Any phenomenon, including a social one, is not unambiguous in terms of its productivity. Each of them finds both supporters and opponents, giving arguments in defense of their position. In this context, home schooling is not an exception and is still the subject of discussion. The most common argument of opponents of homeschooling is the inability to social adaptation of children studying at home. In their opinion, it will be very difficult for such children in the future to adapt to the requirements of the team, to live and work “in a team”. However, any opinion, no matter how convincing it may seem, should, first of all, be based on facts. And the facts show that this opinion is wrong. A 2017 study found that on average, a homeschooler, in addition to talking with friends, has been out of the house for about eight hours. His pastime includes sports clubs, music schools, art studios, excursions, scout and volunteer meetings, church visits, etc. (Pelt, 2017, 377).
Professor Larry Shyers discovered that children who did not attend school have far fewer behavioral problems than their peers. This is due to the fact that adult, not peers, act as behavioral models for homeschoolers. Another researcher, Raymond Moore, provides evidence that homeschoolers are more positive, better prepared for life, more self-confident, more independent and less susceptible to peer influence (Wilkens et al., 2015, 47).
This high level of socialization is largely due to the fact that there is at least one homeschool association in the USA and Canada, comprising approximately 85 percent of homeschoolers. The association provides home children with the opportunity to communicate with other children of the same, either via the Internet or in informal meetings (excursions, libraries, sports, etc.), which is an excellent practice for developing communication skills in the absence of the negative influence of peers.
In addition, research shows that homeschoolers are ahead of those who studied at school on the results of tests. So scientists of the University of Durham in England (Univercity of Durham, England) for three years conducted a comparative analysis between the knowledge of "home" and "school" schoolers. As a result of their research, it was established that children studying at home are noticeably ahead of their school peers. Studies conducted in the United States, Canada and England have approximately the same figures. This suggests that, regardless of the country of study, the general trend demonstrates the benefits of home education (Gaither, 2017, 145).
Conclusions
Thus, home schooling has undoubted advantages over schooling, which, at times, does not meet the requirements of parents or the society as a whole. Homeschooling allows parents from low-income families to give children a decent education if a family member has the necessary level of knowledge. This type of training is convenient for religious families, as well as in families that, due to circumstances, have to constantly change their place of residence. The fact is that 14 presidents of America, including Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, etc., were trained at home.
References
Pelt, D. V., & Bosetti, L. (2017). What the United States Can Learn from Canadas Experience with Home Schooling. The Wiley Handbook of School Choice,376–383. doi:10.1002/9781119082361.ch26
Wilkens, C. P., Wade, C. H., Sonnert G., & Sadler P. M. (2015). Are Homeschoolers Prepared for College Calculus? Journal of School Choice, 9(1), 30–48. doi:10.1080/15582159.2015.998963
Gaither, M. (2017). Three Homeschooling Pioneers. Homeschool, 131–160.
doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95056-0_5