April 11, 2013
Home schooling is an education system which provides child’s
main education program at home. Home schooling takes the place of full-time
school attendance. In the United States and Canada, it usually meets state
requirements for compulsory education. Although home schooling could achieve
the objectives of compulsory education, there are some points that should be
noticed from the home schooling.
First, the idea of taking our children’s education on home
schooling can be a bit intimidating. Since our country is so large and the
people are from so many different kinds of backgrounds, students need some kind
of social glue to make them stick together and to give them a sense of unity in
spite of all the differences. They will not get such a unity when they are in
home schooling. They will get the sense of unity when they are in the
compulsory public schools since it is the easiest and best places to make this
glue.
Then, the home schooling may not be able to prepare children
to fit into the mass society, which means, among other things, believing what
most people believe and liking what most people like. Or it may not be able to
help children to find a set of values with which they could resist and reject
at least many of the values of the mass society.
Recognizing the lack of home schooling in the case of
children’s socialization opportunity, we should afford them abundant social
opportunities. We can have active home school support groups. We can hold
ongoing park days, meetings at the zoo, the science museum, book clubs, history
clubs, language clubs, home school scouting troops and many more options to
provide them opportunities to socialize with others.
