Analysis Of Homeschooling

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Patricia Lines describes homeschooling in the abstract for her article Homeschooling Comes of Age, as “one of the most significant social trends of the past half century.” The practice of homeschooling has sparked debate over its effectiveness and the quality of the students it produces. Roy Lechtrek, in The Case for Homeschooling, and Lines argue in favour of homeschooling while Benjamin Gorman, in An Argument Against Homeschooling, does not see it as a good educational system. All three of them agree that isolation in education, whether social or academic, is not beneficial to students. They also believe that religion plays a major role in the decision to homeschool students. The differences they have are a result of their agreement on these fundamental principles of education. Disagreement is over the …show more content…

This disagreement however, stems from an agreement that homeschoolers can be inexperienced and need resources. “The teacher-parent… has numerous texts, workbooks, videos, and materials to choose from…”(Lechtrek) and “Homeschooling associations provide advice and information…” (Lines 79). These statements imply that homeschoolers understand the danger of isolation and take measures to pool resources and work together. Gorman’s agreement is implied in his disagreement: “They do not receive any help or training or teaching resources.”
Further, Gorman contends that, if children are homeschooled, “at the very least they’ll have an inexperienced teacher every year.” Lechtrek however does not see that as a problem: “an inexperienced parent can usually find answers to problems from other members of the group.” In their disagreement they agree that inexperience is a problem for homeschooling parents. Lines goes further to say that “a handful of studies suggest that student achievement for homeschoolers has no relation to the educational attainment of the homeschooling

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