The subject of homeschooling has produced numerous impassioned debates among parents and

educators. Many say it’s a means of providing their children a safe environment to learn and it’s the
best way to educate children given the current state of the public school system.

Still, others point out several arguments against homeschooling and why parents need to think long
and hard before considering it for their children. Here’s a look at some of these arguments.

The subject of homeschooling has produced numerous impassioned debates among parents and
educators. Many say it’s a means of providing their children a safe environment to learn and it’s the
best way to educate children given the current state of the public school system.(1) Still, others point
out several arguments against homeschooling and why parents need to think long and hard before
considering it for their children. Here’s a look at some of these arguments.

Lack of social interaction

Perhaps the biggest argument against homeschooling is the lack of social interaction between
homeschooled kids and children their own age. Socialization, which is defined as “the process by
which a human being beginning at infancy acquires the habits, beliefs, and accumulated knowledge of
society through education and training for adult status,”(2) is an important part of a person’s growth
that is developed in traditional schools. This crucial aspect in a person’s life is limited in children who
are homeschooled because most of their interactions only happen with their family members and other
adults. As a result, they are ill equipped to deal with people from different age groups, particularly
when they enter the “real” world, such as going to college.

Proponents of homeschooling argue that the social environment children are exposed to at home is
better than the ones outside because homeschooled children are not exposed to bullying, peer pressure,
and other negative influences that children in traditional schools have to constantly deal with.(3) While
it may be true that by homeschooling, parents are able to protect their children to some degree, the
children will eventually have to leave the house and deal with the outside world.

Unfortunately, the fact that they’ve been sheltered may make the children unprepared to deal with
social situations that they should’ve been exposed to as they were growing up had they gone to a
public school. Some of these social situations involve dealing with people who have different beliefs,
cultures, and family backgrounds, having teachers or professors who take a teaching approach that is
different from what the children are used to, and forging friendships with people that they meet
naturally rather than those they encounter through planned gatherings.

Inadequate learning facilities(6)

While many parents decide to homeschool because they feel that they can give their children better
education, a lot of homes are just not equipped with adequate learning facilities. Lessons may be
conducted in a designated area in the home, experiments may be done in the kitchen, or the backyard
could be where the art projects are created. All of these are fine but parents will have to look to other
places for sports and other group learning activities if they want their children to get the best form of
learning there is.

Parental bias
Homeschooled children are exposed to parental bias, which doesn’t always mean a bad thing.
Problems, however, could arise when the parents’ beliefs and way of thinking are too narrow and
limiting that exposure to contrary ideas can create conflict in the minds of the children. What’s worse
is that these kids may not have the capability to handle these opposing viewpoints in a constructive
way since they wouldn’t have enough experience with as well as exposure to similar situations.
Homeschooling may have many disadvantages but it continues to grow in popularity not only in the
U.S. but in other countries, as well.(7) One of the major reasons for this is statistics indicate that
homeschooled children do better than students from traditional schools in terms of academic
performance and standardized tests(8) while religion is another important factor in the parents’
decision to homeschool.(9) Because of these, it would seem that homeschooling is not going anywhere
anytime soon.

