Homeschooling: The Dreaded "S" Word

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the series opening or the first series post.

Though the perceived lack of socialization is one of the most common objections people have to homeschooling, I am not concerned with it. Why am I so confident about my children having friends and learning how to “play nice” with others? Well, I have many reasons. That specific question can be summed up as follows: they do not need to be in a traditional school environment in order to have friends and learn to get along.

First and foremost, one of the reasons I do not want them in a traditional school environment is the type of “socialization” that goes on there. I mentioned it in this post, but it bears repeating:

“Children (and adults) have a grave need to be kept away from temptation so as not to fall into sin. Both public and private schools (secular and Christian) are full of foul language, materialism, sexual information, tolerance and encouragement of sin, and false religions. All these things can cause children to succumb to sin and turn away from their family even with a Godly, religious upbringing. The large amount of time children spend in school, school activities, and transiting to and from (seven to eleven hours on school days, nine months a year) as well as the strong urge to fit in can easily allow children to be led down the wrong path.”

School, even Catholic school, is too often the place where children learn inappropriate ideas and behaviors. Rather, children should be sheltered from such things until they are properly educated so as not to be swayed by popular opinion. As Chesterton says in the book All Things Considered, “Right is right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong, even if everybody is wrong about it.” Young children and even old children will have a hard time understanding this and respecting it when they are pressured by others or just want to be accepted.

Children feel a need to fit in. In schools, most children are ostracized if they do not have a cell phone, wear designer clothes and shoes, watch the latest TV programs or play the latest video games, possess the latest toys, or fulfill all other forms of materialism. This can lead to bullying and other major problems, especially when the child no longer feels accepted. Yet, this mindset of needing to have the latest and greatest is typical of the worldly, which is exactly what we as Catholics are called to avoid.

Finally, where else in life are we separated into groups based solely on age? It is certainly not done at work, church, or even college! These institutions are a mix of many different ages, races, and backgrounds; so, it would seem even to the opponents of homeschooling that proper socialization happens when the child is exposed to other children and adults of all ages. Children need to learn how to get along with and respect others of all ages. How is this being taught in a classroom of ten-year-olds?

My confidence comes from knowing children will learn proper socialization in the home and community. Homeschoolers are not shut up at home twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. They are more exposed to their siblings, children of all ages from other homeschooling families, and adults from all over the community. So now the question becomes: how is it even considered proper socialization to expose children to materialism, peer pressure, and age-class?

For more information on homeschooling, please read the resources listed here.

Homeschooling: What makes it different?

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the series opening or the first series post.

After my last post, where I explained what makes homeschooling so important, I would now like to talk about the benefits that make it so different (and better).

As common sense would show, one-on-one tutoring is more beneficial than one teacher for a classroom of twenty to thirty or more students. The child receives individual attention and focus. He or she can ask questions or interrupt whenever there is a misunderstanding. The teacher will almost immediately know when the child does not understand the material. Therefore, the learning is at the child’s own pace.

All of us excel in some subjects and need more work in others, but in a classroom setting, the teacher must teach at whatever pace will benefit the class as a whole, not one individual. This can cause boredom and laziness in students who excel at the material. I can certainly vouch for that! The boredom I experienced from school turned me away from learning for quite a few years. Students who have trouble with the material will be left behind and some will never catch up. I experienced this through my “tutoring” of others in middle school and high school. In the home school, each subject is learned at the child’s pace so that he may be at a fourth grade reading level and a sixth grade math level in the same year.

The parent can incorporate the child’s own learning style into the lesson. This is especially helpful for visual or kinesthetic learners who have a difficult time learning from a lecture in a classroom. Many children lag behind in a specific subject only because they are not experiencing the material in the way they can absorb it most efficiently.

Homeschooling also allows for younger ones to be able to move around more when learning. Often times, young children, boys especially, need a break to “get the wiggles out”. You can even incorporate movement while learning if the child is really active. In a classroom setting, this would cause chaos! As I noted before, there are some schools that no longer allow recess. Many others, as discussed in this article, are trying to limit the opportunities for play. I cannot imagine the plight of those teachers!

With all the government regulation regarding school, it is no wonder why some children excel, while others are left behind. They are all forced to start school at the same age! Some children are ready to start earlier, but will be held back because they are too young; therefore, they will be bored in school, having to learn at a slower pace. Other children may not be ready until the next year, but must start at the mandated age, because that is what the government decided.

Homeschooling is also better for the character development of the child. I cannot count the amount of articles I have read regarding parents who say their children do not have time for chores because their schedules are so full—between school, homework, and extracurricular activities. To do their part for the family, children should be assigned chores according to their ability. When children stay home, they are also more exposed to cooking and shopping and will have a better perspective on true family life (as opposed to those children who are so busy away from home that they do not even have time to help).

As I discussed in my last post, teaching our children about Catholicism is one of the most important duties we have as parents. We should not be relying on schools (whether CCD classes or Catholic schools) to teach our children doctrine. This allows error to be portrayed as truth through other people’s opinions, views, and beliefs being interjected into the teaching or from answering questions. Also, religion must be avoided in public school because of the difference between religions and the “need” for tolerance, and a weekly CCD class from first through eighth grade instills very little catechesis—I say this from experience. The ability to add our religious teaching to the yearly curriculum, without the outside influence of others, sets homeschooling apart from all other types of learning environments.

Classroom settings offer pretty much a one-size-fits-all approach. To offer anything else would be out of the teacher’s ability. Homeschooling fits the material to the child, instead of the other way around. Is it any wonder why most homeschooling students have better test scores and are even preferred by colleges?

For more information on homeschooling, please read the resources listed here.

Food, Naturally: Article VII

In case you are new to the series, you can start at the beginning or the introduction.

Even though I am not currently writing for this series, I wanted to add another article I found today regarding labels (which was my last "true" post on the series): 10 Food Label Lies

There is not much we can truly rely on anymore, but if we are eating whole foods (real foods) that don't require labels (fruits and vegetables; meat, milk and eggs from the farmer) we won't have to worry so much about a label trying to sell us a product on false information!