By Grace Huffstetler, OMAHA, Neb. – There’s a common misconception that homeschooled students lack opportunities to socialize. However studies suggest they socialize just as well as their public school peers.
Homeschooling has grown steadily over the past decade. According to the Nebraska Department of Education, over fifteen thousand students were homeschooled in the state last year. While some worry that homeschooling limits social development, recent research and personal stories suggest otherwise.
Learning Beyond the Living Room
Some students are homeschooled outside of religious reasons. Emma Gardner, a UNO graduate working at Methodist while pursuing nursing, was homeschooled at a young age due to health issues. During high school, she took Metro classes through the CollegeNow program as credit. She says this enabled her independent learning and introduced her early to college life.
“You are thrown into college and adult learning while you’re still like, 16.” Gardner says with a smile. Though she enjoyed the independent learning of college at that age, she also admitted to missing the social aspect in public school. Something she gained as she continued her journey through college.
Finding Their Niche to Thrive
Transitioning from a homeschooled setting to a public school setting can come with challenges. A retired school counselor from the Louis and Clark Middle School named Mary Lincoln says during her time working for fifteen years, she’s seen how students had grown. Some of the previously homeschooled students got into the wrong crowd, but those that found the right one did just fine.
“Kids seem to find their niche,” Lincoln says. “and I don’t think it matters that you were homeschooled.”
Lincoln also says it helped that these students had outlets for social activities, such as sports, church or co-op groups. “There were social interactions. So, they weren’t awkward.”
Different Path, Same Success
Homeschooling may follow a different path, but it can lead to the same social and academic success, as seen in students like Gardner.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Gardner says, “you develop a lot of social skills and connections that you might not get if you just homeschool.”
Data backs up these observations. A study by the National Home Education Research Institute, which reviewed over 800,000 students, found that homeschoolers scored higher than their public school peers on the SAT and earned higher GPAs in their first year of college.
While the path to socialization is different for homeschoolers, the outcome is often the same: strong, well-rounded individuals thriving in the world beyond the classroom – and living room.
