Homeschooling: Pros And Cons For Parents And Students

What are the pros and cons for parents and students when it comes to homeschooling? Do you still call homework “homework” when you assign an assignment to a homeschooled child? Do you have what it takes to teach your child better than what our current educational system offers?

What Is Homeschooling?

Homeschooling is a progressive movement for learning opportunities around the world. It has been around since the 70s as an alternative educational option. It was also offered mostly to children who lived in inaccessible areas. It is now a more popular option people can take to educate their young kids.

Homeschooling can be done by any adult who has the proper educational credentials. This can be a parent, an online tutor or a professional teacher. Lessons can be based on the current curriculum used by traditional schools or lessons based on the child’s learning activity and pace.

When done correctly, the system works!

Homeschooling has now become widely accepted and is legal in all 50 states and many other countries around the world. The legal requirements vary from place to place. Some states require a standardized testing at set intervals to check the child’s progress.

To date, there are over two million homeschooled children in the US alone.

But Why Choose Homeschooling Over The Traditional School Format?

It is pretty clear that homeschooling is a good option and more people should be allowed to make a decision on whether they enroll their child in a formal school setting or opt to do it in the comfort of their own homes.

In doing so, you can personally supervise your child’s progress and determine the proper pace to take.

Other factors that could lead to homeschooling are: religious beliefs, philosophies, dissatisfaction with the child’s progress, financial, lifestyle choice and others. Whatever the case may be, homeschooling is a viable option that anyone can take at any point in time the parent sees fit for their child.

Nowadays, parents are also seeing the benefits of homeschooling even if they had not considered it at all due to the present circumstances.

So, Should We Do Away With Traditional Schools?

No. Homeschooling should remain an option families can take if they can set the proper conditions at home. Traditional schools still play a huge part in today’s society based on the positive impact it has on character formation especially during the child’s early years.

And with that, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of homeschooling and traditional school systems.

Pros And Cons

Like all things, there is a duality when it comes to homeschooling. It has its positive aspects and negative aspects as well. Judging from the list, the pros out-weigh the cons.

Pros

Let’s start with the positive aspects of homeschooling.

All Learning Is Customized To Benefit The Student

One of the best and clearest advantage homeschooling has over the traditional school system is how customizable the learning is for each individual student. Although one can start off with the standard curriculum, it can be adjusted as seen fit based on the student’s learning style, level and interest.

This can be tweaked at any point in time during the child’s learning progress.

There Are A Lot Of Resources Available

Freeing yourself from the standard school system opens up a world of possibilities. Aside from using the standard curriculum and books offered, you can also use homeschooling catalogs, online information (websites, e-mails), lessons through popular media (TV, radio or video), ebooks, PDFs, etc.

There’s basically a bottomless well of resources available that you can take an endless number of lessons from.

And you have the freedom to mix and match all of these ideas that best meet your child’s needs.

Schedule? What Schedule?

Unlike the regimented traditional school system, you can homeschool your child based on a schedule that is conducive to both you and your kid. This can be based on the child’s level of alertness at certain times of the day or a downtime in your own work schedule.

You can stretch out certain days and minimize the amount of lessons leading towards the weekend. You can also interrupt normal “school” days to take your child on a special trip.

You can increase the chances of success by ensuring that the child is at his highest point of enthusiasm or interest during the learning process. In doing so, lessons are learned with maximum effect.

Note:

Although the schedules are loosely implemented, you should still make sure that there is a level of consistency to ingrain discipline in your child.

There is a price to pay with too much freedom and that is a lackadaisical performance or worse leading your child to slack off.

Children Learn More About What They Really Care About

When do we really see our child’s potential?

With homeschooling you almost always immediately do.

Kids will always lean towards what they truly care about and when given the proper platform, explore it. You will need to take notice of these things as you can help nurture their development from an early age. This then helps children develop a clearer career choice from the start.

Sometimes children will get curious about certain topics and want to explore it which isn’t always an option in traditional schools.

Your child might be interested in psychology at ten or marine biology at twelve. With the flexibility afforded through homeschooling, you can give them a cursory look and determine if that’s something they want to pursue further.

