homeschooling myths: a guest post by Evelyn

Hello, all you inhabitants of the blogging world! I'm Evelyn, crawling out from my rock because Diana asked me to. :D More specifically, because she asked me to write a guest post on homeschooling myths.
As homeschoolers, we are often judged by unfair myths, passed down from skeptic to skeptic. I am here to set the record straight.



Homeschooling myth #1: Homeschoolers are not properly socialized.


My answer: Oh, that's right! Thank you for correcting the error of my ways! I remember now... The entire point of public school is the social aspect! Duh!


Not. If I, or any other homeschooler, were enrolled in the public school system, it would be to gain an education.
I will admit that it is true: The AVERAGE homeschooler probably does spend less time in the same room as peers. Notice that I say "In the same room." 


Homeschoolers have about the same time for active socilazation as children in the public school system.
Is this a bad thing that they spend less time in the presence of their peers? Let's look at this for a minute.


We have two students, the same age and gender, studying for the same lesson. Let's say that they are fourteen-year-old girls. One is homeschooled, one is not.
The homeschooler is at home with her mother and four brothers and sisters. The younger kids get noisy, and the girl retires to her room to study.
Then, she needs additional assistance from her teacher, usually known as Mom. She is only competing with four other students for the teacher's attention.
Now let's switch to the public schooler.

She is studying in a room of, oh, let's say twenty-five other students.
To her left is her best friend, excitedly whispering the latest juicy piece of gossip into her ear.
To the right and behind her is the boy who has recently chosen her as the perfect target for his pencil-throwing skills.
 Directly in front of her is that oh-so-cute boy who has managed to catch her eye.
The girl finds herself distracted. Too bad for her, as she can't leave the room.
Then she has trouble understanding some of the material in her lesson. Again, too bad. So do fifteen other students, and she must wait her turn.

Homeschooling myth #2: It's illegal.


Not so! As long as the student meets the requirements for his or her state, it is perfectly legal.
Some states are harsher when is comes to homeschooling than others. The state of Missouri requires 1,000 hours of instruction during the official school year, with at least 600 of those hours falling within the basic subjects of reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science.

In Minnesota, a homeschooled child must be given an annual assessment with a nationally standardized achievement test to ensure that he or she is meeting all requirements.

Besides, homeschooling parents still pay school taxes. Either way you're getting our money, so get off our backs. :P

Homeschooling law #3: Homeschoolers can't get into good colleges. (Or any college at all.)


A valid concern. However, once you do your research, you may consider this myth busted.
Nowadays, many colleges actively seek out homeschoolers.
 Abilene Christian University, in Abilene, TX.
Alaska Bible College, in Glennallen, AK.
Albion College, in Albion, MI.
All homeschooler-friendly colleges. Do a Google search and you can find very extensive lists.

And while there are many more myths out there, (don't even get me started on prom) it would take much too long for me to bust them all, and you would get bored.
So thank you for reading, and thank you to Diana for letting me write this!
-Evelyn


Thank you, Evelyn! Great post.
~ D