Homeschooling vs. Public Schooling

In our nation education is required until a certain age. If children aren't in school their parents will get in a lot of legal trouble and could even end up in jail. I have always been taught that education is the most important thing. Going to school not only gives you an education, it also teaches you very important social skills.

A girl on my hockey team is home-schooled but she is surprisingly very normal. You would have never guessed that she has never gone to a public, or private, school. But this isn't that case for other home-schooled kids. I've meet some home-schooled kids that are very awkward and they seem nervous about social interaction. Going to school with other kids teaches you how to make friends and how to meet new people. Home-schooled kids don't get this daily interaction.

Another aspect about homeschooling that I believe is unfair to the kids is the fact that the parents will most likely not be able to teach challenging courses as the kids get older. It is very important to be challenged academically, especially when we reach high school. The kids won't get the full experience of taking an AP class or doing labs in science that involve expensive equipment. I think this is an injustice to the kids.

Most of the home-schooled kids I've meet with said that their parents decided to homeschool them because they didn't like the school systems or that their kids were being bullied. I totally understand were they are coming from but if a school doesn't do something about bullying than it probably isn't that great of school anyway. And if you don't like how a school is ran, there are thousands of other schools. You are bound to find one that works.

Overall, I respect the parents decision to homeschool their kids. But this raises the question; Does homeschooling hurt your child more than benefiting them? I believe that it is important to experience social interaction and also get the best education possible and I think this can only be achieved by going to a public or private school. We are lucky to live in country were education is strongly supported and we don't have to pay that much for the amount we receive. So I think everyone should take advantage of this opportunity.