7 Ludicrous Arguments Against Homeschooling

I’ve heard some pretty ridiculous arguments against homeschooling in my time. I thought it was time to address the most commonly used and a few newer ones on my channel today.

10 Reasons to Homeschool

Are you on the fence about homeschooling, or are you having doubts now that you’ve already started? Today I shared 10 really good reasons to homeschool.

My Top 10 Most Popular Homeschooling Posts from 2017

Can you believe it’s 2018 already? It seems like only yesterday I was sharing my most popular posts of 2016. In what seems like a blink of an eye, here we are one year later.

Wow.

Anyway, after allowing myself to take a much needed one-week break from the blog, my YouTube channel, and most social media last week, I’m feeling refreshed and ready to get this new year started!

Before I kick off my own countdown here, I just wanted to say thank you so much to all of you for reading, commenting, and being such a huge encouragement to me. Believe it or not, I had over a quarter of a million views on my blog in 2017 and my fledgling YouTube channel has almost 2,000 subscribers. Is that crazy, or what?

So, without further ado, here are my: 

Why We Homeschool- A Mom of 11 Speaks Up

Since public school will be starting in our district next week, I thought now would be a good time to talk about why my kids won’t be there and haven’t been for years.

First, let me start by saying that deciding whether or not to homeschool is a personal decision that is up to each individual family. I won’t deny the fact that I am pro-homeschooling, or I wouldn’t be doing it, but what’s right for my family may not be right for yours.

With that being said… 

50 Reasons Why Homeschooling Is Better Than School

As a homeschool mom who has also had children spend quite a bit of time in a public school setting, I believe I have a unique view of compulsory education that many homeschool moms do not. As many of you know, I am no fan of our nation’s school system. One thing I’ve noticed with other homeschool moms is that, although there are some exceptions, the vast majority of homeschoolers who back public schools have never actually had their own children attend them. (Watch my related video here.)

5 More Reasons to Homeschool Your Kids

With just a few keystrokes and the simple click of a mouse, you can find hundreds, maybe thousands, of posts listing reasons to homeschool your kids.  In fact, just a few short months ago, I wrote an entire series about that very subject.

Although there are some variations, for the most part, many of the reasons are the same. Some people bring up values, while others write about the freedom that homeschooling brings, and these are definitely great justifications for homeschooling. But there are a few I’ve thought of that you don’t hear mentioned often, although they seem rather obvious to me. 

Why We Chose the Weirdness of Homeschool — Deuteronomy 6:6-7

I came across this post after writing about why we don’t send our kids to school to be salt and light. This post is a perfect complement to that, and it’s so well-written. Read on and see for yourself!

Pastor Unlikely

I used to think that people who homeschooled their kids were crazy.  Just flat-out denim wearing, extended van driving loons who wanted to doom their children to a life of …well, I never actually thought that far, but I was sure that there was something seriously wrong with homeschool. So when my wife and I started to have kids we had no plans to even consider anything other than the public school or catholic school educations that we were tortured in growing up.  Sure, it was miserable and scarred us for life, but it was just what you do if you don’t want to be weird.  Suck it up kids!

Even after we came to Jesus and began being exposed to actual homeschool families and found them to be mainly weird in good ways (Honey, it was so weird they looked me in the eye when talking to me and…

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Lazy Day Links- 5/20/16

Image courtesy of porbital at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Welcome back for another list of my favorite books and links I’ve come across. Have a great weekend!

Favorite Blog Posts:

5 Reasons You Think You Can’t Homeschool, And Why I Think You Can (Read at Your Own Risk)– Generation Cedar

On the Quest for Homeschool Mindfulness– Simple Homeschool

Reason 252: This Is my Number One Reason– 365 Reasons to Homeschool

My Top Tips on How to Homeschool Young Children– A Wise Woman Builds Her Home

Is Spiritual Truth a Matter of Opinion? An Open Letter to a Relativist– Natash Crain

 

My Older Posts:

Sorting Things Out: My Rant Against PA Homeschool Laws

Homeschooling in PA- It’s a Piece of Cake!

Maybe It’s Easier Than I Thought

The Unschool Experiment

Why Should We Homeschool?

 

(This post contains affiliate links.)

