Orthodox Christian Homeschooling: Myths and Benefits

It's hard to imagine a more supportive jurisdiction for homeschooling than the Antiochian archdiocese. They are often the best place to go for resources, conferences, and the like. I'd recommend that parents who aren't sure if they want to homeschool to engage in this resource and consider going to the next Homeschooling Conference at the Antiochian Village in PA.

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(antiochian.org) - Help us help you! Survey for homeschooling families

Despite homeschooling's meteoric rise in the past few years, many myths about homeschooling persist in mainstream thought. In some ways, perhaps the myths have only grown, as many families were introduced to a very particular, narrow version of schooling at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. In reality, homeschooling is a varied and multi-faceted little universe! 

Whether you are interested--but hesitant--about homeschooling, have family members or friends exploring homeschooling, or think homeschooling is just plain crazy, we hope this information will offer you food for thought. Did you know that the Antiochian Archdiocese has a Department of Homeschooling? If you have questions or would like to talk about any of the information provided here, please email the Saint Emmelia Ministries office at: office@saintemmelia.com. (View the Department's introductory video, Why Homeschool?) 

Homeschooling Myths

1. Homeschoolers cannot succeed in college or in the workforce. By the numbers: Homeschoolers have an average standardized test score of 87th percentile, compared to public schoolers in the 50th percentile. 66.7% of homeschooled students graduate college, 10% higher than public school students. College students who were homeschooled earn higher first-year and fourth-year GPAs when controlling for demographic, pre-college, engagement, and first-term academic factors. Here's the deal. The modern school system is built to accommodate working parents and not children. You need nothing like eight hours of instruction to match with what your child is doing at school. At the same time, you have to be consistent and intentional. It's a trivial thing to be better than most schools at educating your children, but you can also put out little effort and your child will not learn. The rewards are great but the safety net of public school minimum standards for matriculation is gone, too.
2. Homeschoolers are all socially awkward. While it is difficult to qualify what "socially awkward" means, 87% of peer-reviewed studies on social, emotional, and psychological development show homeschool students perform statistically significantly better than those in conventional schools[4]. Additionally, homeschool students self-report a high level of comfort interacting with people from all age groups. Ask a librarian, museum docent, etc. their experiences working with homeschool students–they will almost certainly say that homeschoolers tend to be polite, well-behaved, and curious. School students are very accustomed to associating only with kids in their grades. As a result, the idea of being in 5th grade and talking to a 7th grader is unthinkable. Homeschoolers are a bit precocious here; they'll talk to adults as readily as a two-year-old. This can seem awkward, but they more defy being hemmed in by age distinction than anything else. All that said, and to be fair, school children can spot a homeschooled child from a thousand paces.
3. Homeschool parents are unqualified to teach their children. Parents' education level statistically makes no impact on the success rates of their children. There are multiple factors that contribute to this: typically, homeschool parents are driven to provide their children with an excellent education; there are many wonderful curriculum options, and homeschool families know how to make use of the resources available to them! There are so many resources out there that you could offload a lot of this elsewhere. Or if you want to do certain classes that way. I recommend the St. Athanasius Academy and the CLRC.
4. Families homeschool so that they can brainwash their children. While it is true that many families homeschool so that they can cultivate their values in their children, that is rarely the only goal (and it is a very different goal from "brainwashing"!). In fact, the number one reason 80% of polled families homeschool is to protect their children from unsafe environments and negative peer pressure; for 61% it is to offer their children a higher quality education. Homeschooling is not a defensive reaction; it is a positive, proactive step; not an emergency, but rather a difficult, but treasured calling. If anyone is brainwashing anyone, it's not parents.
5. The only people who homeschool are rich, white, religious fundies. Homeschooling is far from homogenous. Not only do families homeschool according to a variety of methods and belief systems (everything from Classical Liberal Arts to Charlotte Mason to Montessori to Waldorf), but homeschooling families across the political and religious spectrums are choosing to homeschool. The vast majority of homeschoolers are lower middle class (which makes sense, considering most homeschool families are single income), and 17-26% of homeschool families are Hispanic, 6-8% are black, and 2-3% are AAPI, 4-6% identified as other (29-41% of all homeschool families). This falls roughly along the lines of the national race demographics (59.3% white, 18.9% Latino, 12.6% black, 5.9% AAPI, 3.7% other). Fundamentalist is just another term for saying they are religious and actually meaning it. It's a convenient derogatory term to dismiss or revile someone. Also, it costs less to homeschool a child than to send them off to school. 
6. Homeschooling hurts public schools. While homeschool families support the public schools via taxes, homeschoolers receive no tax breaks or special government support. When families choose to homeschool their children, they free up resources (especially teacher time and energy!) for other students. In fact, homeschooling saved taxpayers 51 billion in 2021-2022. 
7. Homeschoolers miss out on extracurricular and other opportunities. 98% of homeschoolers participate in an average of 5 extracurricular activities per week. Additionally, not being tied to a traditional school day allows students to take part in internships, apprenticeships, and other skill-strengthening activities. The flexibility of homeschooling gives students an opportunity to explore a range of interests to figure out what they are passionate about. Every state/school district is different. Some will let your children do sports, some will not. But often the highest level athletes are homeschooled. Regardless, you can fill up every waking hour with activities or do none. Up to you.

Like any group of people, homeschoolers are not a monolith: their experiences, interests, and other traits run the gamut of every possible human experience, interest, and trait. The only thing that just about every homeschool family shares is that the recognition that the greatest responsibility for their children's education rests on their shoulders. And what a joyful responsibility it is...

Complete article here.