Is homeschooling children a good idea in Canada?

Question

I need the to arguments against this idea, as a essay.

Answer 1

Not a good idea anywhere.  What parent has the knowledge in all areas that can compete with teachers who specialize in their subjects.  Also, a big part of school is learning socialization skills and extracurricular activities.

Answer 2

Why would homeschooling in Canada be any different than elsewhere? (I'm very puzzled over that.)

Unfortunately, you're going to be hard-pressed to find truly good reasons against. The only things against homeschooling you could come up with would be to give examples of specific types of families who shouldn't homeschool: abusive, neglectful, mental disorders, etc. If your essay is covering both sides, you could bring in the arguments anti-homeschoolers come up with (lack of socialization, parent isn't qualified, kids don't fit in, blah blah blah) and point out how those arguments against homeschooling aren't accurate.

For example, take this answer:

"Not a good idea anywhere. What parent has the knowledge in all areas that can compete with teachers who specialize in their subjects. Also, a big part of school is learning socialization skills and extracurricular activities."

First of all, no teacher "has the knowledge" in all areas or even complete knowledge in the subject s/he teaches. A beginning teacher will be very shaky and will have to rely follow the texts that the government or district expects him/her to use. My own husband taught jr. high science for over 5 years, although he didn't take a single science course in university. My grade 12 math teacher gave us a practice exam for our year-end government test and he wasn't even able to do some of the questions.

As for the "socialization skills", that would actually mean skills someone has to socialize someone else (to help that person adopt the behavioural norms around them). Most homeschoolers have no problems with socialization. They are guided by their parents, they participate in a variety of activities (which also cancels out the argument that school is about extracurriculars--which just in itself is a ridiculous argument because many kids don't participate in extracurriculars), have friends, do things. At least one study has shown that homeschooled kids on average participate in more activities than do their schooled counterparts. They are also more likely to volunteer and less likely to be academically behind.

For further help in showing how the arguments against homeschooling are faulty, check out http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.... . Keep in mind that this is an organization that has no particular interest in supporting or bashing homeschooling. They evaluate all kinds of educational things and are even setting up a program to help low-income kids attend private schools. So, they really have no agenda when it comes to the research put together on homeschooling.

Answer 3

I agree with glurpy.  You will not find honest, good arguments against homeschooling except for the fact that it isn't for everyone.

Homeschooling is great for those that are committed to it.   It's not great for those that think it's the easy way out or for those that aren't going to jump in 100%.

We started homeschooling over 4 years ago, in Canada, and it's the best thing we ever did.