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Five Homeschooling Misconceptions By Asha Oshun’ Mali

When I told my mostly middle class family that I was thinking of homeschooling my children, I was met with a host of negative responses. My mother, in particular, was mortified. “Home school!” she said exasperated. “Now why would you want to do that? Don’t you know home school children don’t get into good colleges? And, how will you socialize them?”

I did not know how to respond to her then. What I did know: was that I was not crazy about the education my children were receiving at their perspective schools. I did not blame their teachers at all for this-I knew they were doing the best they could-and honestly, I feel it’s a parent’s job to ensure their children are getting a quality education.

But still, I did not know how the home school processed worked. So, I turned to what I am good at; snooping. I stalked internet websites on homeschooling for weeks- learning all that I could. I also took a trip to the library-a handy free resource-and read books on the subject as well.

Added to this, I found out through word of mouth-which of my friends knew home schooling parents. I learned a lot from my quest, and I certainly learned a lot about home schooling misconceptions.

Misconception number one:

One of the most common misconceptions is that homeschooled students will not be able to socialize with other kids. ?Having my children not only socialize with other kids their age, but also participate in community service programs, was very important to me when considering the option of homeschooling.

I wanted to make sure they had hands on experience for their perspective career interest and I also wanted to make sure they understood the importance of volunteering their time to help others in need. My thirteen year old wants to be a Veterinarian. I wondered how I would be able to make sure she was able to learn more about animals.

I found out through my research, that she could not only get experience by working ?at animal shelters , but that she would also be able to fulfill a community service component by volunteering her time.

And as far as socialization is concerned, there is plenty of information available on the internet. Home-school.com is just one of the many sites where you can find home school social groups for your particular state.

There are also sites that can help strengthen your child’s skills by allowing them to interact with other learners their age.? Helium.com? is one such site. Helium offers teenagers, 13 and up, the chance to display their writing and the opportunity to read the writing of others.

Misconceptions number two:

A friend was careful to advise me that homeschooling was illegal. I told her I did not think so, but she insisted. “You are going to go to jail and lose your kids if you home school girl.” She said. While the mere thought of doing something illegal-especially where my children were concerned-was terrifying for me, my research showed me that homeschooling is indeed- legal.

There are state rules that must be followed however. I was reassured after learning from Fine Homeschooling.com (www. finehomeschooling.com) that homeschooling is legal in all 50 states. I was also encouraged by the fact that there were many sites that had detailed information on the legal information regarding homeschooling for each state.

One of the most informative was the Homeschooling Legal Defense Association.( http://www.bonment.com) The site is very detailed in regard to the legal ins and outs of what you can and can’t do as a home school parent or guardian.