CONS = PRO
One of the most common questions homeschool graduates and homeschooled children face is that of
socialization. In order to address this question, it is important to first understand what is meant by the term
“socialization.” Socialization refers to social interaction but it also refers to understanding and learning to
navigate a society’s social norms and rules of behavior. Most scholars view peer interaction, which generally
centers on the school, as a critical component of this kind of socialization. However, many homeschool
parents and leaders argue that the socialization children receive in school is unnatural and actually harmful,
and that socialization is best gained through life experiences that center around the family, and should
include interactions with those in a variety of age groups.
Most of the homeschooled educators find it silly and annoying when questioned about the
socialization of homeschooled children. They disagree with the fact that homeschooled children are
introverted misfit who stays isolated from the outside world. In contrast to public school children,
homeschooled children are found to be more polite and respectful, and outgoing too (Manfred B.
Zysk, 1999). Homeschooling educators blame psychologists, sociologists, local teachers unions and
public school administrators for perpetrating this “socialization” problem. Various experiences and
exposure to differing views and opinions is what makes a child to mould into the society properly.
This enables children to form their own opinion and think about their individuality. Public schools
allow children only to group-think and share the same views. Another critic that homeschooling has to
face is the question of interaction with adults as with peers. Homeschooling allow parents to interact
with other homeschooling groups, visit libraries, museums and visit local businesses. This gives them
a chance to understand how things and societies operate as well as interact with all age groups of the
community whereas public schools segregate students by age groups. Homeschoolers suggest that the
larger the group of children such as a typical public school classroom, the fewer meaningful
socializing contacts a child can have. Next, proponents point out that socialization can be either
positive or negative, and argue that a great deal of peer socialization, especially in the school setting,
is of the negative variety. Next, they attack the notion that school is the only place for a child’s
socializing experiences with peers (The Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues, Vol. 16: 99, 2007).
Homeschooling gives children an opportunity to spend time with kids older and younger than them as
well as adults up to 90 years old (Zysk, 1999). Homeschooled children have places like Churches and
Communities that offer them variety of activities based on healthy social interaction as compared to
school. They get involved in sports, music, youth groups and service groups that give them a chance
to become productive in relationships and be a positive influence on society using good interpersonal
skills.

Study done by Stough in 1992 on families with children of 7-14 years of age, particularly looked at
the issue of “socialization”. He compared 30 homeschooling families with 32 conventionally
schooling family. He found out that necessary skill, knowledge and attitude required to function
properly in a society, of the homeschooled children were same as public school children. Children’s
self concepts of the two groups were not different from one another. The research also took in account
that considering self concept as a socialization reflector, some homeschooled children were socially
deprived and some homeschooled children indicated a higher self concept than the children of the
conventional schools. In order to find out this contrast of self-concept between homeschooled and
conventional school students, Taylor in 1986 did a nationwide study. Considering self-concept as a
significant aspect of a child’s psychological development. Taylor used the Piers-Harris Children’s
Self- Concept Scale for measuring the central core of personality of homeschooled children in grades
4-12 (Michael H. Romanowski, 2006). He found that half of the homeschooled children scored 91
percentile or more, which was 47% higher than the conventional school children. This negated the
skepticism that homeschooled children are lower in socialization. The findings of these two researches
suggested that concerns of the teachers, sociologists, psychologists, legislators and administrators, are
baseless.

Though results of standardized academic achievement tests show that homeschooled students score
15% to 30% more than public school students (Ray, 2011), some researchers believe that
homeschooled children have difficulties in adjusting to college and universities. One such study
conducted by Isaiah Cohen and Cynthia K. Drenovsky suggest that due to lack of wide array of
institutional experiences, may find it hard to cope with the stresses of a college environment. Though
homeschooled college students are more likely to excel in academics, in speaking and writing more
effectively, have better critical and analytical skills, have a better understanding of themselves and of
different racial or ethnic groups, have set clear career goals; have better career and work related
knowledge and skills and, may manage study and time effectively, however personally adjusting into
their new college community is not taken into account in the previous studies. The transition to
college can be a hard time for many students, and feeling uncomfortable in the new environment can
result in depression, anxiety and stress. To test the research, survey forms for measuring student’s
participation in extracurricular and academics were sent to 1500 Homeschooled College students out
which only 11.7% responded. Researchers believe that the reason for low response rate in this case
was the special nature of population targeted. A question that emerges here is that whether these
consequences have negative impact on their personal and social life? A solution to this problem as
suggested by the authors has already been discussed in previous researches that amount of social
activities and levels of community engagement before college for homeschooled children should be
enhanced and most home school educators take the involvement of children in the social and
community related activities seriously. Parents are now aided by homeschooling networks in
designing a diverse curriculum for their children with ample of opportunities for field trips,
community work and other extracurricular activities.

