Why I Would Never Home School My Children

The Viewpoint of a Public School Parent

With the recent rash of articles being written on the glories of home schooling, I decided to chime in with an opposing viewpoint. I know that there are many, many people who will disagree with what I have to say, yet I feel compelled to point out that there are plenty of us wandering the Earth who actually do not think that home schooling is the ideal educational system for children.

Certainly there are some situations where home schooling may be best for a child; perhaps with a child who has special needs or other considerations that make public or private schools an unattractive option.

There are many reasons I would never home school my children, the most glaring of these being the fact that I am not a teacher. Teachers are college educated and trained to work with children and assist them with learning. I am not. I am not unintelligent, nor am I uneducated, but I have not been trained as a teacher. People will argue that many teachers are not fit to teach in a classroom. I agree, but I also know how to approach my school administrators and ask for a teacher I feel would be a better fit for my child.

If you have been trained as a teacher and want to home school your child then that is great. If you are intelligent and educated and feel you can do a better job than a school, then by all means, give it a try. My concern is with the parents who are uneducated and ill suited to be teaching their children at home. Is it fair to let those children slip through the educational cracks?

Socialization is a huge buzzword in the home schooling debate. I think you can take your children to all the gymnastics and dance classes, music lessons, and sporting events in the world and they are still not going to be as well socialized as the child who attends a school. Here is my reasoning for that. The children who are taken to such classes and lessons are very likely to be on exactly the same socioeconomic level as your own child simply because those are the parents who can afford the lessons.