Photo: User Shabby Chica at Flickr.com

My sister is homeschooling both her amazing kids and has done so since day one. I wanted to learn more – so I wrote this article after researching and asking my sister about her homeschooling experience.

Pros cited by home schoolers include:

• Child gets one-on-one instruction.  In traditional schools, if some kids don’t “get it” the teacher moves on anyway for the sake of the rest of the class. That wouldn’t happen in homeschool!
• If a child has a specific talent, “school” can be set up around that talent to hone and focus it. For instance, my sister has friends whose kids are ultra-talented with music.  Music becomes their focal point, and other subjects are added in to support that.
• Freedom to choose study courses and materials.
• Proper rest. Some kids are not ready to learn in the morning. They might not wake up mentally until 10:00am. Home school can allow for that.
• Better emotional development.
• No more peer pressure.
• No unnecessary competition like dodge-ball.
• Boredom decreases.
• Bullies are non-existent.
• Kids dress and act the way they want without ridicule.


Photo: User Uriel 1998 at Flickr.com

• Kids aren’t affected by adolescent trends making the rounds in high school and probably won’t be offered drugs or sex at home while homeschooling!
• Religious freedom. If your kids are not the same religion as the status quo in school then attending public school can be a horrible experience. I remember a boy and girl that were the only Jehovah’s Witness believers in our town. They had a very rough time at school. Homeschooling could change that.
• Closer family relationships. Children see their parents care -and a stronger bond grows between them.
• Better food at home. (hopefully!)
• Flexibility of schedule.  Parents can plan anytime vacations, visit planetariums, parks, zoos, aquariums, and museums anytime they choose – giving the family a lot of freedom to do what works and makes sense for them.
• Ability to bring in multimedia for every subject. CDs, Videos, Internet can all be used to enhance learning.

School lessons are done faster, so the child gets more time to explore other interests. Or, the schedule can be totally altered to adjust for other factors… Kids wake up around 9, because they were up late doing stuff.  Have a leisurely break, then wander upstairs for lessons.  Take break for lunch.  Have another hour or two of work after lunch, but everything is finished by the end of the 4 hours or so of school, and it was learned far more thoroughly than it would have been in a classroom at school.

Again Laura gives us a first-hand look at letting her son try attending school for a while…

Wake up and already we’re rushing in the early am. to get him to school. Eating breakfast early. Gathering homework. Getting to bus on time. Stress…  Wait forever for bus.  Kid gets on bus, arrives at school. Teacher spends a lot of time trying to keep class under control and listening.  Trying to get through to all students while ones who already “got it” are bored and begin acting out.  Six hours of that and then home on bus at 3:30pm.  Then, two hours of homework that could have been done during school time if teacher hadn’t been so busy keeping class calm.  Eat dinner.  Have a couple hours to self before bed.

Cons about homeschooling your kids:

• Getting in music instruction, art, and gym class can be difficult if they’re not specialties of yours.
• Getting to know other kids in neighborhood takes a lot more effort, especially in the winter when it’s 15 below with windchill.
• Time considerations. Homeschooling can be a full-time job. It takes research and prep to setup, organize, clean, and teach. Add that to the duties of cooking, cleaning and being a mom and wife and it can add up quickly.
• Pressure to perform. It’s hard to look around and wonder if maybe the public school wouldn’t do a better job. Lack of confidence is a hard obstacle to overcome initially.
• Time Restraints.
• Financial considerations. If the teaching parent chooses to teach over getting an outside job with income that can be a negative. Especially in these hard times we’re all facing. Many parents accept it as doing the best thing for the children.
• Living outside your neighborhood’s norm. Homeschooling challenges mainstream thinking and so may be seen as asocial or abnormal. Your family may need to build up a tough skin to overcome snyde remarks that are based on ignorance.

I must admit, I didn’t know much about homeschooling before I wrote this article – but it seemed as if progressive, intelligent, university degreed people tend to homeschool more than unintelligent, non-progressive, high school dropouts tend to. It seemed like a good thing when I first heard about it.

Then it seemed like not such a good thing the more I thought about it.

What about the social aspect of school? For myself, school was, overall and incredible experience that I would never give up. Some of the best times of my life were had in school or because of school. Playing soccer all my life with my same school aged friends was something that really built part of my character. I learned to be competitive, a smart-a** when needed, and I learned that nobody can step on me because I’m as good as anyone else. I learned countless things from my soccer buddies not just on the field and at practice but during school and fun time afterward.

Photo: User, Shabby Chica at Flickr.com

After doing the research for this article I have to agree that homeschooling is a viable alternative – and maybe the much better choice for a child’s education considering all the negative aspects of attending public schools.

If I home schooled my child I’d want to ensure he or she was getting a lot of social interaction through sports activities and other groups.

My sister does a great job of this. Currently they’re all taking Tai Kwon Do classes. In the past both of her kids have taken gymnastics and are part of the book reading clubs. Both kids have sleepovers and do everything other kids their age do.

What do you think? Is homeschooling a good option? Why or why not?

Best of Life!

Vern
Hawaii just might be the most amazing place on the planet. Have you been?

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