I got the S question again the other day. Actually, it was more of a statement. Maybe even more of a dissertation on the importance of socializing with same-aged peers instead of with people of all ages. It didn’t sound exactly like that, though. It sounded more like a lecture. Funny, the S question seems to pop up for a while then we don’t hear it for a long time. 

In our 9 years of homeschooling, I don’t remember anyone asking me if I was worried about my children keeping up academically. Maybe someone has asked, but if they have, I do not recall the question. But some folks sure do worry that we might miss out on socializing by skipping a traditional, public school education. Funny, I thought people sent their children to school for the academics…..

So I was happy to come across a link at HomeSchool Buzz about this new study out by the Fraser Institute in Canada. It looked at homeschooled children in both the U.S. and Canada, and this is what it had to say:

“Poorly educated parents who choose to teach their children at home produce better academic results for their children than public schools do. One study we reviewed found that students taught at home by mothers who never finished high school scored a full 55 percentage points higher than public school students from families with comparable education levels.”

A lot of people do worry that there are hordes of untrained homeschoolers out there messing up their kids. This study seems to show that socioeconomic class and education level are less of a factor in homeschool families than they are in public school families. My thought on that is that maybe the families are homeschooling are investing more TIME in their children’s education. 

The study went on to say that

“Research shows that almost 25 per cent of home schooled students in the United States perform one or more grades above their age-level peers in public and private schools. Grades 1 to 4 home school students perform one grade level higher than their public- and private-school peers. By Grade 8, the average home schooled student performs four grade levels above the national average.”

 OUCH!

But…but….but…..what about socialization? The authors of the study had an answer for that, too:

“The study also reports that students educated at home outperform their peers on most academic tests and are involved in a broad mix of social activities outside the home.”

In regard to Canadian homeschoolers (they did not comment on U.S. homeschoolers in this regard):

“Hepburn said a growing body of new research also calls into question the belief that home schooled children are not adequately socialized.

‘The average Canadian home schooled student is regularly involved in eight social activities outside the home. Canadian home schooled children watch less television than other children, and they show significantly fewer problems than public school children when observed in free play,’ she said.”

Now, can we finally put the “S question” to bed?

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