Though homeschooling has been proved to be successful in making the children not only better
individuals academically but also better citizens. However there is a lack of research on rules and
regulations under which states grant the parents’ permission to educate their children at home. There
is also not much work on the parent’s education or any standardized test that parents must pass to be
their children’s tutor at home. Research has been done on the statuses of the parent’s marriage, their
income but not particularly on their own education and community involvement level. A research
should be conducted to study the education and exposure level of the parents who teach their children
at home. Parent’s interest in outdoor and community activities is something which is going to help
their children to socialize with the community and people around. For this purpose tests should be
conducted for parents to check their own knowledge and concepts on annual basis as well as reports
should be submitted by the parents annually, outlining the academic and extracurricular goals
achieved. This will help to evaluate the progress of the homeschooled children on regular basis.
Research on homeschooling also lacks the scenarios in rural and remote areas. Whether the quality of
homeschooling education and socialization activities is similar to comparatively developed areas or
not? For this purpose I suggest that to conduct a survey in rural areas and know what problems and
limitations that exist there as well as compare the academic and extracurricular performance of
homeschooled children in rural areas and homeschooled children of urban areas which will add more
confirmation to the works of Stough, Taylor and Zysk.

However, you cannot escape the fact that by dedicating more time to teaching in your children at home, your
family may suffer a loss in income. The challenge is greater if you are a single-parent. Careful budgeting and
time management skills will be essential if you are going to homeschool.

What’s more, since your child will no longer be in a public school environment and all learning will
take place in the home, the family’s lifestyle and pace will change. More time will be dedicated to
homeschooling. Daily chores, errands, doctor’s appointments, and typical household routines will
need to be scheduled in coordination with your homeschooling plan.

Another important change is that while parents normally spend a lot of time with their children,
homeschooling parents spend even more time with their kids. The amount of time you need to spend
homeschooling is a major lifestyle change that influences the decision of many parents on whether or
not they homeschool. Though there are many ways for parents to secure time for themselves, it is
important to recognize that you will spend more time with your children than you do currently.

Homeschool Socialization Is Different

A second topic to consider is homeschool socialization.

One of the biggest myths we shatter is the idea that homeschool socialization does not exist or that
homeschoolers are all weird or do not know how to interact with people. The truth of the matter is that
there are pros and cons with the social experience of homeschoolers, just as there are pros and cons
with public school. Experiences will vary for all children, but the fairest way to characterize
socialization in a homeschool environment is to say it is different.
How is homeschool socialization different?

For one thing, homeschoolers do not have the same exposure to peer pressure and bullying, both of
which are tied to poorer academic performance and lower self-esteem.

Parents often decide to homeschool because they do not want their child’s values to be defined by
their peers or for their children to face social ridicule or bullying. In private or public schools, the
pressure to “fit in” or achieve a perceived level of social status among classmates can be quite great.

Homeschooling also means less daily interaction with large numbers of kids in a child’s age group.
And homeschoolers can end up spending less time each day participating in organized sports and
activities with their peers.

However, this does not mean that homeschoolers have no access to their peers, or have no ability to
play sports or socially interact with others outside their family.

In fact, on average, homeschoolers participate more in their community, are less sedentary, and
socialize with a wider mix of adults (especially professionals) than their public school counterparts.

As part of its flexible nature and focus on one-on-one / personalized learning, homeschooling involves
more field trips, real-life experiences, and hands-on learning. When it comes to sports, homeschoolers
often participate in recreational leagues or homeschool sports classes offered in their community.
Some students are homeschooled because their athletic or artistic talents have them engaged in sports
and activities at a higher level.

Homeschooling Fact: Team sports options change for homeschoolers.

