Trapped At Home: The Consequences Of Homeschooling

Throughout the years there have been many controversies whether homeschooling has a beneficial effect on children across the country. Studies show that depriving a child of social experiences they would receive in a traditional school has numerous side effects. More parents are choosing to homeschool their children because they see the many benefits of homeschooling but ignore the many negative side effects it comes with. First, homeschooled kids would not get the same attention that they would at a public school. Second, unregulated homeschooling is a closed environment that can harm the student physically and mentally. Lastly, not attending a traditional school can put the communities’ health and the kids at risk by not being immunized. All three reasons affect a student in a different way than traditional schools.

John Auerbach and Benjamin F. Miller wrote an article titled "Preventing drug abuse and suicide: Educators and the community play key roles in steering students away from risky behaviors." In this article Auerbach and Miller go over how attending a traditional school can save students' lives. Being enrolled in school means that the student will be monitored by health educators who will be able to see the wellbeing of the student. Educators have a huge impact on students from helping them get an education to be the person they can trust and feel safe around. When kids are being homeschooled their only role model would be their parents. What if negative decisions parents are making in front of their kid is being passed on to them because they would not know right from wrong? What if the homeschooled children are being physically abused? How would they be able to get help if the only person they are around is the abuser? It is easy to put bad things in a child's head, they are at a young age where they take anything in that they are taught. A school is a safe and great environment for them to learn, students are provided with support and any services they need. This kind of support makes students want to be healthy and avoid bad behaviors, however, it may not be the support that they may not be getting at home. In the article, "The harms of homeschooling" written by Robin L. West, West goes into depth of reasons why parents choose to homeschool, the unregulated homeschooling by the states, and public health risk. The main reason parents homeschool their children's is because they disapprove how their child is able to think on their own. When kids are homeschooled parents can teach by their own traditions and their own beliefs. Meaning their child will be raised with the same beliefs because they were not exposed to other options. Since most states have no regulation on homeschooling, many parents have all the authority to choose how many hours to teach a subject.

The main issue when it comes to homeschooling is how states are not putting as much attention to it as they do to traditional schools. Many states have no regulated homeschooling visits. This can increase the chance of children experiencing unnoticed physical abuse. Not having mandatory homeschooling visits gives the parents the thought if they do not have to be teaching their child every day which can cause the student to be behind on their learning. This can affect their future because once they get to college they would not know the material being taught and it would cause them to be behind. States should apply the same laws to homeschooling parents that public schools would have. Parents should have to follow a curriculum book of what, how, and when to teach their children. Kids that are homeschooled cannot be exposed to diverse ideas and cultures because their learning is limited by their parents. In traditional school's parents are forced to vaccinate their kids for enrollment. In homeschooling, many kids do not get vaccinated because it is not mandatory. This causes the children to be more exposed to diseases and have a weaker immune system. In order to protect the public health schools, parents are required to have their children immunized before enrollment. A requirement that is not enforced on homeschooled children. In the article, "Off the grid: Vaccinations among homeschooled children" written by Donya Khalili and Arthur L. Caplan, goes over the importance of having kids immunized and the effects. Since many states do not require parents to register their homeschooled kid the "National Center for Home Education" believes there are approximately two million kids being homeschooled. Two million kids that may not be immunized. This can have a great effect on the community since many diseases could be spread because of the increase in kids that are not immunized. Many reason parents choose to not have their kids immunized according to Khalili and Caplan is that parents, "…do not wish to allow their children to be hurt, and others do not believe that the benefits outweigh the risks…" The choices parents make for their kids not only have an effect on them, but it puts the communities health at risk.

Choosing to homeschool kids comes with a cost. Kids would miss out on social experiences or be able to learn new studies with other students. Their thoughts would be limited because they are not exposed the environment around them. Homeschooled kids would not have social skills since they spend most of their time in an isolated community. Education is an important part for the future of every child and it should be taught in a safe and open environment.