The bell rings dismissing the elementary school students to recess. At recess, young kids run around on the playground with their classmates in which they build friendships as early as 5 year olds. After a game of tag, the bell rings and students proceed inside the classroom to go back to learning. During instructional time students learn important skills such as respecting others’ space, waiting their turn to speak in conversations, working together with other classmates, etc.
“It’s break time,” a student’s parent announces they can take a break from school work and engage in free time. The student closes their laptop and walks to their backyard. Jumping on the trampoline alone, drawing with sidewalk chalk alone. They enter their house once again and get back to work. Opening up their laptop or picking up their textbook once more. The most interaction they get during school hours is with their parents or siblings.
Attending public and private school is far more beneficial for a child’s social skills rather than doing homeschool. In traditional schooling, students get to interact with their peers for about 7 hours a day. They learn essential skills on the basis of interacting with people in a respectful manner from the moment they enter schooling at about 5 to 6 years old. Children who partake in homeschool starting at 5 to 6 years old don’t get that very necessary human interaction with people who aren’t related to them as often as they should. We believe that homeschool is ineffective for socialization compared to public and private school.
Public school kids have way more opportunities for social interaction than homeschool kids according to lhstoday.org. Besides just their classroom time, public school students have more chances for extra interaction and participation. Students in middle school and highschool have the ability to join clubs, extracurricular activities, and sports offered within their school. Scholars can meet new people and further their preexisting classroom relationships with their peers if involved in additional activities. Children in homeschool don’t have these same resources and opportunities to build relationships with students and teachers. According to raiseright.com public schools provide students with a diverse social setting in which they can interact with people of different backgrounds and beliefs. Not only do public school students get to see more peers but they also get to see many more different types of people. It is important that students get to interact with a wide variety of different people to see more people’s perspectives. If being schooled at home, children don’t know much about other cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds. It’s important for people to have a good sense of the world around them even starting at a young age. Homeschool can provide less opportunities for different career and interest exploration. Due to a lack of resources and only having one teacher, having elective classes may be hard for parents to provide for their homeschooled children. In middle school and high school elective classes such as art, business, journalism, etc. are offered to students to explore possible career interests. Without having those classes homeschooled students may have more uncertainty about future jobs. Additionally, taking those classes and exploring career options can get students more social and hands on opportunities for their future. Getting involved with these classes can get students contacts early on and make them more aware of job opportunities they wouldn’t know while being schooled at home.
If this lack of socialization continues then homeschooled children might feel too sheltered from the rest of the world, feel awkward in social situations, and have less connections with potential future jobs. Parents will also feel the consequences of schooling their children at home. Lhstoday.org mentions that children love routine and that alone can cause more work for parents. The pressure to give a good education and establish a schedule at home everyday may be challenging for parents. Parents could also be spending a lot of money on getting various resources for their child in order to properly teach them at home.
Children from elementary to highschool should attend a public or private school. Attending will help drastically with their social skills and ability to form relationships with people from all different backgrounds. Being involved at school and in their community can be very beneficial for students. We believe all students should have the opportunity for social flourishment by attending traditional school.