Pros:
Cons:
 Your children can still participate in
 Most school districts do not allow
recreational leagues, amateur leagues,
homeschoolers to participate in public
attend local homeschool sports classes, or
school sports teams.
create their own sports leagues.

Homeschooling Fact: Different path for your child’s socialization.

Pros:

 Less ridicule and social pressures that

reduce self-esteem and discourage Cons:
learning.
 No bullying.  Some kids who were homeschooled recall
 Greater exposure to more adults through having a smaller circle of friends.
field trips and other activities.  Less daily interaction with large groups of
 Connection to other homeschoolers of kids within the same age group.
varying ages and skill levels.
 Real-life skill building is stronger in
home-based learning.

Homeschooling Fact: More time for community involvement.

Pros: Cons:
  Less distraction from students who do
not value learning allows for greater
achievement
 Homeschool students often show a
greater pride in their own
achievements, as they are self-
motivated.
 More time to be involved in the
community whether through volunteer
opportunities or community projects.
 Children lose some social interaction
with peers.

What are some arguments against homeschooling?

There are many arguments people have against homeschooling. As with every argument, they do not
apply to most of the population, but a minor few among the target audience.

-One argument is that if a child is isolated from other peers, they will be socially awkward, inept, and
unable to recover. This is a valid argument. However, since it only applies to homeschooled children
that are isolated, kept away from their peers and not taught social skills, it should be used to argue that
homeschooling is not the best choice for those students.

-Another argument would be that not all parents are qualified or organized to teach their own child.
This is also a valid argument and one that, thankfully, because of technology, and a growing support
for homeschoolers, is not that big of an issue. You can homeschool without having to hide out in your
home, get support from not only local schools at times, but mainly groups targeting homeschoolers.
There are co-op classes, group activities, sports, and many other things that homeschooled students
participate in if you look for them. However, if a parent chooses to not teach their child correctly, look
for the resources, and neglects their education, this is a very good argument against that individual
homeschooling.

-The parent has an idea that homeschooling will save and protect their children from all bullying,
harm, drugs, and bad peer pressure. This is not a reason to homeschool. Your child will still be
exposed to all of those things, but generally, instead of a teacher or the school having to govern the
28–32 students, it will be one parent with four students overlooking the issue. Generally the odds end
up better, so you can teach better management skills in a more efficient manner. While we should
always want to keep our children safe, total isolation does more harm than good. Again, this argument
only applies to a minority.

If a person fits better in a traditional school setting and learns better. That is the best argument against
homeschooling for that individual. If that child/person learns better in a one on one environment and
is not thriving in a traditional school setting, that is an argument for home education.

There is not one argument for or against either as we are all unique individuals. We can argue against
those that claim they homeschool in order to perpetuate abuse across the board, but arguing against
homeschooling in general for all, is just simply not wise.

Although homeschooling seems to be a better option to many now a days, but at the same time,
it has it's own Drawbacks which are:

1. Little or No Extra-Curriculum Activities

2. No Code of Conduct, Leading to Lack of Discipline in Kids
3. Fewer Friends and Low Level of Socialization with the Peers and Age Fellows
4. Unavailability of Professional and Trained Teachers
5. May Get Costly and Expensive
Although Homeschooling has so many positives, there always two sides of a coin, and that is why
Homeschooling is not a sensible choice for Everyone. Homeschooling cannot provide the
opportunities of Co-Curricular Activities such as Study Trips, Sports Festivals and Competitions.
They have limited resources and Creating a whole school-like environment with Proper Lesson Plans
and Schedules is easier said than done.

Unlike Public Schools, Home-schools are not bound to follow Schedules and Timetables which may
lead to Lack of Discipline in Kids. Parents can not teach up to the level of Professional and Skilled
Teachers at Schools and they might not be able to manage enough time for teaching their Kid which
can significantly effect the Academic Progress of the Child. Both the Child and Parents might get lazy
if there are no fixed times for Studying.

