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Ashlee Anthony

ENG 112- Argument Paper

Mrs. Carroll

10 March 2019

Homeschool Affects Children’s Overall Academic Being

Children can have many different approaches to learning. Some learn visually, while

some children only learn by listening and repetition. A child’s education is the foundation

of their future career, social life, and how they handle certain situations. ​The way in which

a child is educated can determine their sociability and academic success. ​While the

teaching style is important, the institution in which they obtain their education is also

important in their education.

From a health approach, home schooling is not ideal for children whose parents do

not keep their immunizations and health screens up to date. Public schools require all the

children to have their shot records up to date, they provide eye exams, do dental checkups

for elementary students, and provide hearing screenings. Children in home school were not

getting these on a regular basis and a study was done to see what pediatricians thought

about the idea of homeschooling related to the child’s health. To see the outcome of this,

pediatricians in Maryland and Wisconsin “were asked to respond to questions that

addressed the following issues: overall opinion of homeschooling, opinions of the academic

and social development of these children, and the preventive health-- seeking behaviors of

the family” (Klugewicz). These two states were chosen because of the high versus low rates

of homeschooling in their state. When the doctors were asked to choose between
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supporting homeschooling or opposing it, more than 50% did not support home schooling

(Klugewicz). The doctors were also asked to estimate the scores on standardized testing

and only 58% of home-schooled children would perform an average performance with

51% feeling the homeschooled child was less "mature/sophisticated" than peers

(Klugewicz). This information is crucial in the idea of a child’s health being the priority. “In

recent years some public schools have adopted a myriad of additional health-related

responsibilities, including performing scoliosis screens and sports physicals, documenting

recent tuberculin testing, providing sex education, and providing birth control and sexually

transmitted disease treatment” (Klugewicz). These topics of discussion can be difficult or

even impossible to obtain with a child’s parent or doctor in general. Some children are not

comfortable talking and speaking about particular topics with their parents, but can with a

counselor or a trusted teacher. “The school has also to some extent assumed the role of

counselor and protector, often being the first to discover evidence of abuse, neglect, or

other familial dysfunction” (Klugewicz). When a child is taken out of the school system for

home school, these safety and health measures are not always seen or heard about, but the

public school system usually has preventive measures and help for these kids.

When parents think about the option of homeschooling their children, they are

often influenced by the opinions of others saying their child will not have any social skills

like the public school kids. “Unless these children are exposed on a daily basis to the social

life found in public schools, they will lack the skills needed to successfully adapt to real-life

situations when they are older” (Romanowski). This mother, who has home schooled all

three of her children, and who was even homeschooled herself, has a special opinion on
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public schooling. “She begins by noting that "once upon a time, all children were

homeschooled" before more formal schooling and the development of "school culture”

(Bush). Why yes, everyone was once home schooled, but there would have been no need to

make school systems and the board if it was such a good practice. A school system is

growing like technology, everyday and always becoming easier for the consumer. School

systems help each child learn and make friends while building responsibility and respect

for their school work and decisions. “In our country's early history, home education was, in

part, due to the lack of available alternatives. The passage of compulsory education laws

created a wealth of public schools and the choice to home educate almost entirely faded

away with strict truancy laws” (Houston). The thought of home schooling children slowly

faded away, with all the new technology and the new school world coming about. Parents

often struggle with the thought of socialization for their home schooled children. Bush

states “that conventional schools offer "socialization" through peer pressure, the stress of

choosing between popularity and academic performance, and excessive attention to

appearance” (Bush). Although this information is true in a small minority of children, the

public school system teaches character in children and not to be so sheltered when it

comes to college or even the job world. There are always going to be bad people and bad

influencers, so sheltering children from learning about these truths is not helpful.

The academic applications of home-schooled children were compared to public

schooled children at a Catholic institution. When a child has been homeschooled their

whole life, and they become of college age, parents are worried if they are prepared for that

shock of social and academic differences. “Using archival data, the writer evaluated 408
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students based on their four-year secondary school type: 137 public-schooled students,

142 Catholic schooled, and 129 homeschooled. A statistically significant difference was

found between homeschooled students and traditionally schooled students in ACT and SAT

scores and overall GPA, showing value to the institution” (Snyder, 2). This information

concludes that public schooled children are often more academically successful.

