IS HOMESCHOOLING SOCIALLY HARMFUL?

LINDSEY: When my request to be homeschooled, aged nine, was granted, I was living a childhood dream. I relished attending school in pyjamas and taking field trips on a whim. But the novelty would soon wear off. As I grew older and pushed myself academically, I became increasingly introverted. While my social isolation facilitated disciplined study, it created many challenges.

When I left home, I came to realize that the homeschooling environment produced a world that was selectively crafted and ideologically filtered. When I arrived at college, I had never met someone with religious or political beliefs different from my own and my lack of adolescent social experiences left me feeling vulnerable and confused.

While I found my own homeschool experience to be lonely and isolating, it pales in comparison to the extreme social deprivation and neglect endured by others. I acknowledge the important distinction between abusive homeschooling environments and well-intended ones. While I am privileged to count myself among the latter, I maintain that homeschooling can be socially harmful