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There is something to be said for HOME SCHOOLING.

I am teaching a college class now in which I have one student who is the best: listens, responds, shows a sense of humor, comes to class, is friendly, polite, and at ease. What do I learn just recently? He is home-schooled.

Whenever you hear the worry that "home-schooled children may not get proper socialization," think twice. All the home-schooled kids I have known are better socialized than the average, because they are accustomed to associating with people of different ages. They usually play with other kids, and they actually have enjoyed more free time. They have learned from people they know, in a familiar environment. They excel in social skills even more than at academics. They impress me as being normal, happy people. They have parents who really care enough to put in their own time and effort on their children's welfare. The children get the message that education counts, because it is what their parents do for them.

There may be exceptions, but I think that home-schooling is a good system, if you can manage the sacrifices it requires.

Of course, being home-schooled is an evidence of unusual interest on the part of your parents. The parents of home-schoolers are not the average: they are strongly motivated and dedicated. It is clearly possible to be like that, and (for any parents reading this), you could be that way, too.

The best way to get into home-schooling is to form a group with other home-schooling parents. It is not an anti-social endeavor, but just the opposite: a socially superior way of teaching, and of raising children

Give it some thought!

Your reply about home schooled kids hit the nail right on the head.

I used to be part of the junior high ministry at my church for many years. I had a number of boys who were home schooled. Every last one of them was well behaved (even more than their leader). They all related well with the other kids around them. In fact, I'd say that most of my home schooled guys were the leaders of our groups, in that they were more confident in who they were. Other kids would pick up on that, and follow them.

I had one guy who when he was in 6th grade would talk to the other adult leaders, and they were all amazed at the maturity he displayed.

Nothing matches the TIME a parent invests in a child. First and foremost a child knows they are loved. After that everything else begins to fit right in. The lessons of life that are then taught, stick. Why? Because they see them displayed in Mom and Dads life day in and day out.

Very encouraging words, thank you.
We homeschool. Any parent who thinks they can't do it, should look at us. I'm not young and energetic, not well-to-do. Heck, I'm not even healthy and was born lazy. And the husband has been in his grave many years now, so this is single-handed homeschooling. Yet my 11-year-old, no genius by my reckoning, is reading and writing at college level, and in math and science at high school level. The child has excellent manners, creativity, common sense, graciousness---and is a good conservative to boot. :)

My point is that if I can do it, anybody can. There are really just two ingredients: love for the child, and the love of learning. Every thing I know is like a jewel I have treasured all the while, waiting to convey it to my baby, who accepts it in the same spirit.

There is no sacrifice here. What's more important than one's children?

There is something to be said for HOME SCHOOLING.

Great post. As a home educator, I appreciate your professional perspective. FWIW, however, I have come to prefer "Home education" to "home schooling". After all, the school and its accompanying philosophy and forms are the things that home educators are out to avoid. Why, then, would we bring the kids home and then impose those same limiting forms upon them? There are aspects of school, like responding to bells, and staying in your desk unless you have to go to the restroom, that have no place in genuine education. I submit for your research the name "John Taylor Gatto", three-time New York City Teacher of the Year and author of "A Different Kind of School".

As to your closing admonishment to "Give it some thought," I'll see you and raise you a hearty "Make it so!"

"All the home-schooled kids I have known are better socialized than the average, because they are accustomed to associating with people of different ages."

I suspect the success of their socialization has a lot to do with their affiliation with a church, family, and community. The children pick up moral as well as social cues from their surroundings. (Not to mention, the type of parents might have better genes?)

The problem with the public school system is not only its lack of religion, but its use as a substitute for family and community. The teachers are clueless as to how to morally instruct children, and the children have few satisfactory adults to emulate, only their peer group.

The effects has been devastating. Public high schools are producing professional teenagers. They are little more than highly sexualized mannequins. Little wonder they turn to deviancy, or let themselves be misled by the homosexual agenda.