A School Within the Arms of Home - Reem Ezzidine 9B

“Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today" This quote clearly states that education is a crucial element in life, it is where the preparation for the future begins, as education is the cornerstone of the future and success. From here, homeschooling is considered an effective way of learning. In fact, I believe that homeschooling is an adequate way of educating minds as it has numerous advantages be it social, psychological and academic.

To start with, homeschooling is socially advantageous. First, although some researches prove homeschooling anti-social, however, many studies, including ones in which homeschoolers scored better than public school students on the Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale, have proven these researchers wrong, proving instead that homeschoolers are just as socially competent as public-school students, if not more so.  Several studies found no significant difference in the social skills of homeschooled and non-homeschooled students. Other studies found that homeschooled children score significantly higher on social development rating scales/questionnaires. For instance, one study using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale, a well-tested diagnostic tool for measuring communication and daily living skills, found that homeschooled students substantially outperformed traditionally schooled students. The average overall score for the homeschooled children on communication, daily living skills, socialization, and social maturity subscales was higher than that of non-homeschooled ones.

Another advantage of homeschooling is psychological. Homeschooling tends to keep students away from social problems. Bullying is a very widespread problem that homeschooled children won't face. Psychologists claim that bullying is a threat to the student's confidence and performance, they prefer homeschooling as it won't expose children to this threat. As studies claim that 58.9% of adults who were homeschooled are "very happy" with life, and 73.2% find life "exciting".  Another example is Julie, a homeschooled girl, who when asked about her feelings about being homeschooled said:" Compared my year of experience in a public school, I can see almost no negative side to homeschooling. After being homeschooled, I felt confident as I avoided an environment of feeling unloved and felt I had no friends. I also had better attention during work as I hung up on what my peers think about me, I also felt gratitude towards my parents for pulling me out of school as I disliked school and felt rejected and unloved most of the time I was there. Serenity and Hope as when at home, I was no longer stressed, and I didn’t have to put on a fake face to fit in with my peers. I now had hope that life would be cheerful every day as I LOVED spending time with my new best friends, my parents, and my brothers. In addition to that, I felt freer in nature than in the classroom. and love, through homeschooling, I relied on more emotions which can be encompassed by the word love. I loved others more. By comparison, my school felt like a fight, and I constantly dealt with feelings of dislike and negative psychological effects as I struggled throughout the day."  

In the third place, homeschooling effects students academically. Most people are afraid of homeschooling as of its academic outcomes. Yet studies show that homeschooled children achieve levels of academic achievement similar to or higher than their publicly schooled peers. These results cut across racial and socio-economic lines. Numerous studies demonstrate that homeschooled students obtain exceptionally high scores on standardized academic achievement tests. For instance, one nationwide study analyzed data from 1,952 homeschooled students across the country and found that the students, on average, scored at the eightieth percentile or higher in every test category, reading, listening, language, math, science, social studies, study skills. The national mean for these standardized tests, by contrast, was the 50th percentile. Numerous other studies have comparable results. For example, two other national studies also found that homeschooled students excelled academically. A nationwide study of 20,760 homeschooled students in grade levels K-12 found the median standardized test scores to be in the 70th to 80th percentile. State-level studies have reached the same conclusion. A study in Washington State involving the Stanford Achievement Test scores of 873 homeschooled children found their median test scores to be in the 65th to 66th percentile range. In fact, several studies which were conducted at state departments of education found that homeschooled students score highly on academic achievement tests.

All in all, homeschooling is beneficial as it keeps children away from social problems, makes their psychological state better, and tends to higher their academic scores. It is crystal clear that homeschooling has an effective outcome on students’ life. Thus, parents should think again about homeschooling, and consider applying it seriously rather than ignoring its benefit and importance in our lives.