Allowing children to have a say in their studies can help you streamline the lessons leading to a career path based on their interests.

You Can Rest Well Knowing Your Children Are Safe At All Times

One of the things that makes parents anxious is when their child is away or at school. You can now sigh a breath of relief knowing you have the ability to keep an eye on your child at all times.

Life Skills And Lessons Can Be Learned At An Early Age

Children don’t necessarily just have to learn about reading, writing and arithmetic. You can also teach them some life skills that they can use later on in life for self-sufficiency.

Cooking, carpentry, metalworking can also be taught as part of their curriculum leading to important life skills they can use later on as adults.

You Can Fully Take Advantage Of The Power Of Social Media

One of the main concerns parents have about homeschooling is how it will affect their child’s social skills. Some believe that this can stifle a child’s ability to adapt to social situations.

This couldn’t be any further from the truth.

There are hundreds of social media apps available online that help homeschoolers communicate and develop social connections with children their own age. Obviously, the top three are Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

As long as you supervise their interactions and time spent online, this can be beneficial to their social growth. You can also use the same tools to communicate with parents who are homeschooling their children too.

You Can Replace A Toxic School Environment With A More Loving One

Afraid your child is going to get bullied? Ostracized? Feel alone in a crowded room?

You can do away with all of these things by homeschooling your children.

Although some may argue that this is a good way to toughen kids up, it is not guaranteed that children can handle that level of toxicity.

Kids who are bullied often end up anxious and depressed. This leads to absences, lack of concentration and focus, less coherence and other negative psychological effects. Children in traditional schools also feel the need to join cliques which can lead to feelings of being left out or ostracized.

If you really want to, enroll them in a martial arts class as part of their homeschool Physical Education curriculum.

The World Is Your Classroom

Just because it says homeschool doesn’t mean it’s limited to the four walls of your house. There are many learning opportunities for children inside and outside. The world is basically your classroom.

 Museums, nature parks, libraries, offices, all of these places can help educate your children in a manner that traditional classroom settings cannot.

Exposing children to real world situations helps broaden their horizons and open their minds.

You Get To Develop Achievers The Right Way

Homeschooled children tend to do better on tests. A high percentage of homeschooled children do better once enrolled in college.

This is because, at an early age, you’ve helped develop their drive to achieve, level of focus and determination to complete tasks at hand.

This isn’t to say children in traditional schools do worse. There’s just a higher percentage of homeschooled children achieving more than individuals their own age.

Here’s Our Favorite: Family Time Is All The Time!

Because you have a more direct role in your child’s learning, you get the satisfaction that their development is also aligned with your own goals and values.

This close proximity develops a stronger bond between you and your child. It also helps if the entire family pitches in to help each other. In doing so, you are assured that your strength as a family unit is nigh indestructible.

Homeschooled children also show more confidence in dealing with adults and relating their feelings to their parents because of the trust built through the daily activities.

You Save More Money

Think of all the money you can actually save because of homeschooling. Tuition fees, school clothes, bus fare and other miscellaneous fees go right out the window.

The money you save can then be funneled into college education plans, savings or vacation tickets.

You can further reduce costs by taking advantage of free resources online and bundled learning packets available.

Homework? You’re Already Homeschooling. Everything Is Homework.

One of the main things students in regular school systems hate is homework. Everyone hates homework.

But that’s only applicable for traditional school systems. You see, homework comes after spending the entire day in school doing school work. Children feel that they just don’t have enough time to enjoy themselves after school because of homework.

When you homeschool children, homework can be done alongside their regular school schedule. The entire time spent during the day learning is the only homework needed giving kids more than enough time to enjoy themselves after classes.

Achievement Based Development

Homeschooling promotes a sense of self-achievement unlike in traditional school systems where children compete against one another for grades and class positions. This promotes self-motivation and pride in one’s own achievements.

Cons

Well, all good things have to come to an end at some point in time. So, here are the cons.

More We Time, Less Me Time

If you’re taking on the task of becoming your child’s teacher, you’ll find yourself spending more time on handling the administrative tasks of preparing lessons, schedules and checking their progress. The amount of stress and fatigue you’ll experience is going to go through the roof.

