Curious about homeschooling?

Question

i would like to know if most homeschooled children are from religious homes? i would like to know from homeschooled children if they feel they are better or worse educated than their regularly schooled counterparts, and whether homeschooling satisfies the social aspect regular school affords? pretty much any information on your homeschooling experience would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

according to studies, about 70% of homeschooling parents cited religious reasons, but also 68% cited inadequate academia in public schools.

We have a faith in our home, but we are not homeschooling for that reason, and we don't study religion as part of our homeschooling.

My son in particular feels that he is better educated, mostly because he is allowed to learn what he is interested in, and is finding relation in between topics (such as programming computers and history and math and sociology and how they are all interconnected)

All of my children are quite pleased with their social aspect of schooling, we have a large variety of friends, and are out of the home nearly every day of the week for different clubs, classes and groups.

After five years in the public school system, we're all happy to be home.

Answer 2

Although, I am Christian, my decision to homeschool has nothing to do with religion. In fact, I prefer that my son's homeschool experience be rooted in academics, not religion.

My primary goal, is to provide my son with a stimulating, well rounded learning experience. As for the social aspect, it will be my job to get him out to participate in extra-curricular activities. I don't want him to be socially stunted and think it's important that he is comfortable dealing with his peers in a variety of social settings.

Answer 3

I think that it is horrible that most people's opinion of homeschoolers is that they are religious people. I homeschool both of my young children (5 and 3) and we are not religious. Our reasons for homeschooling have everything to do with the problems associated with brick @mortar schools, not religion.

We have two very bright children (our 5 year old is at a 2nd grade level) and we use the k12.com curriculium. We every other week go on field trips with other children that are homeschooled, my children are learning Spanish and Norwiegen, they spend a lot of time with extended family who they learn from, etc.

Our children do not have to go through the problems that are associated with 'schooled' children...they don't have to worry about peer pressure, fights, social circles, etc.

My children despite thier ages have no issues carrying on a conversation with adults and teenagers. I spend 4 hours a day working on the curriculum and the rest of my day working with them on life skills.

I feel that by homeschooling our children we are doing them a favor. If you look at the conditions of public schools today and also look at how the majority of children either have obesity issues, are getting into legal issues, or are otherwise turning into what I believe to be a frightful generation (no offense to those that are teenagers, but statistically...). We feel that schools have become nothing more than large daycare facilities that are out of control. So in that aspect, I feel that our children are more educated than their schooled peers.

Answer 4

I am starting my senior year in college and feel like I was much better prepared than most of my peers.  

I was homeschooled K-12.  We chose to homeschool for religious reasons, better acedemic chances/choices, and to get away from the public school social scene.  Starting in 6Th grade it was completely my choice,  because my parents asked every semester if I wanted to go to school but I never did and I definitely made the right decision.  

Instead of seeing the same kids (in the same age group) everyday for 12+ years, I got to interact with many different age groups.  Ballet had girls in similar grades, violin had kids anywhere from 3 yrs old to HS seniors, and orchestra had 7Th through 12Th graders.  There was also youthgroup/church, working on political campaigns (so much fun!) summer camps, running errands, volunteering, jobs, and playing with kids that lived on my street.  Many homeschoolers argue that they are more 'socialized' than kids in school!  One year I over-scheduled myself and ended up doing lots of my school work in the car.  (Mom made sure I cut back a little the next year.)  When it came time to graduate HS I was in a huge homeschool graduation ceremony with all my friends (125 of us) and graduated with a certified diploma and my GED.  

Colleges love homeschoolers and recruit them like mad.  All my college teachers call on me in discussions because they know I will have a different perspective than everyone else in the class.  While homeschooling isn't for everyone, my brother chose to go to school grades 9-10, I loved every minute of it and feel it more than prepared me for college and beyond.

Answer 5

Well...I'm in grade 12 and i've been homeschooled since kindergarten. My family are Christians and that 's a big reason why I'm homescooled, although not the only reason. By not going to public school, I am able to avoid peer pressure to drink, do drugs, etc. But that doesn't mean I don't/can't have any friends. I am able to be involved in youth groups, sports, extra classes, vlounteer, etc. I've also worked 20+ hours a week since I was 14. My homeschooling allowed me to work mornings for a while (which helped me get a management position) and also allowed me to greater availibility and flexibility than most other kids. I fell than I've had a better education than if I had gone to public school, but I don't think this is true for all homeschooled students-a lot depends on the curriculm.

So, all in all, I appreciate that I've been homeschooled and I feel that I was benefited from it. If I could go back and do it over again, I would do it exactly the same way.

Answer 6

I'm 15 and one of 9 siblings, all of whom are or will be home educated (the bub's only 6 months old so he's still a bit young!).

No, our's is not a religious home.

No I don't believe I am better educated than my 'regularly schooled counterparts' (in my country anyway. That doesn't stop me cringing at the skills [or lack thereof] displayed here at times by kids my age from schools in other countries!).

I do however believe that being home educated (actually we are unschoolers) prepares me far better for what lies in my own personal future than any conventional school could or would; if only because conventional schools in my country are heavily biased towards meeting the needs of city based kids who will grow up to live "city based" lives...and that isn't me.

