There are alot of myths about homeschooling out there. I think they've been debunked more often now that homeschooling has become so popular, but they're still out there. I've even heard some of these in the past four years that I've been homeschooled! So, with the help of my own experience, researching online, and asking some homeschooled writing friends, I've gotten to compile a list of common myths about homeschooling. Here they are! 1) Homeschoolers are socially awkward and have no friends.This one is so false though! By being homeschooled, we have the opportunity to be around all sorts of people by doing things during the day like attending homeschool groups, participating in clubs like 4-h, taking classes outside our home, volunteering in church ministry or in the public, or having a part-time job. We can also join after-school programs or sports teams. Homeschooling can actually give us the opportunity to be even more socialized than those who go to school, because we tend to have more opportunity to be around people of all different ages. 2) Homeschoolers don't like being homeschooled. I can think of three people right now that didn't/don't like being homeschooled, and I know alot more homeschoolers than three! Each of those three were also kids that went to school at first and began homeschooling when they were older (like I did). Most homeschoolers that I've met like being homeschooled and don't sit around wishing they could go to public school. Homeschooling is just alot of fun. We tend to love being able to learn in our own style; know our siblings well; and go out in the middle of the day to do things like going on field trips, volunteering places, or going to the park. 3) It's expensive.
4) Parents can't teach advanced classes. Homeschool parents aren't always the most confident in their teaching skills. Things can get even more tricky when it comes to middle school and high school classes. Something about a teacher with a degree gives people confidence. But, speaking as a high school homeschooler, my parents know me better than a teacher at school would. They can better match things to how I like to learn, which gives them an advantage that a teacher often doesn't have or can't take because of needing to focus on the other students as well. Combine this advantage parents have with the fact that there are so many resources out there to help with advanced classes (including friends or family who specialize in certain areas) and homeschoolers can have pretty awesome classes, even if their parents don't know hardly anything about the topic. 5) Homeschoolers are disadvantaged at college or in the workforce.
6) They are behind in learning compared to other kids their age. Statistically, it is actually quite the opposite! I won't get into all the statistics and all, but it is interesting to read about if you want to explore that topic online. Being able to learn from someone who is able to focus on you and the way you learn can help tremendously when it comes to how well you do learning and retaining material. 7) Homeschoolers are nerds. 8) Homeschoolers are lazy and have no schedule to their day. The lack of a schedule can be seen as a pro to homeschooling, but in reality, it doesn't really work that well. I can't think of a single homeschooler I know right now that isn't trying to make their school smooth through the use of a schedule. Homeschoolers tend to be busy people (sometimes that can become a problem that we have to control!) who have to have the self-discipline to manage their schedules and get their school done while doing the extracurricular things that they still want to do. 9) They can't form a line or a circle. Okay, this one might be true in some cases. I asked in a group with some other homeschoolers about what came to their mind when they thought of homeschooling myths, and this was one that got mentioned. It's not necessarily that homeschoolers can't though. It's more that they just don't usually do it and might find it to be more awkward or to take more effort. But I don't think this one really contributes much to college or job success, do you? ;P 10) Homeschoolers just read from books all day to learn. 11) Homeschooling takes too much time. Homeschooling can be just as short or as long as you want to make it, as long as everyone is still learning what they need to learn. Some families take just as long as a traditional school day, others take longer than a traditional school day, and still others may choose to focus on it for three or four hours and then pour time into other things. How long it takes is really up to you. Have you ever heard these homeschooling myths? Are there any others that you've wondered about or have heard someone else discussing?
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