Why do people still try to tell me that homeschooling doesn't work?

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Msoexpert is wrong. In the public school system there is plenty of people that are antisocial. Plenty of kids that are surrounded by all of those kids and yet, they are socially awkward. Having a million people around you most defiantly isn't going to effect someone who is naturally like that.

I totally agree with you I_come_from_under_the_hill. I know so many homeschoolers that have gone to college (most ivy league) and are extremely successful! They have great social lives and academic lives, they have absolutely no problems getting around their schools. I think that many people that don't approve of homeschooling don't really like the thought that you can learn something at home, taught by someone with out a degree of any sort and still be successful. Of course, my mother has multiple degrees... but even someone without a high school diploma could teach. Sorry to say. :'( Most of the books available help students basically learn themselves with some guidance from the parent/guardian. Okay, I just kind of ventured of track there, but what I am trying to say is that people don't really understand that someone can be taught at home and learn the equivalent (and more) that the students at public school are learning.

I don't really understand it. Before the school system people used to learn at home and most of them did just fine. So, why not now? Homeschoolers are intelligent and social, just like private and public school students. :) ♥...Show more

Lol, don't bother with the other person. They're ridiculous and didn't even answer your question. And the vast majority of college students don't have their own house. Lol. Probably because they imagine homeschooling = at home, all day, everyday. They maybe had bad experiences with people that were homescooled. In the 4th grade I was at gymnastics and this girl was homeschooled and I wanted to see if what they learned is the same as what we did. She wasn't ~special~ or anything, but when I asked her what 4 x 4 is she didn't know. So for years I thought they didn't get the same education because of that, but I was 8 when I heard that, so.....Show more

Homeschooling does work for many students.

Why do people try to tell you that it doesn't work? Because for them it wouldn't, and they're looking at it through a narrow lens: their experience is the only experience that works. I agree with Ozboz that it's hard to overcome old perceptions. But I also believe that no one educational style is the best for everyone, however, many passionate people feel that their choice would be best for all students. No one style of education produces all the successful people. Nor is one educational style 100% effective every time. If anyone says that homeschooling (or school) doesn't work, they aren't looking at the whole picture. Different people succeed on different paths. Don't use an equally narrow lens and assume homeschooling is the only way for others to be as successful as you. In life, you will meet more and less successful people who have gotten their education in varied ways.

I also agree with msoexper. that the success of homeschooling is individual. I know two different women who were both homeschooled, whose experience was quite different. One who is at a top ranked private university on a full scholarship. The other who is on welfare raising her three kids by three different babby-daddies. If I were to judge homeschooling's success on the accomplishments of either one of those women alone, I wouldn't be getting the whole picture.

I've also read through your questions, and I'd have to ask how you believe your community college experience prepared you?. While it was part of your choice to homeschool, it is traditional education. Do you think you would have been as successful without that traditional classroom experience? It isn't pure homeschooling.

You have missed few opportunities to tell others of your many accomplishments in your YA questions and answers. Remember that many people achieve very similar things by taking different educational paths. I'm sure that you've met students who were schooled in your time at university who are just as accomplished as you are. If you're thinking that others, schooled students in particular, may struggle more than you, I'm sure that some have, but you're wasting time comparing yourself to others. You could find people who went to public, private and who were homeschooled who've had more difficulties than you. Their individual experiences don't make up their group. You said in a previous question that your boyfriend and friends have struggled a bit, would they agree with you? It isn't for someone else to judge that. Would you allow others to judge your transition? Where you live and with whom are of little relevance. If another student lives in a dorm and does what you do academically and socially, they are just as successful. Most people don't find their partners at 16; it has nothing to do with their success or failure. They do their laundry, balance their checkbooks and pay their bills, as you do. If they live off campus with roommates, they do their shopping. It's a life choice.

It takes time to change opinions. Now that you're in college, it's time to look ahead, not back. Don't make the mistake that so many schooled kids do of living in the glory of your (home) school days. Let the chip drop from your shoulder, You don't need to list your accomplishments for all to see, simply tell people you were homeschooled and move on. Your actions and what you do speak much louder than your words. People will learn more through that than through being told....Show more

msoexpert:

Sorry, I would have done this as a email, but you do not allow direct contact.

You said: "For example, what if you had a child who's not sociable, very quiet, and has few, if any friends?"

That was me. And I was in public school (well, private school until 4th grade, then we moved and then public school). The worst feeling in the world is to be "completely alone" while in a crowd. As a young child, I was very social and sociable, but over the years, I became more and more withdrawn, I was occasionally bullied, and I learned to be embarrassed about my intelligence. I did not learn how to make friends and, in fact, have only stayed in touch with 1 person from high school (and I met her outside of high school first).

All of the 'interpersonal skills' I learned in elementary, middle and the first 2 years of high school had to be unlearned in the second part of high school, in college, and after graduating college.

And to be fair, I am not sure I would have done better if homeschooled: my mother would not have been a good educator and I can't imagine my father taking the time to do it. But I suspect I would have been better off with my socialization if I had not had a decade of going in the wrong direction.

Many people who come to these boards make the same mistake you did: you idealized what public school could be, while being balanced on the pros and cons of homeschooling (actually, by doing that, you are more fair than those that only talk about the potential problems with homeschooling). It would be a more accurate comparison to look at the pros and cons of both....Show more

Old beliefs are hard to overcome.

We're not at the college level yet, as our child is 14, but we are still dealing with the literacy and social skills mythology after years of homeschooling.

That's what we get for not following the crowd.

Hang in there and much success to you.

All the best....Show more