In a Wall Street Journal article called “I’m Homeschooled – Hold the Pity, Please,” high-school sophomore Veronica Andreades shatters the stereotypes of home-schooled kids.
I’ve gotten used to seeing pained or perplexed reactions when I talk about going to school in my apartment, as if I’m this nerdy, introverted alien. The truth is that my parents wanted to give me the freedom to pursue my passions so I’d be better prepared for college and career.
Considering how often people mourn the failure of the U.S. school system, it’s remarkable that so many still recoil from the thought of learning at home. They might be surprised to learn that children receiving an education from their parents generally score higher than students in regular school. A 2009 study by the National Home Education Research Institute tracked nearly 12,000 home-schoolers and found that they score an average of 34 to 39 points higher than the average public-school student on standardized tests.
The articulate young woman goes on to dismiss the notions that home-schooled children are not socialized.
As for home-schoolers’ supposed deficit in socialization, research also shows that teenagers studying at the kitchen table can be more socially adept than their peers in the classroom. In a 2012 report on the social development of home-schoolers [it said]: “Many of these home-schooled children surpass their public school counterparts in all areas of development and are successful in college and in careers.” Contrary to the stereotype, I am regularly in social situations – like the locker room at the dance academy or the karate studio I go to in the East Village.
Read more here.