Homeschooling used to have a negative connotation. Nowadays, homeschooling has gained some widespread popularity all over the world. Homeschooling allows you to help give your child the attention they need. But is homeschooling the right choice for you and your child? We’ve put together an extensive list of homeschooling pros and cons to help you get a better understanding of the homeschooling program.
Pros of Homeschooling
- Flexible Curriculum – Parents are able to control the pace of the curriculum and tailor lessons to the needs of their child. A flexible curriculum allows for the parent to adapt to their child’s learning style. Parents may decide to do more hands-on activities to supplement lessons or they can review previous lesson to strengthen their child’s understanding.
- Intimate Relationship with the Family – A strong relationship is formed when parent and child are learning together. Homeschooling creates an environment where intimate connections are formed because the parent and their child have time spent together.
- Religious Freedom – Michael Farris, a strong homeschool advocate, quoted an educational psychologist saying “kids get their values from whomever they spend a majority of their time with”. Homeschool gives parents the freedom to teach their child values and beliefs that may not be taught in public or private schools. Homeschool gives the opportunity for imparting important life lessons.
- Reducing Negative Influence – Negative influences or distractions from schoolwork will not be as likely to detract from learning because parents are able to monitor their child. Children will be able to focus more when there is no bullying or teasing in the classroom. Self-esteem will not be affected because parents are able to help develop and nurture their children.
Cons of Homeschooling
- Income – Homeschool requires one parent to stay home and teach their child. This has the family taking in a single income. Despite this constraint, most families believe the second income was not necessary. Giving up the second income is worth the education and bond gained from teaching their child.
- The Fear of “Falling Behind” – Parents have a fear that if they homeschool their child, the custom-academic curriculum may cause their child to fall behind from peers. The pressure to keep up may get to some parents because they are spending more time on a subject than other subjects. However, the fear of falling behind is not a reality for most families. By spending more time with their child, parents are able to dedicate time on subjects that are harder to grasp for their child and review subjects that are easier to understand.
- All Day Affair – Homeschooling is a time crunch. It requires a lot of planning and a lot of effort and dedication from the parent and child. The parent has to juggle driving their child to activities, planning the curriculum, and much more. Patience is needed from the parent. The teaching style may be hard to -master at first, but after a while the parent will be able to see their child’s strengths and help develop his or her skills along the way.
- Taking Criticism – Homeschooling may be growing in acceptance across the world, but there will still be some critics out there. There are people who will criticize parents for homeschooling because it has not been in the mainstream. Despite what people may think, parents believe they made the right choice in helping develop their child.
