Homeschooling: An Appealing Educational Alternative
by Carren W. Joye, carren@onlineus.com
OnlinePlaygroup.com: http://www.onlineplaygroup.com
Home education has become an appealing alternative to classroom instruction
in recent years. Estimates put the number of homeschooled American children
at close to two million, with that number rising by 15 percent each year.
What began as almost an underground movement a couple of decades ago,
homeschooling is now legal in all 50 states. Also, what began largely with
evangelical Christians who wanted to safeguard their children from worldly
influences, now finds mainstream families who choose homeschooling as the
best and safest educational option for their children. Now, nearly everyone
knows someone who homeschools.
What makes it so attractive for families? Let’s take a look at some of the
benefits of homeschooling and the reasons why so many families choose
homeschooling.
Safe and Nurturing Environment
No school is as safe as the home. No one cares as much for the well being of
your child as you do. In the nurturing environment of home, a child will
blossom. Not to mention, there are far fewer distractions at home than at
school. Homeschooled students do not have to worry about bullies, fighting,
harassment or violence. They also don’t have to worry about being popular,
wearing the latest styles, or getting on the teacher’s good side. In the
safe, nurturing environment of their own home, all they have to worry about
is learning.
Academics
Schooling at home allows for regular reinforcement of academic lessons and
integration of the curriculum into other aspects of everyday life. For
example, homeschooling parents often add impromptu math lessons while
grocery shopping, science while walking in the backyard, or history while
visiting a grandparent. Not to mention, with the intimate knowledge they
have of their children, parents can personalize the curriculum to suit each
individual child and use an academic program that focuses on her interests
or talents. Homeschooling parents have the ability to meet the special needs
or learning styles of their children. This would apply to the academically
advanced as well as to the physically challenged.
At the same time, parents are aware in what areas the child needs
improvement with the instant child-to-parent feedback of the homeschool
situation. Such a low teacher to student ratio allows this. How many private
schools have a 1:1 teacher to student ratio? Or even a 1:4 ratio? Even large
families of about 10 children have two parents, giving their school a
teacher-student ratio of 2:10. Think of the individualized attention those
students get! Even if your children have to wait a while for your help, they
will still end up with more one-on-one attention than they would get in a
typical classroom.
Flexibility and Economy of Time
Homeschooling allows a flexibility that can’t be beat! You don’t have to
school from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, August through May.
Indeed, very few homeschoolers follow such a rigid time schedule. Some
families prefer morning hours, while others devote the afternoons or
evenings to study. Some families homeschool year-round, so they can enjoy
long vacations throughout the year or so they can benefit from four-day
school weeks. Others alternate two weeks of school and one week off.
Whatever the schedule, schooling at home provides free time for
extracurricular activities, such as gymnastics, dance, sports, clubs and
community service. It allows homeschoolers to work around illnesses and
family emergencies without missing any schoolwork. In addition,
homeschooling continues without disruption even when moving across the
country or around the world, which makes it ideal for military families and
other careers that require frequent moving.
On average, homeschooled students spend about three hours on schoolwork in a
typical school day, less for the early years, compared to students who are
in school for about six hours a day and then do homework for another two
hours. In a classroom, the entire class can proceed only as fast as the
slowest learner. Even then, if the slow learner doesn’t get the concept, the
class will eventually move on without him. A homeschooler, on the other
hand, can spend more time – as much time as he needs – to learn a difficult
concept before moving on. And he can move at an accelerated pace if he
understands the work.
Character Development
Home education encourages better character development because it imparts
parental values, reduces risk of peer dependency and encourages independent
problem-solving. Many parents choose homeschooling for religious reasons.
Indeed, parents are the best persons to explain and pass on their morals and
beliefs to their children. At the same time, children learn how to be
dependable, mature adults by having dependable, mature adult role models. In
a school, the adult role models are the teachers, most of whom teenagers
distrust, dislike and scorn. The atmosphere is often one of “us (students)
against them (teachers).” As a result, the only role models left to emulate
are their peers who, like them, are struggling with emotions and issues they
do not fully understand and often cannot control.
Homeschooled children, on the other hand, have their parents, family friends
and adults in their support groups to serve as role models. Although friends
play a large role in any kid’s life, particularly in the lives of teenagers,
peer pressure is significantly less in a homeschooled environment than in a
classroom situation.
As a result, homeschooled children learn to rely on themselves in ways that
fellow students in a classroom cannot. Homeschooling encourages independent
problem-solving and improves self-esteem because there is no classroom of
other students to fall back on or to deflect attention. Plus, without other
students in direct competition for grades or for the teacher’s attention,
homeschoolers avoid that destructive competition that damages self-esteem.
Socialization
Although the prevalent belief used to be that homeschoolers are isolated in
their homes all day with only siblings to relate to, the contrary is
actually true and is finally being realized by the general public. The
increasing popularity of homeschooling in the last ten years has made the
socialization issue much easier to address and eliminate. With so many
homeschoolers around, homeschool support groups are cropping up everywhere!
As a result, homeschoolers have opportunities and activities available now
that were virtually impossible to organize several years ago.
Indeed, homeschoolers participate in various extracurricular activities,
such as clubs and sports, where they spend quality time with their peers.
They also organize numerous field trips with other families and get involved
in their local support groups and churches.
As a result, the socialization experienced by homeschoolers encourages
relationships between all age groups. Rather than being confined to a
classroom with 10 to 20 other children their own age, homeschooled children
spend time with other kids of all ages. They are comfortable with and learn
to get along with toddlers, adolescents, teens and even other adults and the
elderly, all from varying levels on the socio-economic ladder. After all, as
an adult, when was the last time you were the member of a group where
everyone was exclusively your own age?
Strengthens the Family
The final benefit to homeschooling is the cohesiveness it brings to the
family unit. Your children will benefit from each other’s company. Indeed,
my younger children learn a lot from their older siblings, and my oldest
learns a lot from teaching them. And all of them are learning to take turns,
wait patiently, share, cooperate to accomplish their goals, and just plain
get along well together.
Plus, how can you get to know your children if you spend only a few hours in
the evening and on weekends together? I want to get to know my children as
individuals and enjoy being with them at every stage of their lives. I also
want them to see me and get to know me as an individual, not just as a
parent handling discipline matters. Homeschooling gives us precious time
together as we learn, read, solve problems, work on projects and just hang
out together.
Now that you know the benefits for your child and your family, you need to
consider homeschooling as a viable option. You may actually have other
reasons for homeschooling or find other benefits that are unique to your
family. In any case, chances are that you and your children will be glad you
decided to homeschool!
About the Author:
Carren W. Joye is the author of A Stay-at-Home Mom's Complete Guide to
Playgroups (ISBN 0-595-14684-8). A homeschooling mom of four children, she
has founded four successful playgroups and a homeschool support group and
helped start countless other playgroups around the world. Visit her web site
at http://www.OnlinePlaygroup.com for more information about playgroups.
This article provided by the Family Content Archives at:
http://www.Family-Content.com
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