Argument:
Furthermore, another reason that home-schooled students should be able to participate in public-school sports is because home-schooled students are good at interacting and communicating with others. Noah Berlatsky, the author of the article “Homeschooling Students Are Well Socialized,” expresses that home-schooled students are polite and tend to have a better desire to learn and work hard (Berlatsky par. 10). Berlatsky point is that the students who are homeschooled have the drive and motivation to gain knowledge. A majority of students who do not attend a public school are able to communicate and interact with the members of their community. If home-schooled students had the opportunity to play a part in the sports at public school then they would get along with their teammates and the coaches. They are not in a building all day so they have the opportunity to interact and communicate with a great deal of the different members of society throughout the day. According to the article “Socialization Not a Problem,” even though home-schooled students learn from their home, they are more involved in the community and what is going on in the world than the students who attend public school (“Socialization Not a Problem.” par. 5). These students have the ability to converse with citizens who are of a different age and know how to interact with citizens in the community. The community is not made up of individuals who are all of the same age. Being able to cooperate with humans of the same age is important, but students will not always be around those who are their age. They are going to need to know and experience what it is like to speak to individuals who are of a greater age than they are. Home-schooled students would be able to interact and communicate with everyone who is involved with the team.
Opposition:
On the opposing side of this argument, a number of individuals would say that because home-schooled kids do not go to a school with other students their age then they are socially awkward and would not be able to perform to the best of their ability on a sports team at a public school. There are stereotypes that are associated with the home-schooled students. A great deal of individuals who make the assumptions that the home-schooled students are socially awkward and antisocial. Margaret W. Boyce, the author of the article “Homeschooling Students Are Isolated and Poorly Socialized,” states, “... being surrounded always by adults, has little opportunities to develop friendships with real children" (Boyce par. 7). Individuals who view homeschooling as a barrier in a child's socialization skills, feel that a number of home-schooled students would end up being a hindrance on the playing field instead of helping the team. There are citizens in today’s society who would go even further and say that not only can they not participate in sports but also cannot completely be a part of society like everyone else is (“Socialization Not a Problem.” par. 1). Even though individuals put a numerous amount of stereotypes on home-schooled students about social skills they work hard to battle and prove to the population of today’s society that society is wrong. Mullins explains that “They [home-schooled students] learn to persevere through seemingly insurmountable obstacles" (Mullins par 6). Home-schooled students have the same social skill as the public-schooled students, and a student's social skills should not determine whether he or she is allowed to partake in an athletic event or other extracurricular activities.