Five Advantages and Disadvantages to Home Schooling
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Home Schooling
When thinking about the putting your children through home school versus public or private school, you really should make sure that you understand all of the criteria involved in at home education.
There is a special set of rules that a parent, guardian, or tutor must abide by when home schooling children, so if you decide that home schooling is the best option for your children, you need to do a little research in finding out what criteria you and your child must meet.
There are actually a number of reasons as to why parents opt to home school their children. They include
- Religious reasons.
- Family reasons.
- Poor learning environment at the school.
- Object the lessons of public school.
- The child has a disability or is special needs.
- Transportation issues.
- Public or private school did not challenge the child.
- The child could not get into the desired private school.
- The parents career.
When it comes to making the decision to home schooling your children, you really need to weigh both the pros and the cons.
5 Advantages to Home Schooling
- Personalized Schedule. Many parents feel that their kids work better at different times of the day than what a public or private school allows for. So, home schooling allows parents and children to work out a schedule that will best work for the child. Some children work best and learn best in the morning, noon, or evening, so being able to set the learning schedule up in a way that allows the child o succeed is definitely an advantage.
- Varied Learning Subjects. In public and private schools there is a set curriculum that each subject must abide by, so by home schooling you are able to control which areas of the different subjects you want to put more emphasis on. This, also, allows you to add courses into the home school curriculum that a normal, say, third grader would not get in organized classes.
- Flexibility in Time. You can set your child's learning curriculum around vacations, illnesses, and other surprise events. Where in a public school, children tend to be allotted so many days they can miss without both the child and the parents getting into trouble.
- Flexibility in Curriculum. There is, also a certain flexibility around what is taught, not just when. If you go to a public event or on home school field trip, your children may have questions about the topic at hand. Home schooling allows for a break in the normal curriculum so that you can further discuss and do activities towards the questions in a more in- depth manner.
- Knowing Your Kids. This is the biggest advantage of home schooling. You are able to enjoy your children and watch them grow and learn on a daily basis. Home schooling allows you to really get to know your kids on a whole different level than packing them on the bus for school in the mornings.
5 Disadvantages to Home Schooling
- Not Enough Time. Because home schooling your kids is really a full time job, you just may not have enough time in the day to do what you need to get done. You have to full research topics and prepare lessons, set up projects and field trips. You will have to spend time keeping yourself organized, and on top of all that, you have to teach.
- No Time for Work. Because home schooling takes up a lot of time in preparation and delivery, you may run out of time for house hold duties and chores.
- Personal Space. When home schooling your kids, you will have to give a lot of yourself away. You will pretty much loose your personal, quiet time. So, if you opt to home school your kids, make sure to schedule in time each day for yourself.
- A Lot of Pressure. Because everyone has their own unique style to home schooling, you may end up finding yourself comparing your techniques with those of other parents. This can put a lot of pressure on you to up the anti, so to speak.
- They Just Don't Listen. Parents who do not have regular control over their kids, may feel overwhelmed with the decision to home school. In these situations, you will just run yourself ragged running after the kids, preparing lessons, cleaning the house, and maybe even running that home business. Make sure that you have control over your children's behaviors before you decide to home school.
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True. I was thinking more along the lines of possible disadvantages for someone considering home schooling and a beginner home schooler. I had other disadvantages in mind, but those seemed more obvious disadvantages that one could have...
In NZ there is a middle way -its called the correspondence school, designed for those kids in remote areas - its a normal school but all work is done by correspndence and radio - probably internet 2 these days - though it doesn't reach remote areas. It can also be used if you are in prison, and adult learner, or for kids whose high school doesn't offer the subject they want. I did a Spanish class via them and still have the class notes - they were excellent. You can also have your own curriculum but then you have to regularly inspected and is a right pain!
I have heard about these classes. I have friend who did most of her high school years by satellite. Her senior year was solely online, but the other three years, and I believe all the resst of her schooling was all satellite.
You didn't mention that children that are home schooled need to have special attention given to their socialisation. Kids in "normal" schools get to meet with and learn to "live with" and interact with others of all walks of life. This is part of learning to become employable, and part of the community when adults. Kids in home school environments do not automatically have these opportunities, and special effort needs to be made to expose the homeschooled children to a variety of people with a variety of opinions. Further, things that are in the news get talked about by kids in the playground. Parents in the homeschooling environment need to find a way to expose kids to ideas (at their age levels) that are current. (Otherwise, what will kids talk about when they DO get get opportunities to see other people?)
Really I do not think there is a perfect solution to educating our children. For my daughter I did public school with lots of home supplementing. For my new step children we are leaning toward homeschooling. We will see what we decide.
