anecdotal, but my personal experience is that success in home schooling depends mostly on the students desire to learn and the parents desire to teach - not on the parent's teaching skills. My mom and dad both suck at math, but I was able to excel in it and I learned how to read technical books on my own (i.e. math books) at an early age. The reason I say that parent teaching skill isn't too impoprtant is because, in my experience anyway, most learning was done on my own, not with my mom sitting next to me.

    That said, I'm sending my kids to public school, because we live in a relatively good school district and homeschooling is more work for us.

    I'd also like to point out that the experts saying home schoolers are disadvantaged are all members of one of the most powerful unions in the United States whose financial security and power as a union depend on students going to public schools. You'd be naive to expect an unbiased argument from that group - even though they are made up of education professionals.

    - mofochickamoUS September 18, 2008 8:06AM

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    • kcshiker
      odd

      "This is all anecdotal, but my personal experience is that success in home schooling depends mostly on the students desire to learn and the parents desire to teach - not on the parent's teaching skills."

      how odd... that a student's success in a public school depends almost entirely on the same thing

      - kcshikerUS September 21, 2008 7:38AM

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      • mofochickamo
        Just Another Choice

        The question is "Are Homeschooled Kids at a Disadvantage?". That success at both home schooling and public schooling depend on similar things does not argue in favor of either side but rather shows either choice could work, depending on your situation.

        Though I disagree - public schooling depends more on other factors than homeschooling does. In public schools teachers have to deal with a lot of kids, and it only takes a one or two kids to cause distractions for the entire class. Public school teachers have to take time away from the class to deal with these kids - no matter how much the other kids may want to learn.

        - mofochickamoUS September 21, 2008 8:42AM

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        • kcshiker
          not in good public schools

          "This is all anecdotal, but my personal experience is that success in home schooling depends mostly on the students desire to learn and the parents desire to teach - not on the parent's teaching skills."

          in good public schools in which the community supports fair education for all students

          those kids there for the wrong reasons are encouraged to go elsewhere

          and yes I know what the question was

          I am uncommitted and my original comment illustrates why. Students with strong parental support, higher socioeconimc conditions, and strong family and community ties invariably do better in school whether it's at home or at public school.

          See Marzano: Building Background Knowledge For Academic Achievement: Research On What Works In Schools

          for all the research data you want on the issue

          - kcshikerUS September 21, 2008 9:13AM

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      • Sudnem
        Student Achievement Variance

        There are many factors that are attributable to student achievement within any school setting. These factors have been documented through psychological and economic studies.

        Factors such as home effects, peer effects, students, teachers, principals all aggregate to give a probability of success. A variance, either high or low, on any one of these items will have an effect on the students learning. When you place all but one of these factors in control, you can then see how each factor affects student success.

        As home educators we are controlling more narrowly the same factors that schools are working to control. With greater attention on these controls, we can provide a better environment for learning and a higher probability of student success.

        For a good study of these factors see Urban Economics, Arthur O'Sullivan, 5th (2002) ISBN:0072487844.

        - SudnemUS September 25, 2008 8:36AM

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        • kcshiker
          certainly

          I agree with your factors having an effect. The question is how large an effect? Research repeatedly shows that the greatest effect comes from socio-economics. Principals, class size, teacher education, etc. all play a much smaller role than the socio-economic background. In other words... a kid from wealthy, involved parents, will generally perform better in a bad school than a kid from poor, neglectful parents, in a good school.

          - kcshikerUS September 25, 2008 2:49PM

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          • Sudnem
            Home Effects and Peer Effects

            Exactly! All of these factors do play a role. However, some play a stronger role than others. Research within the United States shows that the strongest factors are "Peer Effects" and "Home Effects".

            Peer Effects are the effects on a child's perception, development, and emotional growth that occur as a result of interaction with their peers (other children). A child will take on similar characteristics as the children around him; be that positive or negative.

            Home Effects behave similar to Peer Effects, but these factors come from the child's home experience. Researchers consider many factors when determining Home Effects; parents educational level, income levels, whether parents provide books, computers, etc.

            The other factors play less of a role in the development and achievement of a child, but they still skew the probabilities. What most homeschool parents are trying to achieve is to produce an environment where all of these factors lessen the probability of a weak education.

            "Peer Effects" and "Home Effects" should not be confused with socialization and socializing, which are two different aspects of child development and achievement which occupy a different sphere but overlaps with these factors.

