Former homeschoolers transfer into public school behind the curve

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I cam upon a homeschool debate at Babycenter.com.  It has the usual arguments.  Socialization, bad parents, no PE... you know... the same old thing. 

One argument against homeschooling however stuck out as being especially flawed.

Every student that I have had that has transferred from being homeschooled has been behind the learning curve.
This comment was from a public school teacher.  Let's stop and consider this though...

She is probably only seeing students behind the curb transfering into public school because the ones ahead of the curb have no need to.  We considered public school the summer before my son started his highschool curriculum, and my son decided against it because he felt it would slow down his progress.  Looking back, I have to agree because he has already progressed far more than I ever imagined he would.  This would not have been possible in public school...

So instead of successful homeschoolers transfering into public school ahead of the curve, they are probably going directly into community college... and college.

As another person weighed in... "if the child ended up in public school chances are that the parent realized homeschooling was not cutting it for their family."  There are soooooo many others that this teacher will never see.

PS... I am not saying that all homeschoolers who transfer to public school was unsuccessful, but just that IF this teacher is only seeing unsuccessful homeschoolers (and I doubt she is being truthful), that chances are that those students had the good sense to transfer to public school as they were struggling.


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Comments

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said…
If anything, this would "prove" that most parents know when they need a little help or when public school might be a better option for their child.

Then again, they may transfer in, realize that their child has special needs that are not met any better by the school than they can do at home... and they'll transfer out again.

There are some children that will always be behind, and schools seem to give themselves the benefit of any doubt, but not homeschoolers. Hmmm.
10:29 AM
Ahermitt said…
Good points about the special needs kids Mrs. C.
2:38 PM
kat said…
This was my mother's (ps teacher)argument against us homeschooling. She saw several children come into the school from homeschooling who hadn't been exposed to any history or didn't know how to read. After a few years of coming around to our house and seeing what my children were learning she was a great fan of homeschooling.
We recently checked out a local private school and discovered that we are covering much, much more than they are.
12:43 PM
Amy said…
I've heard the same thing many times. My oldest is transitioning from our homeschool to college in the fall. A look at her ACT score will prove to every single person that she has had a well-rounded education at home. Meet her in person and you would never know she was supposed to be unsocialized :-)
2:01 PM
Brandie said…
"Then again, they may transfer in, realize that their child has special needs that are not met any better by the school than they can do at home... and they'll transfer out again."

Yup, this is what happened with my daughter last year. She is home, for good this time!
10:44 PM
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