No, I don't miss out socially despite being home educated and despite living a two hour drive from the closest town. I volunteer at our local hospital and the old folks' home; I help teach swimming to the litle kids at their swim camp; I help out on a neighbour's property; I compete in sport at State level; I belong to CCF, Young Farmers and Venture Scouts; my parents are constantly complaining that I do "too much". I have many friends of all different ages from 5 - 105 including many of the other home educated kids up here...there being no schools up here and the only other option to homeschooling for kids in my world being to go away to boarding school (or simply to forego Western society's idea of an education).

Answer 7

Most human children are from religious homes so it stands to reason that most homeschooled children would be. It may come as a shock to many people, but homeschoolers are members of Homo Sapiens just like schoolers.

My father is a minister's kid turned atheist, my mother's some sort of Buddhisty thing, I'm an apathetic atheist, and I don't know what my sister is. My dad was raised Christian and my mother was raised Jewish, so when they had kids they didn't have a shared belief to raise us in. My house has always been religiously neutral, we have copies of the Bible, Torah, Gita, and a psalm book -hoping to add a Q'ran soon- and if I felt a calling towards any religion my family would support me. Just thought I'd clear that up.

I think that right now, my education is way better in most places, about average in some and below average in one aspect. I've never been able to find an interesting science class, even though I'm interested in science. My scientific education is basically a solid understanding of evolution and a lot of bits and pieces. However, I'm working on that so I'll be back to average soon. I'm at 'grade level' in math and in everything else, I've tested at college level or above. My education has been self-guided all the way through.

Sometimes I've stopped making the -really miniscule- effort to socialize and ended up lying around all day feeling sorry for myself. When that happens I'm usually pretty miserable, but the vast majority of the time I'm just as social as anyone else. Homeschoolers have perfectly adequate socialization. Those of us who aren't local-newsworthy, that is.

Answer 8

We are non-religious homeschoolers.  We belong to a large diverse group of area homeschoolers that has members of many different religions, and non-religious members.  My daughter is profoundly gifted and is much better educated at home at her own pace and depth.    She has a very active social life with other hs'ed kids as well as kids in school.  A big advantage to hs'ing is that the kids don't feel obligated to only hang out with kids within 12 months of their age.  She can discuss books, games, and websites she loves with kids 3 to 4 years older, and then run around and play pretend with kids her age.  She is not riduculed for loving math and seeing mathematical relationships in the world around her.  She feels bad that kids in school have to hang out with a set group based on age and not learn things at their own pace and hang out with all different kinds of kids.

Answer 9

1.  The majority of homeschooled students are from Christian homes, but not all are. Many are from homes with other religions or no religion.

2.   Every study that has been done has shown that homeschooling produces better academic results than does classroom schooling.

3.   Homeschooling can provide all the social interaction children need. It takes more effort, because it is not built in, but there are plenty of options for homeschoolers to interact with other kids.

Answer 10

i love homeschooling i don't get bored (i am a quick learner) i can stay up as late as i want and i can go to school in my pjs. i am very social and take dance classes and i act, that is how i meet lots of people, oh yeah and i am a jew (please no anti sematism) but not very religeos (please exuse the spelling for i am very tierd)

Answer 11

I am, and many kids I know have been. I have been home schooled all of my school life, I am now a sophomore in high school, although I am in some classes ahead of my grade level, I do plan on attending public school my senior year, mainly for the expereince, and at the same take a few college courses, I think that over all being home schooled has helped me more then hurt me. I am not a social butterfly, but I am not a snail, hidden in a shell either, I go to dances, games, and today I took the PSAT with other kids. I am no more socially lacking then anyone else, despite what everyone else thinks, and by being home schooled I have seen without doing many of the problems in school, such as s*x, last year a 9th grade girl was pregnant, because schools say this kind of stuff is alright, it happens.

Answer 12

I'm Very highly for homeschooling. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I'm unusually acedemically gifted (though I am as absentminded as they come! :D)

I went to regular school up until 6th grade. Though I did well enough in early elementary (aside from having zero social luck), in later years I had immense trouble. I was even refered to a psychologist to assist with my learning difficulties. It was he who discovered I'm actually highly intelligent.

From that I was put in advanced classes where I did better, but my rather chaotic mind still didn't do fantastic. By middle school, I begged my mother for some kind of alternative. Between my wretched social life, and learning styles which were problematic, school life was h**l.

As a result, my parents did some research and made some sacrifices, and I was homeschooled. My schooling was carefully tailored to my unique learning styles and I raced up the ladders. By end of what should have been 7th grade, I was high school level in most things, by end of 8th grade I had completed highschool levels in most things. By the time I was 16 years old, I entered college (I got in via the dual enrollment program, they allowed my homeschool as meeting the highschool criteria.) I was known as the "kid genius" and did extraordinarily well. I had enough training in learning in general to, being much older, apply it to the teaching style in college.

If it weren't for the freedom of homeschooling, I would have stayed a below average student probably the bulk of my school years and not done nearly as well. I nearly had my associate's degree by age 18.

My family is Christian, and while they did teach me of religion along with school stuff, it didn't interfere with my learnings... as my tests show!

As far as social... we went to a nice church every sunday, and I got to know a lot of the kids there. And my parents were happy to make the sacrifices needed for my social life... they'd drive me to friend's homes, take me to the park, all sorts of things.

I wasn't just homeschooled, I was homeschooled well... it really requires a lot of effort and sacrifice from the parents to do it right. If they just expect it to happen on its own, it won't.

Answer 13

Although I am new to homeschooling my experience has been that it is a real mix of families as far as religion influencing this decisicion.  I too thought it was mostly religious fanatics.  But I discovered there are many other kinds of people out there, some that have no religious affiliation at all.  They just choose to be the ones more in control of what their children are learning.  My experience has been that homeschooled children are better educated for several reasons:

1.  Parent has a stronger vested interest for child(ren) to excel

2.  Curriculum can be tailored to child in order to excel by choosing programs that suit their learning styles.

3.  If child is struggling, they are not lost in a classroom of 30 other children.

4.  Learning can go as quickly or as slowly as needed.

5.  Learning experience is more flexible. ie: it can be more or less structured; it can include lots of field trips if child is more of a hands on learner; it allows for more quality family time.

6.  I have met many of these kids and they are all very sharp and well rounded.

As far as the social aspect-the answer depends on what you want your children to learn "socially".    Just being around other kids is not always the best thing if those kids are not a positive influence.  The social question always comes up.  But there are so many social opportunities for my children that we need to say no to a lot of things.  There are lots of homeschool groups that take care of this "challenge" and when you find one that matches your value system it is ideal.  Then you have your kids socializing with the kind of other kids you want them to be around.  Generally, these kids will not be "mean" or make fun of each other, which is a big issue in public and even private schools.

I had my kids in a couple different private schools and public school before finally making the decision to homeschool.  The experience here even runs the gamit.  Even with small class sizes and being told that these were "good" schools, I can't believe what my daughter had not gotten in the way of schooling when I started teaching her.  I think I put a lot of trust where I shouldn't have.  Only when I was the one doing the grading and guiding did I discover some of this.  And, believe me, I was involved before I homeschooled.  Some things you just can't pick up on until you are the one calling the shots.  Hope this helps!

Answer 14

Home school students are better prepared academically for college.  The average homeschool 8th grade student performs four grade levels above the national average (Rudner study). If they are also given the chance to attend church, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, karate, sports, gymnastics etc., they will also be prepared socially.

Answer 15

I am from a christian home and that played a role in my parent's decision to homeschool me.

I believe I received a very good education at a fraction of the cost of public school.  For a time we lived across the street from the library and I could read several books on each topic I was studying.  At that time I was in 7th grade, and read many adult books.

I really enjoyed being homeschooled.  I still had a few friends, and I wrote letters and saw them at church functions.  The best part of the social aspect for me, was that I was able to associate more with older girls, not just my grade level, so I had a lot of time to spend with my role models.

I believe it was a great blessing to be homeschooled.  I am even homeschooling my own children now.

I was reading some interesting statistics on the reasons people homeschool and the results at the following link earlier today.

Answer 16

I am for both religious an non! I feel much better educated amd I skipped a grade! I am Highly Socialized!

I Live homeschool it gives you So much freedom and it is alot of fun!

Answer 17

Most of the population ties itself to having some sort of religion, regardless of where the children go to school.

As for us, while we are Catholic, I wouldn't say we are very religious. We go to Mass, have nighttime prayers, talk about stuff here and there, but it's not the focus of our homeschooling.

My kids have only been homeschooled and wouldn't be able to give you the comparison. My 10yo dd has a better academic level than most other 10yos in her reading and writing and general math abilities, but she still hasn't mastered her multiplication tables (hasn't really spent a whole lot of time on it yet because she's been more interested in learning integers and beginning algebra). Is she behind her school counterparts because of not knowing her times tables? Or is she ahead because of the other stuff she's done? It's an impossible comparison because most school topics don't have to follow a singular sequence.

If you mean teens or adults, it's still a difficult comparison. I could take my own public school experience and say, "If I'd been homeschooled/private schooled, I could have done this, this and this," but there's no way of knowing that I actually would have done that, that and that. Statistically, homeschooled kids are usually stronger on standardized tests. However, marks are only a sign of academic education and not character, persistence, self-discipline and other things that most homeschoolers, even if they aren't strong academically, do develop.

Homeschooling can satisfy the social aspects if you make sure it does. I'm so tired of hearing from homeschooled students in here who complain about not having had any friends when they were homeschooled. Either they didn't make enough of a fuss to their parents to get social activities going or their parents neglected that aspect. It's not homeschooling itself but HOW the homeschooling was done. My children have friends and don't ever complain for a lack of social activity. We do a LOT of stuff.

In terms of "satisfies the social aspect regular school affords?" I'd have to say that my 'social aspect' in high school was woefully pitiful and the social aspects of school now are the primary reasons we don't want our kids in school. To assume that 'regular' school automatically affords a positive social aspect is to ignore how many kids in school don't fit in or just aren't that social to begin with as well as ignoring the nature of the social aspect in itself.