I was homeschooled until I was 11, and I think it’s one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. It encouraged me to think outside the box, work independently, motivate myself, and fostered a strong interest in community involvement and community development.

Where I grew up (NSW, Australia), we would have once or twice yearly homeschooling camps, where parents and children would get together for a couple of weeks and facilitate and participate in workshops and activities, share stories and experiences and just generally have fun. In fact, a lot of my education then was as much outside as it was inside the home. I hear from friends overseas that there are just as many, if not more, camps for homeschoolers in the states (and other places), so for anyone to insinuate homeschooling can be isolating doesn’t understand the opportunities it presents.

Having said that, I’m glad I went to school when I was 11, because it gave me new experiences in socialising and learning. But it’s the combination of homeschooling and formal education that I think has helped me excel in tertiary education and helped me to follow my career. I find the further I get in my life the more I refer back to skills I developed through homeschooling. To me, it’s not about the style of education, it’s about the people involved. My parents let me choose when I went to school, and allowing me (a child at the time my most standards) to decide has made all the difference.

I do not adults who were homeschooled, all of whom loved the experience and most either are homeschooling their own children or plan to homeschool their children when they have them.

Studies on the subject are not really as scientific as one would like to use to prove anything, but they suggest of the 7000 + homeschooled adults surveyed, that most of these adults appreciate their homeschooling experience and plan to homeschool their own children.

Certainly it does not work for every child, but neither does the public school nor private school.

If you and your siblings were physically abused, that is the real issue, not homeschooling. I am terribly sorry that happened to you. I used to work with abused and neglected children (all of whom were in public schools and all of whom struggled significantly with relationships with others) and it is a horrific experience for any child.

homeschooling is like handing your child lit dynamite and never telling them when to throw,
and i say that from experience.

I have heard versions of this statement many times in my short experience with homeschooling and it always makes me chuckle. If the public schools are “THE” place to get an education, how would it be an advantage for me to school my children at home, no matter my income? If public schools really are that much better, wouldn’t the logical argument here be to keep the “rich” kids out of the school system to better improve the chances of the “poor” kids?