Is Homeschooling a Bad Idea?
Homeschooling is the process by which a child is educated at home without attending educational institutions. While this form of education was the only one when no institutions existed yet, it became more popular in the 1980s.
There are several reasons parents educate their children this way, but the most common is the rejection of or dissatisfaction with the educational system. Learn about the advantages and disadvantages of this educational option.
Comparing Educational Methods
Parents who opt for Homeschool instead of sending their children to an educational institution do so in the hope that their children can learn more innovatively than informal schools. In some cases, it is religious or practical reasons that lead them to choose this option, for example, among those who live in rural areas far from an institution.
Have you ever heard of Homeschooling? This educational method, also known as Homeschooling, replaces traditional school classrooms with the family home’s dormitory or dining room. As you might expect, this system has convinced defenders and detractors: there are opinions for all tastes. Be that as it may, in India, the Constitution recognizes “the freedom of education basic and obligatory,” although not schooling.
On the other hand, the laws on education do establish that it is compulsory to attend an educational institution, whether public or private. However, differences in judges and prosecutors’ views mean that this practice is not prohibited and that very few families are brought to trial if they can show that their children’s education is not neglected.
There are at least three types of Homeschooling, including free or non-formal education, Homeschooling, and intermediate forms of Homeschooling.
- Free or non-formal education is based on the premise that any child can learn and must discover his or her potential through supervision by specialized persons.
- Homeschooling works with the same curriculum as schools and colleges, with parents responsible for educating their children by directing the learning process.
- Finally, Intermediate Forms of Home Education is a methodology that, as its name suggests, is intermediate. It mixes official curricular content with freedom in the child’s learning.
In this post, we present the advantages and disadvantages of Homeschooling. This system could be considered a precursor of distance education at the university or in the training cycles. With a small difference: in Homeschooling it is not the student who makes the decision, but his tutors assume it as responsible for a minor. And you? Do you know any successful cases of Homeschooling? Have you ever considered this option? In any case, before making any decision, it is advisable to analyze the pros and cons: here they are!
11 Advantages of Homeschooling
1. Tailor-Made Curriculum
One of the main advantages of homeschooling for me is that you can make the curriculum that best suits your child and the goals you initially set when you decided to educate without school.
From the academic issues you want to include, to the social skills you want to teach your children. Making your curriculum is very motivating because you choose what, how, and when you will teach each of the topics you have chosen and you will do it taking into account your child’s learning style. Learning is not limited to books; you can include whatever learning methods you want that is appropriate for your child and whatever teaching goals you have.
2. There Is No Stress At School
Without school, of course, there will be no homework, no tests, and no activities that might cause stress for your child. It has been proven that homework does not bring additional learning to that acquired in the classroom.
On the contrary, it only causes stress to the students and they do it just to comply. That’s why in countries like Finland, which has one of the best education systems in the world, homework is no longer left behind.
3. No Bullying
Your child, being homeschooled, will not have to experience violence or bullying. Your child is less likely to be involved in violence, bullying, peer pressure or teasing, and all the other situations that can occur in a school.
4. Personalized Education
As a homeschooler mom, you will make sure that your child learns and not memorizes and so you have to spend several hours on a certain subject, your intention will always be that your child understands perfectly.
The times established in schools limit the children since not all can learn in that time frame and the teacher has to fulfill his or her agenda, so many times he or she cannot stop to clarify all the doubts of his or her students. One of the best slogans of a homeschooler for me would be: “the school system wants you to pass, I want you to learn”.
5. You Educate In a Fun Way
This is one of the advantages of homeschooling that I like the most because you can teach in a fun way; therefore apathy in children and young people disappears; because let’s be realistic in schools you find more and more apathetic, indifferent, tired, and bored students and we owe this to the school system.
Homeschooling generates students who are enthusiastic, motivated, active, and happy.
6. You Create Strong Bonds With Your Child
What better gift as a mom than to be able to be a part of your child’s education; believe me, it’s amazing to be able to be with my daughter; to be her mom, her friend, her confidant, her guide, and also her teacher.
That creates strong, unbreakable bonds. You will get to know your child perfectly and you will always have the great satisfaction of having formed a great human being. You will be present at all stages of your child’s life and will guide him or her to be a successful and happy person.
7. Flexible Schedules
From a very young age children have to be in a situation of having the time measured; and facing the “rush”, which then triggers stress. One of the pros of education without school is that this does not exist and although if you must have schedules, especially for organizational reasons, you do not have to have a schedule of 8 am to 2 pm, you set the times that best fit your plan of activities.
