I was home schooled from 2nd grade to 5th grade. I would have been home schooled longer, but my mom had to get a second job. I am also a teacher (HS English) so my opinions come from both sides. The following are rebuttals to common arguments against home schooling.

1) HOMESCHOOLING PROHIBITS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIALIZATION.

>>>School should NOT be the primary method of socialization. I hate when people say that children should socialize at school. School is not about socializing. It is a structured environment meant for learning. Because so many parents think that students should socialize in school, emphasis has been taken off academics and placed on social skills. Social skills are taught at home, in the community, and through activities outside the classroom. Think about it, when was the last time you had to raise your hand to speak to your friends?

I was home schooled and learned to socialize very well. I was in a youth group, girl scouts, and I had neighborhood friends. I was not a recluse.

2) CHILDREN WILL NOT LEARN EVERYTHING THAT THEY NEED TO KNOW.

>>> Children spend 45-50 minutes a day in a subject class. This is by no means enough time to learn everything. Parents should be supplementing this learning with in-home learning to help children become skilled in the academics subjects. The responsibility of the teacher is to present knowledge in a basic level so that the child understands it, but parents have to ensure that the children practice it. The time between the end of school and the start of school the next day is enough time to forget. If this time is used wisely, it can enable kids to become masters of a skill.

In the home school setting, you do not have these problems (time constraints) because if you notice that "Suzie" needs more time on writing, you can give it to her without interrupting the day or ignoring the others.

3. PARENTS WHO ARE NOT COLLEGE EDUCATED CANNOT HOMESCHOOL.

>>> Parents do not have to be college educated, but do have to be resourceful. This is true in both the home school environment and the non-home school environment. If you are home schooling, it helps to have graduated high school as you do need a basic working knowledge of the subjects, but when you do decide to home school, there are SO many resources available for you. You just have to be willing to look for them and use them. Many times, you can hook up with your neighborhood school and use their curriculum. Alternatively,

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