[travisfischer]

As someone who was home schooled in a situation similar to that of the author (extremely beneficial, highly unstructured but with very accelerated learning pace) but who had friends & acquaintances across the spectrum of those described in the article I find this article and the respond in the comments on vice pretty troubling. There are parents who will isolate and brainwash their children regardless of where they receive their education. Yes, more hours at home means more isolation but the alternative of mandating some kind of "approved" educational process is not worth sacrificing freedom in educational choices.

While this article vividly describes a sub-culture that will be troubling to those previously un-exposed to it, it also manages to throw one of the most important and effective educational revolutions of the last 20 years under the bus. This revolution is that of parents taking their children's education back into their own hands and teaching their children at home. The internet has massively enabled parents in this revolution. Freedom in educational choices is one of the most important freedoms I can imagine especially in a country where education is as broken as it is in the United States.

The truth is that many home schooled kids are a little less socially refined in their earlier years unless their parents go to great efforts (as mine did) to involve them in social activities outside the home on a regular basis. However, of all of the home schooled kids that I knew growing up even the most isolated have managed to adjust eventually and I would argue that the majority of those I knew were receiving a superior education and went into the post K-12 years with many advantages over their public schooled counter-parts.

There is a strong anti-homeschool contingent in this country with a mix of motives and arguments against and I get very bothered by articles like this because of the misinformation and in-balanced perspective they propagate. Even though the author doesn't argue against home schooling directly or as a whole, it does reinforce stereotypes and ideas that are simply not the truth in the majority of cases. Read the comments thread on vice and you will see exactly what I'm referring to.