8. Children And/Or Young People Are More Authentic
With education without school, there is no competition, there is cooperation; you are not worth your grades, you are worth as a person; as important is meditation as mathematics; you learn to create and not repeat; you learn, not memorize; there are no labels; which results in healthy children who will become healthy young people and adults, that to me is a wonderful thing.
9. You Have a Calm And Safe Environment
At home you can create the environment that best suits your needs and goals; from something quiet to the noise you want, and best of all, you know your child is safe. There’s no pressure to learn at the same pace as their classmates, and your child won’t feel unsafe because they don’t fully understand a certain subject.
10. Affordable Costs
Educating without school allows you to have savings, you are not thinking about tuition, uniforms, supplies, festivals, cooperations, etc. It is a myth to believe that families that do homeschooling have high incomes, each family does it based on its economic possibilities; the success of this lifestyle is not in what you can spend, but in what you are going to teach.
11. Children Have Time To Be Children
It is increasingly common to find children who no longer play; either because they spend their time doing schoolwork, or glued to an electronic device and I am not saying that this is bad, but why contribute to this; instead of promoting play in our children that has so many benefits.
A homeschooled child is more likely to play because he actually learns by playing and in a fun way.
The Negative Effects and Aspects of Homeschooling
Nothing like the school environment; Here are the disadvantages of Homeschooling.
On the other hand, there are detractors of this learning modality; and the truth is that Homeschooling also has its disadvantages, which are listed below.
1. Many Eyes Focused On You And Your Child
Having decided to educate without a school, many times you will be exposed to people’s eyes and so will your child. Many people do not know what homeschooling is all about and therefore will think you are “weird”, or that you are doing your child a disservice. People will be aware of what your child knows or doesn’t know.
This doesn’t happen with school children, but for some reason when people find out that your child is not going to school, you think he is playing and doesn’t know anything; let’s try to understand these people and set limits with respect; because of course we are not going to allow our child to be tested.
Sometimes you may face very uncomfortable situations, think that you should not show anything to anyone but you and much less your child. What you should do is prepare your child for all sorts of comments, and excellent communication with your child will be indispensable in these cases.
2. You Have To Dedicate Enough Time
When deciding to homeschool, you should keep in mind that you will not have the time that mothers who send their children to school have “free”. You will spend many hours with your child, which is why it is so important that you like to be with your child.
The organization must be fundamental for you, and prioritizing must also be a priority. Perhaps your home will no longer be spotless as it was before, and all that time that used to be for you will now have to be distributed.
3. Causes Some People To Disapprove
Some children who go to school may think your child is playing all the time and sometimes they may question their parents about why they have to go to school and your child doesn’t, a situation that may make those parents uncomfortable and possibly ask them to stay away from your child.
They will be speaking from their ignorance and therefore you should not take it personally. You need to be very strong in order to deal with these kinds of situations.
4. Socialization
Unlike what happens in a school, your child may be alone when it comes to learning and will not participate in events such as parades, dances, or a graduation ceremony, among others. Although there are other ways to socialize you should be aware of this point.
It is a myth that a home-schooler does not socialize. There are different ways for a homeschooler to interact with other people, you just have to give yourself the time to get to know them and direct them to those activities they really enjoy.
5. Education Can Be Made Subjective
Since you are in charge of teaching your children, you can become subjective in what you are transmitting, it is important that you are objective in order for the education to be effective.
6. As a Homeschooler, You Have to Develop Some Skills to Do a Better Job
You will have to make a great effort to prepare the topics you want to teach and the learning techniques you will use. You will need to do a lot of research and also be open to learning together with your child. As a homeschooler, you will have to be patient and awaken that innovative spirit in you in order for your child to be able to learn.
7. A life-Changing Decision
As you can see, homeschooling has multiple benefits. Since I made the decision to educate without school I discovered that there are more pros than cons, when I was in the initial stage of the process, my fears to educate at home, I saw them as disadvantages but informing myself I realized that they were just that, normal fears that arise when making such an important decision.
For me, homeschooling is an incredible teaching alternative that transforms lives, not just the homeschooled child’s life, but the entire family’s life.
In Conclusion,
I’ve seen so many success stories of young people who were homeschooled that each time my reasons for educating without school are more and more, and in my case, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. It’s a lot of work and effort, but it’s one of the best things you’ll do in your life and you can be sure you’ll leave the world an incredible being and your child will be a happy person. What better gift could you want than that?