Home-schooled Kids are not able to properly socialize with their Peers because of being restricted to
home environment which may serve as an obstacle to their success in there Practical Life and Career.
Kids may become dependent and shy due to lack of exposure to the outer world and lack Problem
Solving Skills. Additionally, they also lack the sense of Competition which is being developed at
public schools which would not let them improve and grow in their field.

CONCLUSION

Although it's difficult to conclude which Schooling System is better out of both, but without any doubt
you are the one who is going which system will best cater the needs of your child. Not every Student
who studied at Schools was successful. On other hand, many home-schooled individuals wished to
have public schooling in order to get more successful in their lives. One has to decide personally, and
should try both systems, in order to know which works the best for your child! Its that Simple!

One of the most common questions homeschool graduates and homeschooled children face is that of
socialization. In order to address this question, it is important to first understand what is meant by the
term “socialization.” Socialization refers to social interaction but it also refers to understanding and
learning to navigate a society’s social norms and rules of behavior. Most scholars view peer
interaction, which generally centers on the school, as a critical component of this kind of socialization.
However, many homeschool parents and leaders argue that the socialization children receive in school
is unnatural and actually harmful, and that socialization is best gained through life experiences that
center around the family, and should include interactions with those in a variety of age groups.

We know from both research and anecdotal data that homeschooled children can be well socialized,
both in terms of learning the social norms of society and in terms of social interaction. Many
homeschooled children have large social networks and active social calendars. These homeschoolers
are involved in field trips, play dates, ballet or gymnastic classes, group sports, music lessons,
homeschool co-ops, and even community college courses or dual enrollment courses in the local
public schools, and generally integrate into the university or workplace without a hitch. However, not
all homeschooled children are involved in such a wide array of social activities and some do not
receive the level of socialization they need. These homeschooled children crave a greater degree of
social interaction, and for some their opportunities for social interaction are so limited that they
develop social phobias or experience extreme social awkwardness. These homeschoolers may be
involved in only a few social activities, and the level of social interaction these activities provide may
not be adequate for their personal and social development.

How is it that homeschooling offers opportunities for healthy social development and interaction for
some children but not for others? Because, quite simply, every homeschool family—and every
homeschooled child—is different. What is true for one homeschooling family may be false for
another. In other words, the fact that a given homeschooled child is thriving socially and is involved in
numerous activities says nothing about the experience of a homeschooled child living down the road,
who may only have a few limited social outlets. Children who are homeschooled because they were
bullied in school may find homeschooling an extremely positive social experience, while children who
are homeschooled by parents who carefully control and limit their social lives and activities may find
homeschooling socially crippling. Similarly, even with the same number of activities and social
outlets, an introverted child may find homeschooling a perfect social experience while an extroverted
child may feel lonely and stunted.

Researcher Brian Ray found that the homeschooled children in a 1997 study he conducted were
involved in an average of 5.2 activities each week, including field trips, Sunday school, Bible club,
group sports, music classes, volunteer work, and more. However, Ray also found that a full 13% of
homeschoolers in his sample did not play with people outside of their families, suggesting that at least
some homeschooled children are more socially isolated than homeschool advocates may like to admit.
While Ray’s study relied on volunteer participants rather than a random sample and the social
opportunities available to homeschooled students have only increased in the last two decades, his
findings suggest that it would be wrong to assume that every homeschooled child is involved in a
large number of social activities outside of the home.

Over the past three decades, studies of homeschooled students conducted using researcher
observation, various surveys designed to measure social skills, and interviews with homeschool
graduates have almost universally found that homeschooled students score either as well as or better
than their conventionally schooled peers in a range of social measures. However, these studies have
major limitations. First, there are sampling issues. Many of these studies use extremely small sample
sizes and all use volunteer participants who are likely not representative of the homeschooling
population as a whole. Second, most studies rely on parents’ and students’ self reporting, and the
pressure homeschoolers often feel to “prove” that socialization is not a problem may affect the results.
As researcher Milton Gaither has pointed out, “across several studies homeschooling parents
consistently rate their children higher than do parents of conventionally schooled children, though the
children themselves don’t rate themselves much differently at all.” Finally, many of these studies have
been conducted by homeschool advocates, which may bias the results.