Children taught in public/private school systems often go to college more frequently

because although college is much different, there is not a big of a shock to them, including

the large classes and the behavior that comes with college kids. “Homeschoolers earned a

lower income in their early careers. An OLS model shows that homeschooling has

statistically significant impact on lower income after controlling of other socio-economic

factors. It shows that even after controlling for individual characteristics, the influence of

homeschooling is still very similar to the probit analysis: the homeschooling is strongly

associated with a lower probability of obtaining college degrees” (Sun, 33). The income of

home schooled children is significantly lower than the child who attended the public

school, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

When a child is put into homeschooling, no one is ever quite sure what is going on at

home. There are no counselors for them, nor other adult teachers for care and comfort.

When a child attends a public school, signs of abuse may be spotted, and there can be

repercussions done to help the child. "Homeschooling enables medical neglect on a scale

impossible in the public schools,. "There are cases where children have been locked in a

single room, or a bathroom or a closet, for months or years on end ... There are cases where

children have been chained in basements, hogtied with zip ties, or kept locked in cages, but
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there are no outside adults to see these children, to notice and report signs of abuse, no

trusted adults for these children to go to for help. The consequences can be disastrous”

(Hassanein). School systems are beneficial for the child, for having someone else besides a

possible abusive family member teaching them what and what not to do or say. This could

result in the child not having a successful education and not want to attend college, because

of the torment and fear of ‘school’ at home, has scared them. “Homeschooling can hide

horrific cases of abuse. For example, children who go to public school rarely are starved

because teachers and other mandatory reporters see them and report when they seem

emaciated. But children who are homeschooled don't have to see anyone outside the home

and can be starved or beaten without recourse” (Rigsby). School systems always provide

food for the child, including breakfast and lunch. There is also a summer meal plan at a

local school for children who are not fortunate enough to eat at home.

In Effingham County, Georgia, there was a tragic example of how abusive parents

can just simply take their children out of public school and have total control over their life

and education. Two siblings were murdered and buried in their own backyard after their

parents and family members chose to take them out of public school. There was worry for

the whereabouts of the little girl, and so the police investigated and found them (Rigsby).

Even though the Georgia state law requires the parents to have some sort of high school

diploma or a teaching degree, the state does not always check on these credentials

(Rigsby). Also, these credentials of the parent does not always mean they are supportive

and doing home schooling for their child’s benefit. A lot of abusive parents use
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homeschooling their children as a way to get out of being investigated by child protective

services, like they would be if the child was in a school system (Rigsby).

Home schooling can have some beneficial effects for a child, but there is far more

concerning disadvantages for the child, shown in this essay. Their health screenings are not

always up to date and could make the child ill, their social skills are not as easy and can be

damaged, their test scores are significantly lower, and abusive parents can take advantage

of this and have full control over their child. ​The way in which a child is educated can

determine their sociability and academic success. ​Parents should think about all of the

advantages of a school system, to make their child’s education their number one priority in

life and for beyond the classroom.

Work Cited
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Bush, Vanessa. "The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling." The Booklist,

vol. 103, no. 19, 2007, pp. 12. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2

35517226?accountid=10163.​

Hassanein, Rokia. "Oversight Lacking: Under the Guise of 'Religious Freedom,' some

Fundamentalist Homeschools and Day Care Centers may be Subjecting Children to

Harm." Church & State, vol. 70, no. 6, 06, 2017, pp. 10-11,20. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2

091652229?accountid=10163.​

Houston,Robert G.,,Jr, and Eugenia F. Toma. "Home Schooling: An Alternative School Choice."

Southern Economic Journal, vol. 69, no. 4, 2003, pp. 920-935. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2

12132704?accountid=10163.​

Klugewicz, Susan L., and Carol L. Carraccio. "Home Schooled Children: A Pediatric

Perspective." Clinical Pediatrics, vol. 38, no. 7, 1999, pp. 407-11. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2

00102539?accountid=10163.​
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Rigsby, G. G. "Homeschooling Ripe for Abuse: Law Changes Considered After Two Children

found Buried in Guyton." Savannah Morning News, Feb 13, 2019. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/2

178960431?accountid=10163.​

Romanowski, Michael H. "Common Arguments about the Strengths and Limitations of Home

Schooling." The Clearing House, vol. 75, no. 2, 2001, pp. 79-83. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1

96889532?accountid=10163.​

Snyder, Marc. "An Evaluative Study of the Academic Achievement of Homeschooled Students

Versus Traditionally Schooled Students Attending a Catholic University." Catholic

Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, vol. 16, no. 2, 2013, pp. 288-308.

ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1

690547642?accountid=10163.​

Sun, Xiaodong. Can Homeschooling be an Alternative Schooling Choice?, University of Hawai'i

at Manoa, Ann Arbor, 2015. ProQuest,

https://login.proxy039.nclive.org/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/1

780588153?accountid=10163.​