Why Carole Moore Choose Not to Homeschool

Why Carole Moore Choose Not to Homeschool

I remember one teenager in particular. After years of alternately being homeschooled and attending a very strict, small, church-based school, she moved to a public school — where she spiraled out of control. She drank. She took drugs. And she had sex. Her parents were appalled; that was not how they'd raised their daughter.

Some would blame the influence of the public school system. They'd say she made friends with bad kids. And they'd be right. But that wasn't the only reason she got into so much trouble. In my opinion, her problem went much deeper: she didn't know how to handle the sudden combination of freedom and exposure to a side of life she'd never personally confronted. Her parents had talked about these things. She'd heard about them in church. But talk alone isn't a substitute for reality, and the forbidden often looms sweet and tantalizing by virtue of its mystery.

Why I choose to homeschool.

I don't think you have to expose your child to "bad influences" in order for them to be law abiding teens and responsible adults. Part of good parenting is teaching your child to make good choices and allowing them to make choices appropriate for their age and reap the consequences of those choices.

Also the majority of homeschoolers are not nearly as sheltered as the author of this piece makes out. Many of us register our children to play on recreational sports leagues where they interact with public school students many of whom are from broken homes, do drugs, cuss and wear inappropriate clothing as well as behave in a sexually provocative manner. And hey not all homeschoolers are innocent little angels. Some parents choose to homeschool after their children have gotten in trouble, sometimes very serious trouble, in the public schools

Homeschooled children also hang out with the kids in their neighborhoods and very few of us have perfect neighbors.

I have always been baffled by those individuals who insist "homeschoolers don't live in the real world"; exactly what world do we live in? We live in the same communities as everyone else. We are involved in our neighborhoods and our children have the same temptations as other children do. And with the internet more then ever before we and our children can explore the wider world outside our neighborhoods.