Homeschooling Research Paper

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Gianna Torre Mrs. Maguson Period 5 April 20, 2010 Homeschooling There is a great deal of controversy over whether or not children should be home schooled. There are several different options of schooling. One is public school, where the child is sent off to school everyday. Another option is home schooling, where the child learns at home. With both parents in agreement, a cild can thrive and possible soar under these conditions. Home schooled kids have many advantages over public schooled children. They can learn at their own pace after mastery, they can pursue their interests at a deeper, more meaningful level and although they have many positive opportunities at socialization, they can avoid some negative aspects of the public school experience. As many people know, and maybe have experienced, peer pressure is prevalent throughout public school. Peer pressure is a sure reason for much of the corruption among children and teens. “Turner also said peer pressure in schools has gotten out of hand these days” (Cavazos Pro). A reason for this is that teachers aren't allowed to discipline their students as they used to (Cavazos Con). The teachers in many instances do not have the authority to stop any bad behavior from happening. Therefore, peer pressure and corruption often run rampant throughout the public schools. In a home schooling environment, the parents are not only the teachers, but they are also the disciplinary figure. Unlike public school teachers, parents do have the authority to discipline their children if they are behaving badly.

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Many people say that a con of home schooling is the fear that the children are not socialized, casing the child to be socially awkward. This statement can be turned around to say that this decrease in socialization can possibly affect the amount of corruption and peer pressure the child is exposed to (Cavazos Con). It is probable that the more kids a child comes in contact with, the more corruption and peer pressure is going to be pushed on them. Though home school students don’t seem like they get many chances at socialization, the opposite is actually true. There are many opportunities for a home schooled student to become socialized in a home schooling community. Organizations often exist which are called home schooling cooperatives (Hernandez). They can also be known Coops. These organizations, such as Homeschool Victoria and Crossroads Home Educated Children, hold many programs for home schooled children (Cavazos Pro). Homeschooling cooperatives’ extra curricular activities may equate with those of public schools. “We have the same opportunities the public schools have,” said mother Noel Turner, who has home schooled her two children for three years (Cavazos Pro). They offer sports, dances, academic camps, art, and much more (Cavazos Pro). These cooperatives not only pose a great opportunity to learn new trades, but a parent also has more control over the social contacts their child makes (Hernandez). A parent can enroll their child in classes with people they approve of. This program will increase a child’s socialization without causing exposure to corruption or peer pressure. Home schooled students normally have a flexible schedule. There is a set curriculum for every school year, similar to a curriculum of public school. The difference between public school and home school in terms of scheduling is substantial. Families that home school can take advantage of the flexible schedule (Cavazos Pro). They have the ability to work ahead and finish the work quicker and more efficiently (Cavazos Pro). When they finish the work for the week, they

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can take days off. These days off can turn into family vacations, educational field trips, etc. According to an opinion blog, “...living is learning, everywhere and all the time” (Wald 2). This means that the best way to learn is through experience. When a home schooling family has time off in the week, they could apply everything they have learned so far to their daily lives. This makes a better opportunity to retain the information learned. Studies show that young children are more likely to thrive from home (Wald 2). They can learn naturally from daily activities and so peruse individual interests easier than a child of public school (Wald 2). Again, this may be achieved by finishing the week’s curriculum early and using the free time wisely. Another way a home schooling family can take advantage of this schedule system is to reach above and beyond the curriculum requirements. Home schooled students can move at their own pace. If their pace is quick, they could move on to higher, more sophisticated levels. They could easily reach mastery and surpass their peers. Students that choose this route generally get better grades (Cavazos Con). All of these great experiences are nearly impossible to obtain in a public school setting. Flexible schedules definitely provide opportunities to advance a child’s education by applying their learning experiences into life experiences and the ability to move at a faster pace than their peers, and ultimately learning more. As stated earlier, home schooled students often receive better grades than public scholars, a fact which is reflected in the chart of National Average Percentile Scores. According to this chart, home schooled students tended to score higher (Cavazos Con). As stated in an opinion blog, parents are a child’s best and most influential teachers (Wald 2). Children tend to listen to their parents better than teachers because parents have authority. The authority of teachers, on the other hand, has immensely decreased as already discussed (Cavazos Pro). Again, this may be due to the fact that teachers aren't allowed to discipline their students. Students can take advantage of the sit-

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uation and exploit their teachers. A possible outcome of this situation is that the students may choose not to listen to the teacher and will likely receive poor grades. This scenario is one possible reason for the vast difference in grades from homeschoolers to public school students (Cavazos Con). Parents are also considered to be great teachers because they can create multiple opportunities to go on educational excursions. These achieve fun times with the family and make each learning experience memorable (Ward 2). Clearly, children learn best and get better grades by being taught by someone they love and respect and by relating each lesson to everyday life. Home schooled children definitely have many advantages over public schooled children. Among them are moving at their own pace through a flexible schedule, pursuing their individual interests at home and being able to socialize without the harsh enmities of the public school. This is a big decision that can’t be taken lightly and should be explored and unanimously decided upon with the whole family.

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Works Cited Cavazos, Julian. “Con: Homeschoolers miss out on school’s amenities, schocial activities.” Victoria Advocate 2009: n. pag. Student Resource Center Silver. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. - - -. “Pro: Parents can tailor teaching, keep children safe.” Victoria Advocate 2009: n. pag. Student Resource Center Silver. Web. 28 Mar. 2010. Hernandez, Beverly. “Is Homeschool for You?” About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2010. Wald, Betsy. “Back to (Home)School.” The New York Times: n. pag. Student Resource Center Silver. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.