Appreciate your perspective. I loved traveling but recognized my daughter was too gregarious and competitive to home school. Glad I took the wheels off my heels for her because years later I had the opportunity to view a family who home-schooled all of their children for religious reasons - all 11 of them. The mother had the social graces of ally cat and didn't seem very well educated herself so she relied on the older children to teach the younger ones. You could feel the resentment of the oldest oozing out with each chore she was expected to do (16 yrs old) as if she was an imprisoned slave.
Since then, I've been very curious about the "why" of home schooling. Seems the parents were too ignorant to consider the needs of their children as individuals.
In some cases, please remember that home schooling can vastly improve a child's education. It's not always parent seflishness.
Yes, I can see that too. With many parents who home school , their heightened care would undoubtedly offer the child more attention and assistance. Still, in most schools there are a number of teachers with different skills and talents that a parent may not have - that a child might enjoy and have an affinity for. I do believe it's important for any child to learn how to communicate and get along with others. Many studies show that Marie Montessori had a valid point that learning from peers, even when very young can help them learn quicker too.
I have subsequently seen many home schoolers that have now developed communities to learn and share amongst themselves - offering both the parents and children the benefit of interaction and additionally rounded social activities. In one case they even traded their children for different subject lessons.
With the schools getting more and more dangerous, I can understand the why for alternatives. Bottomline Whitney, I very much appreciate your hub with its sound advice to weight the pros and cons.
Yes, commincation and being able to socialize is pretty big in today's society, much less ever, which is why the groups are formed. I know in my area, they even have a year book for local homeschoolers. It's crazy but valuable for the kids.
Thank you
I was wondering. Shouldn't the person doing home schooling at least have a high school deplomia? What should the person responsible for the teaching have per schooling themselves?
Hi. I just found this page and enjoyed the advantage/disadvantage discussion. We’re a homeschool family with 5 children. We have been homeschooling our kids for over 10 years.
There are always 2 sides to every story. However, the advantages of far outway the disadvantages. On the other hand it may not be right for everyone. I must ditto some of earlier comments that homeschooling does not need to take alot of time when you work together and have clear goals. It doesn't need to cost alot or take alot of space.
Another question that always pops up is socialization. Kids need much attention. They are more likely to get more loving, supportive attention at home than in a public setting. If you communicate with your kids in a truthful mature manner they will learn to get and receive attention the same way. When they are in a public setting, especially on their own, they feel the need for attention, but learn to seek it the way their peers do by example: whining, screaming, manipulation, etc. I'm not saying that my kids never whine or scream, but we make it unfruitful for them to do so - they don't get what they want. This takes a flexible environment that is rarely available in a public setting.
If you wanted your child to learn how to bowl would you send them to a group of kids their age, or would you seek a mentor who knew how to bowl? The skill of socialization is the same as any skill. They stand to learn a skill quicker and more complete when mentored by a few that are more mature in that skill. Kids learn more how to “survive” than how to properly socialize in a public school setting.
As for "employability" I know of some homeschool graduates that are self-employed entrepreneurs and some who are employed professionals as well as employees. Of course I know public school graduates who are employed professionals and employees as well. We have had different people tell us that as soon as your daughter is old enough she can have a job here if she wants it. Homeschooling does not seem to be a disadvantage for “employability”.
The Websters http://www.FrustrationFreeHomeschool.com
Hi there,
i am a homeschooler in grade 11. i would just like to thank everyone who posted a comment on this page. homeschooling is quite a different way of education, but for me personally it's a way of life. i have only been doing homeschooling for 2 years, and yes, i must admit, sometimes it can get a bit boring, but i get a lot more time for my schoolwork and for my family. also, i now get the opportunity to socialize only with the people i want to, not the ones who a normal school would perhaps put me in a class with.
Cheereo!
The part about parents needing a degree always gets to me, kind of makes me laugh. I hate seeing parents who can't spell or write well and don't know the subjects they're teaching, schooling their children. HOWEVER these parents are generally the product of public school. What do we say then? "This is what public school did for me, I'm unqualified to teach you so you need to go there too"? As for requiring a HS diploma, I'm not quite sure about that one.
My son needed to stay home for a couple of years but I wanted him in school. He accepted all my views and often quoted things I said verbatim. He needed input from other people but refused to socialize in any way with anyone. Now he's in school but still doesn't interact much with others. I believe it's more a matter of personality than opportunity.
The very good part of homeschooling for him was being able to focus on his interests as well as giving more help in areas in which he struggled.
Marye Audet says:
2 years ago
Actually Whitney, homeschooling takes very little time. I have been doing it for nearly 20 years... :)
Homeschooling is much different that school. Time is used differently and learning happens differently. The disadvantages that you mentioned are generally disadvantages cited by people who have never homeschooled successfully.