Making the decision between conventional schooling and homeschooling can be the most daunting task ever but we can give you a breakdown of what you should be looking at and expecting before you make this call.
Research has already proven that homeschooled students perform academically well in both, standardized exams and university and succeed professionally. They tend to be more socially aware and active, although this might depend upon the values instilled in them during the homeschooling process. The most important thing here is that if you can get through making this tough decision, you can make the most of it and the result is not something you will have to worry about a second time!
Here are the following things that may make homeschooling a better option than conventional schooling for your child:
1. Flexibility
The most noticed and discussed facet of schooling at home is the freedom of curriculum, schedule and education as a whole. In addition to being a parent, you also take on the role of the primary educator or teacher and you control what your child will study and when. This allows you to play to your child’s strengths and weaknesses and can also result in a more productive academic experience. If your child seems more interested in science, you can keep aside a lot more time to focus on the sciences rather than literature. Even though there is freedom, a productive homeschool schedule is organised. There is a routine and a planned curriculum but within that space, you have control. There might not be a lot of space to explore with a preschool curriculum but as your child grows older, subject specificity can help him or her learn a lot more about what they might be particularly interested in. Furthermore, if your family moves around a bit, it may be a smarter option to be able to move deadlines around and have an academic plan that will not be thrown off course by any moving. Many families that also wish to incorporate a religious perspective into their child’s education can benefit from schooling at home.
2. Time-Efficiency
Students who are schooled at home experience a very different environment where they remain at the centre of their curriculum and learning focus. This gives them the attention they need to excel and with a pace and syllabus that is tailored to their needs, there is less time spent on clarifying doubts, repetition and revision. In a conventional school, a single teacher is required to consider the needs of over 30-40 students. This means that any academic pace or decision is taken with the requirement of the majority in mind and your child may or may not fall in that category. With schooling at home, there is less time spent on homework because most of that is done during class hours and this will leave you more time to divert to extra-curricular activities because what a student at a conventional school finishes in a day is covered by a homeschooler in a few hours, making this process more productive.
3. Safety and Security
Although school is meant to be a safe environment, it is not always so. Many parents remain concerned about peer-pressure and bullying at conventional schools but in a regulated environment such as home, their dangers are rarely noticed. Schooling at home does not mean complete social isolation. The creation of social opportunities is an important facet of this system of education and this has been seen to reap many benefits. Research shows that homeschoolers are less dependent on their peers and have little to no self-esteem issues given the right opportunities and upbringing. They remain shielded from the typical toxic school environment and this makes them more confident, socially and morally independent, emotionally strong and productive!
4. Better social relationships
With the creation of the right social opportunities, homeschoolers interact with people from all age groups from all walks of life as opposed to conventional schoolers whose social circles mainly include children their own age. This makes your child more empathetic and understanding. They are less conflicted about social situations and act more maturely when placed in difficult situations. In addition, homeschoolers are seen to have better relationships with family because they spend more time with family and with their emotional strength, comes a greater ability to understand.
5. Rest Every student knows that the recommended amount of sleep is eight hours per night but the sad truth is that the rigid academic system does not make it easy for anyone to meet these requirements. In higher grades, there exist piles of academic work to complete and if a student wishes to maintain an active social life, extracurricular activities and a healthy lifestyle, there remains little to no time to wind down or sleep. But since homeschooling is more time-efficient, with less homework and time wasted, there is more than enough time for social interactions, non-academic activities and most importantly, sleep.
6. Independence Apart from being less emotionally dependent on their peers, homeschoolers are more often than not, morally independent as well. Most conventional schoolers receive contradictory moral lessons, leading to more confusion than understanding. Homeschooled students, on the other hand, have a clear idea of their moral values upon which their personal values are based. In addition to this, they also learn to be actively independent at every step because unlike in conventional schooling, most of their learning is based on personal understanding instead of it being spoon-fed to them. They are also more independent because procuring additional information, whether it is related to their curriculum or further studying, is done by them and not given to them. Such skills are more difficult to teach to conventional schoolers but are usually seen as inherent markers of homeschooled students!
7. Exploration and Understanding If you decide to homeschool your child, they will have the space to explore and understand their academic interests. Such exploration is usually not seen in conventional schooling because of many factors such as less time and the system’s rigidity. With the homeschooling system’s flexibility, they can be exposed to practical knowledge specific to their interests and this makes their education more meaningful and goal-oriented rather than rank-oriented. They focus more on personal development rather than comparative success and that means that they are not brain-washed by the toxic competition that exists in society.
There are a lot of factors to consider before making such an important decision. You will have to spend a lot more time with your child and that means making more time for your child and yourself.
In addition, homeschooling is more expensive, if not as expensive, as conventional schooling and none of this discredits the fact that conventional schooling still works! Homeschooling is a good option but it takes time to figure out if it is the best option for your child.
Beginning at a pre-school homeschooling curriculum before considering to continue might be your best bet and we wish you a happy homeschooling experience!