And they say teachers have the most thankless jobs.

But this is a small price to pay for ensuring your child’s education.

You’re Limited By The Resources You Can Get Your Hands On

You can’t expect your child to just learn one thing and you can’t always have the resources you need to provide them something that piques their interest. You’ll also have to learn all of the things you’re going to teach your child and have a better understanding of the subject to answer their questions correctly.

You might also need the help of online teachers or tutors if you need a subject matter expert explaining things. There might be a need to go through a lot of teachers before finding the right one for you and your family.

Only A Few People Will Know About Your Child’s Achievements

The downside to homeschooling and awards ceremonies is that there is a limited audience. Therefore, only a few people will know about your child’s performance and achievements.

Children will also miss out on receiving tokens of appreciation if it is not included in your homeschool plan. The best way to go about this is to devise a reward system that reinforces their good habits and achievements.

You can also create a wall of achievement so kids know where they stand and can take pride in the things they’ve excelled in.

You Have To Ensure You Have A Safe Environment For Your Children

Most parents know that the home isn’t always the safest place. It is far safer than the world outside but accidents can still happen if you’re not too careful.

Children have a tendency to become rambunctious and any piece of furniture can be dangerous if not child-proofed.

Always keep sharp objects in a safe place that’s out of reach after use.

Social Interaction Is Diminished

No doubt about it, there is still some value in creating social circles. A homeschooled child will definitely feel that they lack friends/peers.

You will need to widen their circle to ensure their social development.

School Stops When You Get Sick

This is probably the only type of school that stops dead in its tracks when the parent gets sick. As the sole teacher, your health is going to affect your child’s learning if you can’t deliver due to a case of colds or the flu.

It Might Have A Negative Effect On Your Finances

Parents who give up work to focus on homeschooling their children will definitely feel an impact on their finances. Even just one parent giving up work is still going to have an effect on the household’s income.

Homeschooling doesn’t also automatically erase all educational spending. You will still need to invest in school materials, books, teachers fees (if you employed an online tutor or teacher) basic necessities and others.

Homeschooling Is A Major Lifestyle Change

You’re definitely going to feel like you’ve just made a huge lifestyle change. Homeschooling is a demanding task on the parents or teachers. Children will also feel very different from their peers who go to a regular school.

Not all children are willing to explain to other kids about how different their lifestyle is. There is also a negative social stigma attached to homeschooled children making your child uncomfortable about admitting to others that they are not part of the traditional school system.

Do You Need An Education Degree Or Educational Background To Homeschool Your Child?

Do you need an education degree or educational background to homeschool your child?

The answer is no. it will definitely be an advantage if you have the proper credentials but a diploma isn’t necessary to start a homeschooling program.

You might have to do a lot of reading to get up to speed if you want to be the teacher. Online resources are readily available to parents who need to touch up on certain subjects.

You don’t necessarily have to be the sole person teaching your children. You can also employ the help of online tutors or teachers to facilitate the learning activities.

Keeping The Homeschooling Environment Fun

A homeschooling environment doesn’t necessarily have to be just for educational purposes. You can mix in fun and games in between or during the lessons to help reinforce learning in a fun way.

1000 Creative Ways To Teaching

One of the best things about homeschooling is that lessons can be taught in a variety of ways. There’s actually an endless amount of ways to do that. You can teach children in the traditional sense or employ fun and games as part of the learning process.

There are many apps available that can help you teach kids about English, Math, History, Culture and other things. To find out more about those apps, click here.

Getting the help of online teachers, tutors and other parents can also widen your child’s educational horizons. And the best thing about that is most of these resources are free.

You Can Take Field Trips Anytime

Field trips and other excursions can be a great way to learn a lot of things. A trip to the local museum or zoo can be an enlightening and fun way for youngsters and adults alike to learn about animals or history.

Even a trip to the local amusement park can open up a world of fun and new things to learn.

Think of it as a vacation and school activity at the same time.

Create A Reward System That Works

Kids respond to rewards differently. Some are happy with receiving a certificate, some enjoy extended play time and there are some who like being rewarded with trips or shopping.

You can create your reward system based on what your child responds to best.

The best thing about this is you can always ask them for their input or what type of reward they’d like to get so you can adjust it properly. Your child will then have a goal they can work their way to and expect that reward at the end.

The best thing about this type of reward system is that it works and children enp up developing a sense of self-motivation and determination to achieve goals.

Include Physical Education As Part Of Their Curriculum

Kids have a lot of energy. That energy has to be expended.

Making Physical education a part of your curriculum is a great way to do that.

The great thing about this is that kids can choose what type of sporting activity they’d like to take part in based on their interests. You can expose them to all types of physical activities and sports and allow them to choose which one they are most interested in.

These sports can be anything from regular ball games to martial arts.

You Can Help Develop Their Artistic Side

Young children are very creative especially at a young age. Take advantage of this by exposing them to different creative arts like music, painting or dancing.

The great thing about this is that it can also be part of their curriculum. It can be inserted into a regular school day as a reward or a break from their studies. You can also use this as your break from teaching so you can get some “me” time.

Kids Of Different Ages Can Be Homeschooled Together

One of the great things about having several homeschooled children at home is that you can mix and match lessons based on their interests. These lessons don’t necessarily have to be age or grade specific. The most important thing is explaining the subject to those who need it more.

One on one tutoring sessions can also be done if needed after the group learns a lesson.

Progress at this point can easily be gauged based on their level of interest in the subject. Children who work together also form a special bond that extends far into adulthood.

The Homeschool Version Of A PTA Is Way Cooler Than What’s Offered By The Standard Educational System

Those accustomed to the traditional school system wherein parents and teachers form an organization can still have a network akin to a regular PTA format.

A somewhat loose format and a fun one at that because parents can network with likeminded individuals and exchange ideas and best practices at their own choosing.

This type of network varies from state to state or region to region. The resources available can also differ from place to place. The good thing is, this type of network can be expanded or diminished depending on the need of all parents involved.

Co-ops, Associations And Other Forms Of Social Networking Groups

Parents can form co-ops, associations and other forms of social networking groups. Forming these internal associations can help parents organize events, make collection drives or create socio-civic activities that can help develop children to become upstanding citizens in the future.

Creating discussion groups can also help parents who are new to the homeschooling idea to catch up to the progress others are making. This can help standardize the educational format given to all children involved and help everyone at all levels.

What’s the other great thing about this? Parents can choose to get their kids together by organizing social events like lectures, field trips, sporting activities and playdates. Parents can also ask each other for referrals to tutors who are available to work as a homeschool teacher.

Or, better yet, ask other parents to help with their kids in exchange for the same favor at a future date.

All of the activities mentioned strengthen the bonds between parents and children and the community as a whole. Think about all of the learning opportunities grown-ups and kids can immerse themselves together.

These are shared experiences that become pleasurable memories that everyone can benefit from.

Especially for kids.

In Conclusion:

Homeschooling used to be an option only available to a select few. Nowadays, it is more accessible as an alternative learning system.

With the present conditions wherein health and safety is concerned, homeschooling has become a viable educational tool that allows children to continue learning under the supervision of parents or tutors.

Related Questions:

How Can I Provide An Environment Conducive To Learning At Home?

You can turn a section of your home into a conducive learning environment by clearing it and only including furniture essential for your child’s education. This space can be as small as 4 x 6 feet or more. Make sure it is a well-lit area with enough ventilation and colors to keep your child happy.

I Have A 9-5 Work Schedule, How Can I Homeschool My Child?

There are parents who homeschool their children through the help of tutors who come to your home or online teachers. You and your spouse can also take turns in educating your child but only if your schedule permits. The good thing is, you can always check your child’s progress online through video or calls.

Will Homeschooling Have A Negative Effect On My Child’s Ability To Socialize With Others?

One of the main concerns parents have about homeschooling is its effect on their child’s ability to socialize with people. This has actually shown positive results as interactions with other people are supervised by parents to ensure good manners and proper social conduct is followed at all times.

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