Category: Laziness

Homeschool Myths: Homeschool Kids Are Too Lazy for Real School

12/7/2014

Homeschool Myth #3

by Lyn Lomasi, Staff Writer

As the concept of homeschooling continues to ease back into the mainstream, where it began, more and more questions and myths seem to follow. Some people tend to believe that a child who schools at home is too lazy to attend a "regular" school. While browsing various websites, blogs, and forums online, I noticed something very sad. Many homeschooled children were complaining that their friends in public or private school thought they were lazy and couldn't handle "real" schoolwork.

Some of the home schooled children recalled being in public school and compared it to what they do in homeschool. Most of the ones I came across that mentioned this stated they had more schoolwork in their home school, but many still preferred it because there was also more time to concentrate on work.

Sometimes people assume that because you're at home, you have the freedom to lax on your schoolwork. However, for many homeschooling families, that isn't even a consideration. School time is still school time. Just because the classes might be held at home or in another location besides a public or private school, that doesn't make them less important.

Another topic where laziness came up was during homework time. Some homeschooled children do not have homework. I have found that when this is the case, it's generally because there is a great deal of school work completed during the day. To give homework afterward would be overwhelming for the child in that case.

In my observations and experience, a homeschooled child might actually have less room to be lazy with their schoolwork. Generally the parents will be more observant of a child's schoolwork when it is being done at home. Rather than asking a child about their work, the parent has the unique opportunity of being present while it is completed. Because of more parental involvement, this sometimes sets higher standards for the child to perform.

I have also found that many homeschooled children will score at one or more levels above their grade level, which means they may be working twice as hard in less time. The HSLDA has posted information on a study relating to that. The HSLDA has more information on the scores and performance of homeschooled children.

While being lazy could very well apply to some children in home school, it could probably be applied to some children in public school as well. Those same children would likely be lax in performing their studies, no matter which type of school they attended. Someone who is lazy will generally be lazy, no matter their environment.

Things to Remember:

Some kids who attend home school have more schoolwork than those who don't.
When homeschooled kids don't get homework, it could be due to large amounts of daily work.
Because of more parental involvement, this sometimes sets higher standards for the child to perform.
Many homeschooled children score one or more grade levels higher than their requirements.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

2 Comments

Homeschool Myths: Homeschool Parents Are Just Lazy

12/7/2014

1 Comment

Homeschool Myth #2

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

As the concept of homeschooling continues to ease back into the mainstream, where it began, more and more questions and myths seem to follow. A common myth that seems to follow many parents who decide to homeschool their kids is the concept of laziness.

Confusion By Strangers

It has been my experience that strangers often perceive parents who homeschool as being too lazy to bring their children to school. I say strangers because in my experience, even when people who are close to homeschooling families have questions, they usually don't center around laziness.

Laziness Questions

I'm sorry if this offends anyone, but the first time I heard this question, I had to stifle a laugh. Well, at least I tried to anyway. Eventually, it did accidentally come out. How could taking on the responsibility of a teacher, in addition to normal parenting duties, be seen as lazy? Still, I listened to the misinformed woman express her concerns.

In a friendly disagreement with my actions, she was concerned that because I wanted to homeschool my children, that meant I really was just tired of transporting them back and forth from school, as if teaching them was somehow easier than that. I sincerely hope that she doesn't treat the difficult tasks her child's teachers face every day with the same disregard.

What Does a Homeschool Parent Even Do All Day?

Perhaps people who make this assumption do not understand everything that a homeschooling parent has to do in a day, or even think about it. I would never call a parent who brings their child to public or private school lazy because parenting is still hard, either way. However, I can say from experience that adding on the responsibility of teaching is anything but laziness and it's definitely much harder than dropping them off at school.

Think about everything you can that involves teaching for a moment. There are kids to instruct, supplies to ready daily, lessons to be planned, papers to grade, activities to plan, field trips to make, supplies to keep stocked, and the list goes on quite extensively. When thinking about this, compare to it the small task of picking up and dropping off kids from school daily. There is no comparison.

Bringing This Homeschool Myth To a Close

This myth pretty much falls flat from the start to anyone who takes a moment to consider it, but for some reason, it still comes up in discussion often. As with any situation, there are likely exceptions to the rule, where a parent withdraws their child from school for the wrong reasons and doesn't teach them or has good intentions, but doesn't follow through. However, I wouldn't label that homeschooling. I'd instead label it educational neglect, which is a whole separate issue and is not representative of the majority of home schools.

*This author welcomes feedback and discussion.

To read more from this author on home schooling, positive parenting, and other topics, simply click on her name above.

*I originally published this via Yahoo Contributor Network

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Homeschool Myths: Homeschool Kids Are Too Lazy for Real School

Homeschool Myth #3

Homeschool Myths: Homeschool Parents Are Just Lazy

Homeschool Myth #2

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