Things Homeschoolers Cannot Teach their Kids

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

08 Dec 2006 10:42 AM

Yes, there are things homeschoolers cannot teach their kids. After all, homeshoolers are just parents, and parents are just individuals with a limited knowledge bank. There will be holes left in the educational process when education is left to the parents. Here is a list of things that homeshoolers cannot teach their kids.

Homeschoolers cannot teach children to be followers.

Just the act of homeschooling alone is one that takes independent thought. Parents are not doing what everybody else is. Instead, they are beating their own drum, and following their own path. By this example, the children will learn that it is OK to create your own destiny and to be a distinct individual. Leaders get a lot further in life than followers.

Homeschoolers cannot teach children to be tolerant of other races.

It is often argued that bigoted homeschoolers pass their misguided ideals to their children. There is some truth in that. However, the truth is that bigoted parents pass down their misguided ideals to their children. The argument that being around other children will dilute what the child has learned may work in some cases, but from my experience, I have witnessed that it reinforces what parents have taught. Like minds tend to gravitate toward each other and stick together. These misguided children are able to join ranks and victimize kids who are different from them. Therefore, bigoted children are not a unique product of homeschooling, but of ignorant parents in general. Instead of teaching children to be tolerant of other races, homeschoolers as a whole teach children that there is no need to be tolerant of anything. Most of us ignore the glaring physical differences, and instead teach children to congregate based on what they have in common.

Homeschoolers cannot teach children how to be bullied.

It has been said that homeschooled children will not learn how to deal with bullies. I am OK with that. I spent 3 years of my Catholic school career ducking bullies, all while trying to learn long division, and to convert decimals to fractions and back. It turned out that I would use the math over and over again in life, but that kind of bullying never happened again. Personally, I wish I had spent more time on the math. Adult bullies are a lot more subtle in their tactics and nothing I learned while being kicked on the front steps of my Catholic School in 6th grade helped me to pick up on those subtleties. I learned those skills as an adult.

Homeschoolers cannot teach children what they do not know.

This is so true. However, homeschoolers can teach their children what they have just learned, and probably more effectively than they can teach what they learned 5, 10, 15, or 20+ years ago. In addition, homeschoolers can find resources and even pay people to teach them what they do not know. Furthermore, in my experience, my homeschooled son has taught me what neither of us knew just from his passion to learn more and seek out answers.

In summation if you are worried about what you cannot teach your kid as a homeschooler, you will not doubt find numerous excuses not to teach. How many of them will matter? Can you add to this list?

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger