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by nibbleshifter 1119 days ago
Not really. In many cases it cripples the child's social development. Which is child abuse.
7 comments

In your opinion, which should apply to your own children.

It might also be argued that "in many cases" sending your children to public school where they'll receive a vastly inferior education is child abuse.

In some people's opinion, not teaching your children about Jesus is child abuse, and vice versa.

So then who should draw the lines? When should the government and society have a greater say over a child than their own parents?

If literacy is falling year after year in a country and the schools are not making changes, should a parent not consider homeschool?

My kids attend public school, by the way, but I think this is a worthwhile discussion.

I'd suggest that this perspective is tainted by the association in the United States between home schooling and religious separatism. Home schooling in Europe (and in some places in the US) is much more often about parents coming together to provide a safer, less structured, less authoritarian, more project based space for their kids to learn. Check out the unschooling movement - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unschooling#:~:text=Unschoolin....
It’s also tainted by authoritarian regimes indoctrinating people to believe the only ones capable of teaching the children are the aforementioned regimes.
I know many home schooled children. I see no evidence of poor social development. In fact I see more emotional scars left by bad interactions at public schools than I do from homeschooling.
Careful about your experience representing a biased sample. For children who had poor social development likely resulted in less likelihood of knowing you at all.
I agree. My sample is biased and not a scientific study.

I'm involved in a religious group that has a higher rate of homeschooling.

But the adults, who were homeschooled, that I've met are some of the most well adjusted, charming and confident people around.

Yet I've met some who were bullied in school and have to seek help because of it.

That is not to say that you can't do home school wrong and screw up your kids. You totally can.

1 anecdotal experience is all it takes to disprove a sweeping generalization
If that was truly the reason why, and not a convenient excuse, then governments would state mandate social activities and not take children from their parents, which would be just as abusive.

Instead, it’s all about mandating government control over children.

In many cases public school cripples a child’s social development and leaves them with anxiety, shame, and other social hang ups for the rest of their life.
And somehow the prison-scholar complex doesn't count?
That doesn't exist in my country, we have a tiny prison population.
Are you counting the children mandated to go to school as part of that population of prisoners?