By Rusty Pugh and Jody Brown

(AgapePress) - An expert on home schooling says a recent survey about the scope of dishonesty among the nation's youth is more proof that children receive negative peer pressure in public schools -- and that many parents have made the right decision in educating their children at home.

The Josephson Institute of Ethics conducted the survey of close to 9,000 teens, and the results were alarming. It found, among other things, that 71% admitted to cheating, 78% said they lied to their teachers, 92% admitted lying to their parents, and 40% said they had stolen something from a store in the last year.

Home School Legal Defense Association spokesman Mike Smith says this survey dispels the biggest argument from those who criticize home schooling: that children who are home-schooled miss out on the positive socialization in public schools.

"This certainly confirms the decisions that thousands of parents are making to teach their children at home...especially in the area of socialization," Smith says. "The argument is that by sending our children into a school setting, they will get positive socialization. If 71% are cheating in school, 92% are lying, and 78% lied to a teacher, this is not the positive peer pressure that we want for children."

He also said the survey confirms parents' fear of their children being negatively affected by public schools.

The survey results are available at the Josephson Institute web site and are published in this month's edition of the teen magazine Upfront.

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