Further, these studies actually include a fair amount of nuance. They have consistently found that
homeschooled students have fewer friends and a significantly lower amount of social interaction with
peers. Many researchers, especially homeschool advocates, have interpreted these results positively,
arguing that homeschooled students are less peer-dependent and therefore more socially mature.
However, homeschooled students in some studies have reported loneliness and a greater degree of
social isolation. Further, one study of homeschooled teens and homeschool graduates found that those
who had fewer social opportunities while being homeschooled expressed a less favorable attitude
toward their homeschool experiences than did those who had a greater number of social opportunities,
suggesting that the degree of social interaction available to homeschooled children is vitally important
to the quality of their homeschool experience (Sekkes, 2004).
We have only one survey of homeschool graduates that uses a randomly selected sample, and that is
the Cardus Education Survey (2011). This survey, which compared and contrasted the educational
experiences of adults aged 24 to 39 who grew up in religious homes, found that homeschool graduates
were significantly more likely to report “lack of clarity of goals and sense of direction” and “feelings
of helplessness in dealing with life’s problems” than conventionally schooled graduates. These
findings back up anecdotal reports by some homeschool graduates of childhood and teenage
depression, loneliness, social phobias, and a sense of cultural alienation. While the Cardus participants
were randomly selected, it looked only at young adults who were raised in religious homes, and it
would therefore be unwise to generalize its findings to homeschooling writ large. Further, the Cardus
study focuses on the experiences of homeschool graduates who are now adults, meaning that its
findings may apply more to homeschooling ten or twenty years ago than to homeschooling today.
Still, the Cardus study suggests that there may be more to the story than the more positive findings of
many studies of socialization conducted over the past thirty years.

In the end, we know that homeschooled children can be well socialized in terms of both peer
interaction and learning cultural norms. Many homeschooled children are involved in a wide range of
activities outside of the home and maintain active social calendars. However, we also know that
homeschooled children are not always well socialized. Ensuring that homeschooled children have
adequate social interaction can be a lot of work for homeschooling parents, and not all do it well.
Some homeschooled children are lonely and crave a greater degree of social interaction. Others may
not experience loneliness but may be socially awkward when placed in certain social situations
because they have never learned how to act around their peers. Finally, homeschooled children who
grow up in certain homeschooling subcultures may socialize widely but only in a homogenous group,
and may experience a feeling of cultural alienation when they graduate and move into the wider
world. In other words, socialization can be done well in a homeschooling context, but it is something
that takes time, attention, and planning.

HOMESCHOOLING AND SOCIALIZATION REVISITED

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Milton Gaither

Record: Richard G. Medlin, “Homeschooling and the Question of Socialization Revisited,” in

Peabody Journal of Education 88, no. 3 (2013): 284-297.

Summary:

Medlin, a psychology professor at Stetson University, here continues a line of inquiry he began in one
of the landmark articles of the original 2000 Peabody Journal homeschooling special issue. Since that
article he has published several pieces in the journal Home School Researcher, all of which find very
positive results for homeschoolers’ social and academic development. In this piece his goal is to
review research on homeschooler socialization that has appeared since his 2000 article.

Medlin first looks at homeschooling parents’ thoughts about their children’s socialization. Parents
generally thought socialization was important and that their children were being well socialized, not
only in terms of religious values but also in learning to get along with others. Medlin notes that the
studies he cites in this section are limited by small sample size and self-reporting.

