Reasons people homeschool

What are some reasons people homeschool?

Let’s explore the reasons people homeschool. This article does quite a bit of comparison to public schools. My oldest daughter did a little bit of public school. In addition, my husband and I were both completely educated via public school. Of course I feel the need to include the disclaimer that these are mostly just my opinions and experiences and not everything here will be true for everyone.

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1. Freedom

Really, what most of the reasons on this list come down to is freedom! The freedom to choose the why, who, how, when, where and what! You have the freedom to choose.

While every state is different and some more demanding in their requirements of homeschoolers, in the end, you get to choose what it means to educate your children. Be sure to research your state’s requirements to know exactly what’s required.

2. A better education.

Statistics show that the average homeschooled child tends to score higher on standardized tests than their average public school peers.

As a homeschooling parent this might be at the top of your list of reasons people homeschool! You are involved in every step of your child’s education. You have the flexibility to move at your own pace. If your student isn’t understanding a topic you will know it and get to spend more time and even change the way its being taught until your child fully grasps the concept! On the other hand, a homeschooled child is not held back if they are ready to advance to the next lesson! In public school, children tend to get pushed into the next lesson before they fully grasp the current lesson, and children who grasped the lesson quickly get held back while they wait for the rest of the class to catch up.

Homeschoolers also get to follow their interests! Is your child is interested in space, bugs, rocks, etc? They get to dive deep into that subject! And you can learn so much from each of those. For example my kids love hunting for pretty rocks. If we wanted, we could dive into what rocks are made of, different rocks that exist in different areas of the world, how archeologist use rock beds and fossils to identify the age of artifacts found, we could go on a hike to scout for interesting rocks, and so much more!

Homeschooling parents get to choose the content that they teach their parents, and they get to choose the way that it is taught. Parents of public schooled children do not get this control.

3. Socialization

Yes, this is a huge buzz word involving the homeschool world. It’s a common misconception that homeschooled kids are “unsocialized”. I don’t believe this to be true in the slightest.

Homeschoolers get to choose who they socialize with. They get to choose the way they socialize. Most homeschool children get most of their socialization with a much wider age group than those of public school.

Homeschooled children learn how to properly interact with adults and kids who are older, younger and the same age as them. Many public school kids are confined to socialize with kids in their grade, a few teachers, and family members at home.

Check out: Ways to Socialize Your Homeschooler

(View my “10 Homeschool Myths and Misconceptions” article if you want to know more socialization and other homeschooling myths and misconceptions).

4. Schedule Flexibility

Do whatcha want, when you want!

Where I live, in a small Nevada rural town, we live 3 hours away from the nearest city. We frequent this city for things like shopping, doctor appointments, and visiting family. When my oldest was in school it was really difficult to attend doctors appointments, or visit family. Now we can pick up and go any day any time.

Another schedule flexibility benefit is being able to go places when everyone else is in school! Imagine going to Disneyland during the “off season”, or to the public pool. We love softball here and so we love to go practice at the fields when all the kids are in school and we don’t have to fight for field time.

5. Safety and privacy

With the current state of the country I don’t blame people for feeling uneasy about sending their children to public school. There are fears involving illnesses, student harm, inappropriate education, and mental stability in schools. When you homeschool you get to greatly monitor those things and protect your children from harm. You get to choose when and how to expose your children to the harsh realities of the world, and you have the opportunity to discuss these things with your children so that they can understand them in a healthy way.

Plenty of homeschoolers like to live private lives. If the family is struggling with things, for example, a loss in the family, they don’t have to share this info for the entire school to know.

6. Illnesses

I am not a fan of the idea that kids in school sit confined in a class with 20+ kids coughing, picking their noses and then touching each other all day. When my daughter went to school she was constantly sick. I couldn’t choose to keep her home just because she had a cold. She would have missed too much school, gotten behind in her education, and probably resulted in been taken to court for truancy. Also, I remember telling her to ask her teacher if she can wash her hands after recess. She said her teacher didn’t let them wash their hands because they didn’t have time.

Some children have specific health needs and concerns. Therefore, homeschooling isn’t just a benefit, but a necessity for some families.

I believe we need germs and illnesses to build our immune systems and grow into healthy adults. Homeschoolers do still get sick! They have plenty of opportunities to build a great immune system. They just don’t tend to get every single illness that floats through the schools.

7. Bullying

When thinking of reasons people homeschool, bullying may be a big reason that comes to mind. Some people homeschool because they don’t want the chance for their children to experience bullying.

Bullying has become a real problem in schools now days. I’m not going to tell you that it absolutely wouldn’t happen in homeschool groups either. But, I will tell you that homeschool parents are usually nearby most of the time. Most parents have no problem correcting our children or other peoples children when we witness bullying. Home schoolers have the opportunity to nip bullying in the butt before it becomes a big issue. We can also help teach the children how to be mindful and respectful of others.

I have heard of public school parents not even knowing their child was bullied until it had been going on for so long. I’ve heard the same for parents whose children were bullying others. They had no idea and therefore didn’t have a chance to intervene early.

8. Raising their children in faith

While this really wasn’t at the top of my personal reasons to homeschool, I know it is number one for so many people and the reasons why people homeschool.

People want to be able to homeschool in a way that includes their faith. For many families, they like to put God at the center or everything they do, and this includes their children’s education!

9. Family Relationships.

I think it’s pretty fair to say that homeschool parents care deeply about their relationship with their children. I have heard of many homeschooling parents feel like public school can potentially put a divide between them and their children. The children spend less time with their family and more time around children whose families have different world views than theirs.

Not to mention that many parents have very little of an idea of what happens to their children while they’re away. I can only truly speak to my experiences and I definitely felt a divide while my oldest spent time away at school. Her attitude became more negative, and she didn’t enjoy spending time with the family as much as before.

Homeschool families spend a significant amount of time together, and so they tend to have strong family bonds.

10. Location

Location, location, location. Choose any of them!

There are many different places people homeschool! Whether it be somewhere in their home, on the road, in another country, or in groups with other homeschoolers. You get to choose where you homeschool!

Some families travel due to their jobs, for example a military family, or traveling nurse. Many parents don’t want their children to have the experience of being pulled in and out of school. If that’s the case homeschooling becomes a great option for them!