A Reoccuring Disadvantage of Homeschooling

The most frequently referenced disadvantage of homeschooling is homeschool socialization. However, that idea is usually held by people who have never homeschooled. As a home educator, I think one of the biggest disadvantages of homeschooling is worrying about whether or not I'm doing everything I need to be doing to give my kids choices for their future.

Veteran homeschool parents that I know who have raised their children, sent them off to college, work, or the military all say "Don't worry, it will be ok!" But that is easier said than done for someone who is still in the middle of the action. I find myself always thinking, planning, and researching what to do next. I consider myself a relaxed homeschooler because I don't get terribly bent out of shape if things don't go like I planned them, but I still like to have a plan.

When my children were small, I worried that I was doing the right thing. I worried is their math lesson didn't get finished. I worried that they would be behind if I ever had to put them back in school. I spent hours researching just the right thing. If our day didn't go well, I'd second guess myself.

Now that they are older, I am more confident about our decision to homeschool being the right one. But with college in the not so distant future, I worry about a whole new set of issues. What am I going to do about a lab science? Maybe I should put them back in school for high school. What about drivers ed? How do I know this is the kind of transcript the colleges want to see?

Matthew 6:25-27 says, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"

I have to remind myself daily that my kids will be what God wants them to be when they grow up and it doesn't really matter what I do. I could have them ready for medical school academically, but they might choose to be in a band. (Ok... let's hope that doesn't happen.) But the point is, this doesn't need to be a disadvantage of homeschooling if I do my best, quit worrying, and leave the rest to God.

This is not the only disadvantage of homeschooling, and there are of course many advantages of homschooling. Use this link to read find the pros and cons of homeschooling.

Use this link to read about some other bad things about homeschooling that are a result of the expectations of others.

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