I think there’s more of a balance to be had, personally. I’ve had close friends who’ve been home schooled, as well as relatives, and the common thread they all share is a distinct social handicap (ranging from mild to strong), as well as a misunderstanding of the world at large.

There is no greater tradgedy than to shelter a young person until they are high-school or college age, then to dump them into the real world without ever having heard of daddy-daddy and marijuana.

I don’t want my kids watching porno at school, but there’s a balance and a certain amount of social experience I depend on giving them there. Bullies, odd secular notions, bad ideas about drugs and sexual behavior – all those things are better dealt with and discussed early rather than later. It gives me a chance as a parent to slowly put the armor on and teach children as they grow.

The other drawback to homeschooling is that you are only exposed to a single opinion. While I won’t argue there is absolute truth in the world, there is *much* to be gained from seeing other’s perspectives. I use to think drug use and prostitution was a black and white issue, but after having served in the ghettos of West Jersey, the issue isn’t as simple as it had been. Shielding myself from those “bad” experiences would have robbed me of that perspective.

As far as creationism goes, I really don’t want that discussed in school anyway. We need to remember and preserve our national heritage, but its not fair to others to force our beliefs in public places. The ten commandments don’t belong in a courtroom any more than the principles of the Koran do. How would you feel if before your trial, the clerk and judge held hands and spoke in tongues? If we open up creationism in textbooks, we open up room everyone else’s beliefs, and that’s not what science class is for.

I don’t mind having people teach kids about same-sex relationships, but I would have a problem if a teacher told my child it was “right” or “better.” We teach kids about genocide, too. It gives kids a chance to understand the world, and hopefully gain a gospel perspective on it by talking to their parents.

I would probably suggest you check out your school before you go – and there are probably a great deal of private or charter schools that might be a better balance for your kids if you don’t like how public schools are panning out – but I don’t think I could advise homeschooling under many circumstances.

– J

Connor,

I think that the socialization aspect of homeschooling is changing. Kids are getting significant interaction with others their age through co-op groups and the public system is becoming more open to having part time students in their schools.

I think one of the problems with the social aspect of homeschooling is primarily the reason for which parents choose to homeschool. If the express purpose for homeschooling is to keep them from being influenced by society, then the parents will do all things in their power to protect them. My reason for homeschooling is to keep alive in my children the love of learning that the public system seems to purge from students (I felt that way) and to help them learn to think for themselves and solve problems.

So the side effects of homeschooling are rather dependent on the reasons for doing it.

My old high school physics teacher wrote this letter to the editor in response to the debate over evolution and creationism. He’s LDS and now teaches at BYU. In my opinion, he explains the need for teaching evolution in schools better than anyone I’ve ever read, so I won’t add to it here.

I just came across this post today, but I had to respond to the completely uninformed stereotyping of homeschoolers as social misfits. Research has shown that traditionally schooled children have significantly *more* problem behaviors than homeschooled children. On average, homeschooled children are involved in 5.3 outside activities such as co-op classes, support groups, Scouts, sports teams, church youth groups, and so on. You can find more information here.

Thanks for your comment Crimson Wife. I agree. I was not homeschooled but the few kids my age who I knew that were, were not socially backward for it. If people think they were, I wonder if sometimes it was maybe more in the eyes of the beholder.

There is no greater tradgedy than to shelter a young person until they are high-school or college age, then to dump them into the real world without ever having heard of daddy-daddy and marijuana

Funny, just the other week during R.S. the topic came up about “sheltering” our children from evil. Most people made similar comments as this (although I’m sure we’d all agree there are plenty of worse tragedies out there). But what was interesting was then, this young mother about my age stood up and talked about how she was very sheltered during her childhood (not homeschooled but no TV, strict rules of conduct and friends, etc). She talked about how, when she eventually got out on her own, she was shocked to see the things going on in the world. Anyhow, instead of being a setback for her — like you might think, she talked about how being sheltered from those things while growing up actually prepared her better to deal with it all and she was very grateful to her parents for it. She explained how she had a huge spiritual reserve to draw from and how her worldview is positive and optimistic.

Others may have different experiences, but I don’t think we should assume that just because someone isn’t constantly exposed to homosexuality, drugs, whatever… that they won’t know what to do with themselves when they are around it.