Homeschool education has been increasing dramatically since the COVID crisis, and it is not going away anytime soon. Many homeschooling families were connected through other homeschooling groups for lessons or activities, and they were happy with the result for many reasons. According to the Pensacola News Journal, some reasons include gratitude, parents’ involvement, family gatherings, and well-being. Others include the outcomes of students who are homeschooled versus those who are in public education settings, along with what has been promoted in schools.

Yes, LGBT materials are not only getting into public schools, but private schools as well. According to Breitbart, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), a nonprofit membership association, was pushing queer theory in K-12 public and private schools. It included video footage of the workshop, which included lectures on implementing LGBT materials at each grade level and phrases parents should use when discussing their children’s sexuality.

NAIS also has an enrollment contract that bars parents from being involved in their children’s gender identity even though they would work with them whenever possible. Students were not required to have any medical diagnosis or treatment to be recognized and respected for their gender identity. Approval from parents or guardians about their child’s gender identity was not required, which raises concerns.

Why are parents or legal guardians (not talking about abusive or toxic parents or guardians here) excluded from their children’s lives? They are the ones who are responsible for their children’s positive development and character traits. As the old saying says, parents are their children’s first teachers when they first enter the world, not teachers. Teachers are there to find various teaching strategies to help students achieve their academic performance in academic subjects such as math, science, true history, art, and English. They evaluate and report to their parents about their children’s academic performance, what they need to improve and ways to help them. Sometimes, they work with school counselors to provide a positive educational experience and prepare students for college or real-world experience.

Furthermore, why do kids not need any medical diagnosis or treatment to be recognized for gender identity? According to The Free Dictionary, the DSM-IV specifies symptoms that children display that help in diagnosing gender identity disorder even though the underlying cause is unknown. It also specifies treatments for the disorder, so health professionals can evaluate the best treatment for their patients.

Public education raises huge concerns about providing a real-world education for young children but not homeschooling. According to the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI), students who are homeschooled do better than students who are not homeschooled. Seventy-eight percent of peer-reviewed studies show that they score above average on the SAT, ACT, or other academic achievement tests. Eighty-seven percent of peer-reviewed studies show that they are doing better than public or private school students. They are more engaged in social and educational activities outside of their homes. By asking questions, they develop a healthy self-concept. Also, they still tend to do better in college than their peers.

CBS News reported on research focusing on homeschooled students, conducted by Michael Cogan, the director and analyst at the University of St. Thomas. These students attended universities in the upper Midwest. Most of them lived off-campus and mostly identified themselves as religious. Their education experience shows that they do better than other students, ranging from average GPA, standardized tests and graduation rate to their personal lifestyle. Homeschooled students had an average GPA of 3.46 compared to other students, whose average GPA was 3.16. The ACT score was 26.5 compared to 25.0, and the graduation rate was 66.7% higher compared to 57.5%. Social development skills were not provided. However, Dr. Cogan looked at other research, showing that homeschooled students who graduate tend to vote and participate in community service more than their peers.

The Conversation reported that homeschooled children do better in social development skills than their peers. The study, conducted by Richard G. Medlin, a homeschool researcher at Stetson University, included two groups: a homeschooled group and a comparison group. The homeschool group consisted of thirty-two boys and thirty-eight girls from grades 3 through 6. Both were white, religious, and lived in the same Central Florida neighborhood. Their parents’ ethnic background or demographic information were not recorded. However, previous research showed that these homeschooled children were religious, educated, and their family income was higher than the state of Florida’s median four-person family income. The comparison group included children from other ethnic groups and were chosen randomly from U.S. communities, mainly from the South. It consisted of the same number of children and grade levels as the homeschooled group. Although the parents’ socioeconomic background was not disclosed, they were described as having a higher level of education than the typical community.

Both groups were rated based on their scores on cooperation, assertiveness, empathy, and self-control in the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) from Social Skills Rating System Manual by Frank M. Gresham & Stephen N. Elliott. Each sub-scale makes an assessment of children’s soft skills, ranging from participation, friendship, self-respect, consideration, replies, and takes. The result showed that the homeschool group had a higher average than the comparison group for every grade level. For each sub-scale, some homeschooled boys score higher or lower than homeschooled girls based on their grade level, and vice versa. This pattern is the same for public school boys and girls. 

Homeschooling seems to be a good alternative to public education. It includes parents’ involvement in their children’s education, the learning process, and issues. It allows children to express themselves and to choose their values and beliefs. In other words, it brings free speech and freedom of religion back into the picture. It offers a healthy and safe environment for children to learn and to develop the soft and hard skills they need for the future. Such an environment includes cooperative homeschool programs as well as sports programs and science lab activities for homeschooling students.