            - SudnemUS September 25, 2008 7:22PM

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  • Canadian
    Home-Educated Students

    I home-educated my children through their entire school years, in spite of the many, many moves we made throughout those years. My daughter is now teaching part-time and caring for my parents (my Dad is 95 and my Mom has M.S.) and my son is a Jr. in University in Civil Engineering. Einstein said that one should not memorize anything they can look up, so my main basis in our home-education was to create interest in everything around them and give them the skills to research. We worked with foresters along the Alaska Highway to colleges and camps to helping the police teach Character training in inner-city public schools. A real plus to home-education is the interaction with all ages of people vs. a 'not-so-positive' peer dependency. Older people throughout these years had such a positive influence on my children. I will never regret these years spent with my children. They are my best friends and continuing to be good, healthy neighbors and citizens.

    - Canadian September 18, 2008 7:41PM

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  • Naumadd
    Yes, if ...

    Yes, IF the one-on-one attentions they receive in homeschooling attend to their needs in greater quality and quantity than the watered-down attentions they receive in schools. But let's be clear - neither homeschooling nor public and private schools have a monopoly on good education. There are no cookie-cutter solutions applicable to every individual child. It is high time that education - regardless of who is doing the teaching - be tailored to each and every child in recognition of their individual abilities, talents, skills, interests, etc. In the name of efficiency and control, I doubt very seriously any student today is receiving the precise guidance and caretaking they deserve to attain their best possible individual unique potential. Some students are held back by the slow pace of organized education, others are made to feel deficient because of the pace or approach untailored to them specifically. Of course, there is a limit to the customized education large schools can provide. Nevertheless, each and every child deserves no less. To fall back on excuses why this or that cannot be managed is to injure the child's chances. It is tantamount to lack of care and potentially abusive. It is high time we cease with our excuses why this or that student cannot receive what they must. Homeschooling at least has the advantage of affording each child more individualized time. Sadly, not all parents are up to the task. That fact is not argument against tailored education. It is argument for greater assistance to parents and children who wish to try. For years, I've thought it's some kind of miracle an educated human being manages to emerge from our less-than-ideal education system. Perhaps our insistence on a "system" is at the root of the problem. Children aren't cogs nor ought they be trained to become cogs. It clearly makes sense, if one wishes to maximize the potential of a population, one must do all that is necessary to maximize the potential of each and every individual FIRST. Senior generations throughtout much of our history have grossly failed in that task.

    If one wants cookie-cutter people, one is likely to get what one asks for. We could afford quite a few more healthy adults who have developed outside of the usual very poor quality and spirit-killing indoctrinations of our "system".

    - NaumaddUS September 20, 2008 2:30AM

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    • UltraConservative
      One on One

      We home school our children and each one of them has an education plan based on their specific needs. That plan is formulated by the test they take when they begin school. The people we get our curriculum from then takes those tests and along with the parents, decides what that plan will be. I have a 1st grader who excells in every thing but numbers, so his curriculum is centered around majoring on those things he needs most help with. His little brother is a Kidergardener. His curriculum is centered around his ability in all subjects. He started Kindergarden in August and will be beginning 1st grade in January. What does that mean? I means they are getting the education they deserve tailored to them specifically. I do not personally believe in the ability of our public school system here. The teachers do not care about the students they way they should. They will pass students on to the next grade even if they should not be.

      - UltraConservative September 22, 2008 8:12PM

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      • reckoner
        my wife is a teacher

        "They will pass students on to the next grade even if they should not be."

        This isn't true at my wife's school, and it's very complicated. Usually the teacher recommends that a kid be held back and the parents refuse. Sometimes the administration refuses, but usually it's the parents.

        My wife has twice tried to have a kid evaluated for learning disabilities and both times the parents fought tooth and nail to prevent it.

        - reckonerUS September 22, 2008 8:17PM

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        • UltraConservative
          I know not all are the same

          I know not all public school systems are the same. If we were else where, we might not have made the same choice about home schooling that we made here.
          However, there is a family in our church that has a child that is very slow in many subjects. Yet, the school here will not hold here back because they don't want her to miss out on what the others her age are doing. They have told the parents that they should hire tutors to help her. This is a very low income family who cannot afford that. They have to rely on the Public school because they cannot afford any thing else and the public school is failing them.

          - UltraConservative September 22, 2008 8:30PM

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          • Naumadd
            It is a sad system ...

            It's incredibly destructive to a developing mind to be thrust into a system involuntarily which is designed to focus in and punish your weaknesses and then expect better performance out of you. If there are elements to the educational system which will even inadvertently demoralize the student, it is the system which needs changing - not the student. It's appalling to ignore the fact that no two individuals are created equal in talents or abilities and neither can any two people attain equal experience and skill. We must move away from a culture that underappreciates some and overappreciates others. By this, I do not mean any of us are equal, however, all of us have our value and it is that very individual and unique that ought to be nurtured, respected and preserved. Most significantly, we must end these time when our children are demoralized for the very uniqueness which gives them value in the first place.

            - NaumaddUS September 23, 2008 12:21AM

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