The next section concerns children’s social skills as measured by the Social Skills Rating System test,
which is another self-reporting mechanism. Across several studies homeschooling parents
consistently rate their children higher than do parents of conventionally schooled children, though the
children themselves don’t rate themselves much differently at all. In a couple of studies
homeschooled children, especially girls, rated themselves below institutionally schooled children in
terms of social skills despite the fact that these children’s parents rated them above the norm. Medlin
notes that the lack of difference between boys and girls who homeschool is perhaps significant, given
that conventionally-schooled girls typically score themselves much higher than do conventionally
schooled boys.
The third section covers emotional, social, and life satisfaction as well as problem behaviors. In all of
these categories homeschoolers come out looking very good. While some of these studies
disingenuously compare homeschoolers to national norms, several of them used more compelling
methodologies which allow for fair comparisons between homeschoolers and conventionally schooled
kids. The most dramatic differences between the two groups were reported by teachers (for
homeschoolers these are teachers at co-ops and other out-of-home environments), who rate the
homeschooled kids much higher in positive qualities and much lower in problem areas. There is some
suggestion from the research that homeschooled kids may have fewer friends, but that those they do
have are extremely valuable to them.

Fourth comes moral and religious socialization. Here homeschoolers are not very different from their
conventionally-schooled peers, though they do show fewer instances of antisocial or criminal
behavior.

Finally comes adjustment for college and adulthood. Homeschoolers are doing fine here too,
succeeding in college and life.

Medlin closes, after noting the limitations of most of this research, with an appeal for homeschooling
researchers to get beyond the simple self-report and survey-type research that has heretofore
dominated studies of socialization. He’d like to see more compelling strategies “such as longitudinal
designs, naturalistic observation, and interactional analysis…” (p. 294)

Appraisal:

There was much to like in Medlin’s survey. He succinctly and fairly summarized many studies that
together lead to an unsurprising conclusion that homeschoolers are doing fine in terms of their
socialization. I have two critiques I’d like to offer, however, one small and one a little larger.

The small one is that it would have been nice had Medlin been more explicit in stating which of the
studies he was summarizing were using shoddy methodology. He occasionally points out a
particularly good study, but many of the generalizations he makes are based on studies that have very
little scientific value since they are based entirely on self-report data from non-random
samples. Medlin’s discussions frequently mix these sorts of studies in with the better ones
indiscriminately.

More significantly, Medlin leaves out a lot of important work that has been done in recent years. The
article Rob Kunzman and I recently published in the journal Other Education provides a much more
thorough look both at the childhood socialization question (pp. 19-23) and at the college/adulthood
question (pp. 29-31). I ask readers to consult the article for actual citations, but let me here note four
things Medlin’s survey does not cover, or at least not completely.

First, he doesn’t note the studies that have found a strikingly different definition of socialization for
many homeschooling parents. Medlin makes homeschoolers sound like they have the same social
goals as other parents, but according to some research this is not always the case.

Second, at least some of the more qualitative research on socialization for which Medlin calls at the
end has in fact been done. In addition to Mitchell Stevens’ classic Kingdom of Children, both Rob
Kunzman’s Write These Laws on Your Children and Jennifer Lois’ Home Is Where the School Is offer
many insights into the daily lives of real homeschoolers that fit precisely with what Medlin wants of
future socialization research.

Third, Medlin ignores the studies that have found in at least some homeschooling parents the very
authoritarianism Medlin is at such pains to show is not present. Again, for details see our article.

Finally, Medlin’s discussion of college/adulthood likewise leaves many studies out. Some of them
would only reinforce what he already says, but one of the most important studies ever of
homeschooling (because of its large and randomized sample), the Cardus Education Survey, found
that formerly homeschooled young adults got married younger, had fewer children, and divorced more
frequently than adults who attended public or private schools. Homeschooled adults also reported
lower SAT scores than the privately schooled subjects, attended less selective colleges for less time,
and reported at higher rates feelings of helplessness about life and lack of goals and direction. Any
survey of adults who were homeschooled must include this study in the mix.