Tebow Law allows social interactions for homeschoolers
“Social experiences are as important as academic performance when it comes to real-world interaction.”
Illustration by Hannah Swann
Sylvia Wertz
Columnist
Competitive sports offer an amazing opportunity for students. Individuals who haven’t participated in sports before can discover new talents to be trained and honed. But a small segment of students don’t have that advantage until they reach college level sports.
House Bill 947, nicknamed the “Tim Tebow Law” after former homeschooler and current Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, would enable homeschooled students in Virginia the opportunity to participate in public school sports. This legislation is crucial because every student athlete knows that high-school performance is the basis for all major recruitment into college sports.
Homeschooled students have limited chances to interact with peers outside their home or neighborhood. It is important that young students build social skills by interacting with others, whether it is through classes or extracurricular activities. Social experiences are as important as academic performance when it comes to real-world interaction.
Not only do these students lack social opportunities, but also competitive challenges. Sports are an integral part to any college experience. Like all skills, you have to train, grow, and nurture your talents in order to make it through college and into the real world. Homeschoolers lack the opportunities presented to students that attend public school, such as the pressure of competition and the allure of scholarships. The Tim Tebow Law would finally allow homeschooled students an equal opportunity to compete, for both medals and scholarships.
Homeschool sports leagues often lack a competitive air and the only people that really care are the parents. Students with genuine talent are stuck playing with others that may be less enthusiastic or competitive than they are. They also lack the opportunity to play with other skilled players you would find on public high school teams.
Students also miss out on recruitment and scholarship opportunities for their upcoming college years. Along with that, they have to work harder to prove themselves to make it onto the university teams.
Opponents of the bill argue that homeschoolers do not meet all 13 Virginia qualifications for student participation in sports. Allowing homeschooled students to participate on high-school teams would give the homeschoolers an advantage over the students who are in the public schools and do not qualify. They also think that they are not up to par academically.
The Home School Legal Defense Authority, however, rebukes this claim. According to a recent study, homeschooled students outperform public school students by 34 to 39 percent above the national average in standardized tests.
Supporters argue that the Tim Tebow Law helps bring about the social experiences that students don’t get through homeschooling, social experience that is highly valuable to life during and after college. Furthermore, 14 states already allow homeschoolers to participate in public school sports programs, with little or no problems reported.
As we all know, every little thing that goes into our college applications and resumes helps. For too long incoming homeschooled students have been slighted from their chance to participate on competitive sports teams. It’s time for them to get the opportunity they deserve.
Thanks for perpetuating the stereotype that our Home Schooled kids are unsocialized, really appreciate that part of the article. Do you have any idea how hard it is for a parent of a home schooled child to break the unsocialized myth? In one fell swoop you managed to make our highly and better socialized children unsocialized again, Thanks
Dear Sylvia,
First I want to thank you for supporting this important piece of legislation for homeschoolers. However, in so doing you have grossly mis-characterized the ability of homeschool students to compete at the high school level.
I’ve homeschooled both of my children since the oldest (daughter) started 2nd grade. My daughter has played youth ice hockey since she was 12 (now 18 and a senior). The highschool hockey teams in this area have been begging to have her on their team because she plays on a national bound travel team and is the only goalie in our area who can compete. My son also plays youth ice hockey and was a much beloved member of the local middle school team. The high school coach wanted him to play with them. But he can’t because of current laws.
Homeschool students bring the best of all possible worlds to a high school sports team. They are dedicated, focused team players who have spent a great deal of time honing their skills. Usually they are a great support to a coach/coaching staff and often do much to help bring teams together because they have been playing sports with kids of all ages for many years.
I’m only using my children as examples, but I know that there are hundreds of others like them. Kids who practice and play their guts out on local youth recreational leagues. But those opportunities dry up (as they did for my son) once the student reaches 9th grade. The only other option is to pay for travel teams … and this is cost prohibitive for many parents. These teams are also only available in metropolitan areas. Virginia is largely a rural state and the students in rural areas have no opportunity to compete at all.
Once again, thank you for your support, but I urge you to learn more about homeschooled athletes before writing about us again.
This would be a great law to enact, and I’m glad you see the sense in it, but like the other commenters, I do think you should learn about homeschoolers instead of just perpetuating stereotypes.
Almost every single one of the topics on your supporting paragraphs is a myth, from “Homeschooled students have limited chances to interact with peers outside their home or neighborhood ” to “Not only do these students lack social opportunities, but also competitive challenges. Sports are an integral part to any college experience” to “Homeschool sports leagues often lack a competitive air and the only people that really care are the parents”.
If you could follow my kids around for a week, I guarantee at the end of it all you’d want is a hot tub with a daiquiri in hand. My daughter is currently taking a break from her pre-professional ballet training, which has gotten her to international final competitions. She’s 12. She took herself at age 10 to the finals (with a chaperone). That’s *at least* 15 hours a week of training, and the training is 45 minutes from our house. My son is in conditioning for his next season of football, where last year they beat 3 unbeaten public school teams and 2 undefeated private school teams (and numerous other teams who’d already been beaten). That was 5-6 days a week. And believe me, the parents of the teams we beat appeared to care a WHOLE lot. And kids on the team have gotten scholarships for college football. But it would certainly be easier if we didn’t have to drive a long way for this opportunity for our son, if he could just try out for our school district’s team.
On top of that, they’re involved in 4-H, where both hold offices. They’re in a weekly teen group that takes all kinds of field trips, does service projects or just hangs out. They each have weekly or twice-weekly live lab classes; they’re in a weekly literature club. They’re in our church youth group. And they have the normal amount of going and hanging out at others’ houses, going to movies, etc.
Tell me again how they’re isolated and needing competition and social interaction? It’s so busy around here I didn’t catch it.