5 Lies That Homeschoolers Believe

There was a thread started recently on Facebook about lies we believe as homeschoolers and it really got me thinking about all the lies that do seem to be perpetuated and believed by us in the homeschool community.

Not sure what I'm talking about?

Have you ever believed or thought about these 5 lies?

1.  That won't happen to my son/daughter:  most every parent I have ever met wants what is best for their child but many homeschooling parents believe that their kids are sheltered from things like drugs, alcohol use, teen pregnancy, bullying, being a bully or any other "bad" behaviors we think of as belonging in public school.  The truth is kids make mistakes-- all kids and like any other parent we are trying our best to make sure our kids don't make any of these mistakes but we can not always prevent them. There are teen pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, and other issues with homeschooling teens too; they may be a bit rarer but we are not completely immune.

2. Learning must look like school.  It's amazing at how many of us continue to try and break free from the belief that learning must look like and be treated like school.  You would think since we decided against traditional schooling we'd be so much more open to the idea that learning doesn't have to look like school and yet the majority of homeschooling families end up using workbooks, tests, textbooks and the like-- myself included!  It takes time, patience and practice to pull away from that schooling mindset and realize that learning opportunities are everywhere.

3.  That we must socialize our children.  To be truthful this lie only seems to be believed by new homeschoolers.  Once anyone has been homeschooling for a bit it's easy to see that this is one lie that is juts that-- a lie!  Most homeschoolers have MORE opportunity to socialize than traditional public school kids because they are interacting with people in life, through all ages and with very different belief systems.

4.  Our children must master certain skills by a set age or grade level.  Many of us homeschooling parents KNOW that kids will develop skills in their own time.  We KNOW that.  But knowing does not stop many of us from falling into that public school mindset that our children must learn certain skills by certain age or grade.  We fear that our kids are behind or lacking if they can't read by the end of kindergarten or if they struggle with multiplication and division facts beyond 3rd grade.  Truth is there is no set age that sills must be mastered by.  Almost all kids are behind in some areas and ahead in others; because they are individuals with their own unique skill set.

5.  If I homeschool, my children will be more advanced than their public school peers.  I know I completely believed this lie when I started homeschooling.  I saw article after article about these homeschooled kids that were starting college when they were 11 or starting their own very successful company at age 12.  There were articles regaling how much better homeschooling children tested on standardized tests and how much better they tend to do at college.  I completely believed I was giving my children a huge leg up on their peers by homeschooling.  But statistics don't talk about the fact that many homeschool children do not start college early, that only those looking into going to college take most of those standardized tests and they do so well in college because they know they want to be there.  Not all homeschool children are going to turn into super geniuses.  Homeschool children make up a whole rage of skills; ahead, equal to and even behind public school peers on traditional school subjects.

Are there other myths or lies about homeschooling that you have fallen prey to believing? I'd love to hear about them in the comments!