Books Worth Reading:

Instead of Education– John Holt

Weapons of Mass Instruction- A Schoolteacher’s Journey through the Dark World of Compulsory Schooling– John Taylor Gatto

The Book Thief– Markus Zusak

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism– Timothy Keller

This Present Darkness: A Novel– Frank Peretti

 

That’s it for this week. Enjoy!

The Top Ten Reasons I Homeschool

I know that “Reasons Why I Homeschool” posts are a dime a dozen, but this particular list will refer specifically to how our experience with public school affected this decision. I could probably list more than ten reasons, but for the sake of time I’m going to limit myself.

1. My children can learn about what interests them, and God is never a taboo subject at home.

When Arianna was in 2nd grade, her teacher asked the children for examples of authority figures. One child answered ”God” and was told that since not everyone believes in God, she couldn’t include Him as an authority figure.

What kind of a message is that to children being raised in Christian homes? At home they’re taught about the sovereignty of God, and at school they’re taught (often by teachers that they assume know everything) that God has no position of authority.

2. We don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn and rush around to get ten children dressed and ready for school.

I know what you’re thinking…get everything ready the night before! In theory, this sounds wonderful, but in practice, it’s laughable. Have you ever heard of Murphy’s Law- if anything can go wrong, it will? Yeah, well, my house is a prime example to the validity of that. I could have all the clothes, shoes, and backpacks neatly lined up and ready, and without fail, something would still be missing when it was time to leave!

3. We don’t have to walk to and from school in inclement weather.

We’re a one-car family, so every morning I would have to bundle up a baby and two toddlers to walk the other children to school in all kinds of weather- heavy rain, snow, freezing temperatures…you name it.

4. I don’t have to report to anyone when one (or all) of my children is sick.

I understand the concept behind this…I really do, but when I’ve got eight kids throwing up, the last thing I’m thinking of is calling the attendance office.

5. I don’t have to worry about unexcused absences.

When Caollin was in kindergarten, I was pregnant with Ireland. At the end of my pregnancy, I had to go in for non-stress tests 2-3 times a week. I would often take her with me and then drop her off at afternoon kindergarten. The one day, the doctor was concerned and had me stay on the monitor longer because the baby wasn’t very reactive. I called the school to tell them that Caollin wouldn’t be at school that day. I explained the situation and the fact that Caollin was with me, and I couldn’t leave. The secretary then proceeded to tell me this would be an unexcused absence because it wasn’t Caollin’s appointment!

6. There is no crazy time when the kids all arrive home.

I love my kids to death, but I used to dread when they would all come home from school because they would act completely nuts! There would be screaming, fighting, backpacks and jackets thrown everywhere, papers strewn all over the place…it was bad.

7. There is no homework.

I know that technically, everything in homeschool, even play, is considered home work, but this is different. The kids used to all approach me for homework help at the same – and it was frustrating because I would have no idea what they had learned all day. Algebra homework was the worst with my daughter because, I swear, the school must have bought the cheapest textbooks available because her book had no explanation of how to do anything! The teacher didn’t help matters, either, because she would only check to see if the students did their homework (they probably could have written anything); she never went over anything!

8. There are no unexpected, um, friends visiting our house.

I’m not referring to human friends; I’m referring to those little friends that are too small to see. Colds, the flu, viruses, and the absolute worst- lice- used to make unexpected appearances in our home. To make matters worse, the school’s lice policy was terrible. They wouldn’t even inform the parents when a classmate was found to have lice because, and I quote, ”It’s not a health issue; it’s a social issue.” Yeah. Try telling that to the mom who has to treat a dozen people and rewash everything in the house. I’m guessing you can tell this is a sore spot with me.

9. I don’t have a million papers being thrust at me every day.

Fundraisers, school pictures, permission slips, PTA notices…oh my word. There were days I honestly used to feel like I was going to have a panic attack. If you think I’m exaggerating, think about it. Take a look at all the papers accumulated for one child multiplied by 10!

10. We can follow our own schedule.

It just makes more sense for our family to learn year-round. A 12 week break can’t be very good for retention. Beyond that, my children need the structure. Even though we have started unschooling, we still have a basic schedule that we follow, and it’s a lifesaver!

We are so blessed to live in a country where we have the opportunity to homeschool our kids. Reasons for this decision may vary, but never forget to take advantage of the freedom that accompanies homeschooling.

Do you homeschool? What were your deciding factors?