I very rarely agree with parents choice to homeschool their children. I have known a few families that have lived in districts where the elementary schools had metal detectors at the doors, no, I wouldn't send my kids there either, but then, Minnesota has statewide open enrollment so a child could go to any school in the state if they wanted.
I hear a lot about how homeschooled kids are "socialized" because they participate on a soccer team. Well, an hour practice here or there just isn't the same as the day in, day out contact with kids. For those that were bullied in middle school or any school, yes, it would have been easier to be homeschooled then to be bullied, but you developed the skills to deal with those types of people and you ARE going to run into them for the rest of your life. Being in school not only teaches you things out of books, but it also teaches you coping skills to get along in the real world.
Having taught high school, we often got kids in our classes that had been homeschooled up to high school. Most often, they have a VERY hard time adjusting to high school life. They don't have the skills to deal with large groups of teens for long periods of time. Yes, academically, they are often a head of many in the class, but not always. Most of the time, even if they are very smart, some big gaps in their education show up, BUT, because they are smart they pick up on the new tasks fairly quickly. Homeschooled parents often THINK their kids are doing just fine, but frankly, they never see what their child is like when they are not around and most often, they are not as confident as you think.
I will give you one example of many, many homeschooled kids I have come across--this family homeschooled their children K-12. These kids played soccer, had PE classes with other homeschooled kids, etc. Did all the homeschool "socializing" things. Well, time for college. The oldest DD has been to 4 different schools in 2 years, the longest stay 2 months. Her mom says it is because she is too smart for the rest of the kids. The DD said it was too scary being away from home. Now the DD, who should be a junior in college, is at home, not going to school and does everything with her mom because she has no friends. It is really sad. Her parents are REALLY nice people, just very narrow minded and very sheltering of their children, although when you talk with them, they don't see it that way. They think they are "socializing" their children because they play soccer and have these joint PE classes. NOPE.
I guess because I see the kids after they have been homeschooled, I see things very differently then their parents because I dealt with them when the parents were not there. Kids never act the same for their parents then they do at school or with other people (homeschooled or not).
