Homeschooling isn't a new tradition. It has been practiced for many past years but after the onset of COVID-19, it has become more dominant than ever before. People are more likely to teach their children at home instead of sending them to public institutions.
Now, If you are concerned about your child’s education at school and are considering homeschooling, you might be worried about whether the switch will be beneficial for your child’s education and growth or not. Your worries are legitimate, every other mother who considers homeschooling looks for the pros and cons of it.
Previously, Sheasmother published an article on the disadvantages of homeschooling. In continuation of this series to make you count on the pros and advantages of homeschooling, here are we at your service with the amazing advantages of homeschooling children.
Why Homeschooling your Children?
Homeschooling wasn't a thing to consider before for many of us. It was confined to the politically profused and religious people. But after the onset of COVID-19, it has become a thing.
According to Family Education, homeschooling is becoming more popular around the world, increasing by 7% to 15% annually.
It is because of various factors including:
People losing their trust in government institutions' policies
Unethical environment
Bullying
Torture of some kids by their fellows
Some people find it difficult to admit their children to physical institutions because of their job nature of transferring from one city to another often. Some people think that they can teach their children best under their provision. It's all dependent on you why you would want to homeschool your children.
Amazing Advantages Of Homeschooling
When homeschooling your children you get distracted by the thoughts "Would my child be able to get all the fundamental essential educational rights?" "Would it be fair to him?" "Will it be valuable for him or not?"
You can find the answer to all these loud noises in your head just by reading and understanding the advantages of homeschooling below.
Allows Children To Work At Their Own Pace
Encourages Personal Growth
Can Create A Healthy Learning Environment
Having A Flexible Schedule Is Easier
Ideal Option For Children With Disabilities and Illnesses
Expands The Criteria For Knowledge And Skills
Allows Children To Work At Their Own Pace
Homeschooling allows your child to learn at their own pace. Some children have trouble focusing in a school environment, and often struggle to understand the topics they are taught. This creates obstacles in your child’s education because they cannot grasp one concept before they are taught another.
If your child learns from home, they can do so without a set time constraint. They are also given one-on-one help which is helpful for children who struggle to learn with others.
At home, your child can have access to textbooks and course material. These materials aren’t always available to students in school. Schools mainly use assignment data and presentations to teach and children have to rely solely on their notes. Textbooks are usually only used for activities and questions.
Online courses provide full access to the entire curriculum. If your child learns from home, they can review the topics they struggle with, which means that they won’t fall behind in their classes.
It's also noteworthy to mention that this is a good option if your child is already behind in their education. There can be many reasons for this, such as sickness or moving to a new place. Homeschooling can help your child catch up in their studies.
Encourages Personal Growth
Having different learning capabilities and needs doesn’t mean that your child is unintelligent. Mental health, personal experiences, and upbringing are only a few of the many factors that influence children’s growth and development. This development starts from an early age, which is why it can determine your child’s lifelong learning abilities.
Unfortunately, school systems don’t accommodate children’s personal learning needs and instead prioritize society's timeline for education and standards for success. Allowing your child to work at their own pace encourages personal growth.
A study conducted by the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) concluded that homeschoolers did better on achievement tests in comparison to school-going children. The difference was between 15% to 30%.
As a parent, encouraging your child to compete against their past self instead of society's standards will help them grow up to be well-rounded adults that strive to become better. Encouraging personal growth will create a healthy environment allowing your child to flourish in all aspects of their life.
Can Create A Healthy Learning Environment
In recent years, more parents have chosen to homeschool their children because of the increase in violence and dangers posed in schools. In 2022, UNESCO revealed that 1/3 of the world's youth experience bullying. Many children around the world are faced with external dangers like shootings and kidnappings.
Almost every child struggles with harsh learning expectations. This is because schools measure academic success through grades and memorization, and not through the knowledge children acquire.
Although grades are important in the academic world, schools often put unnecessary burdens and stress on children. If you are concerned about this as a parent, you can opt to provide your child with the same learning opportunities in a healthier environment.
If you let your child focus on learning instead of achieving grades, they are more likely to do better academically. Homeschooling can allow this to happen because parents will have more control over the environment their child learns.
Having A Flexible Schedule Is Easier
Some children might struggle to follow a set schedule if they have extracurricular activities, health issues, or if they work jobs.
For instance, if a student is pursuing a career in sports, they will most likely spend most of their time training or at away games. All of this traveling and exhaustion can make it hard to keep up with the school's set deadlines. Because the student has a set career goal, they can pursue it while maintaining their education from home as a secondary priority.
That is why, for some students, having a more flexible schedule can make it easier to keep up with schoolwork. This is because they are less exhausted physically and mentally.
If your child is in a similar situation, it might be best to opt for homeschooling. Even if it is a temporary option, it can provide the extra support your child needs to get back on track.
Ideal Option For Children With Disabilities and Illnesses
Although children with different learning abilities have been mentioned previously, this is an honorable distinction for children struggling with mental or physical health/chronic illnesses and having trouble functioning at the same level as other students. Homeschooling can also provide a safe space for children with impaired and different learning abilities.
There is much stigma and misinformation about chronic illnesses and disabilities. This is especially brutal in schools because children understand these issues less than adults do. Disabled children are often targeted and bullied in school, and they rarely understand why they are being mistreated.
Although children with these differences and disabilities should have equal chances of interacting with the rest of society, they are rarely given the resources or room to do so.
As a parent, you might be worried for your school-going child because you have less control over the environment they are in. If you are concerned about this, homeschooling your child in their early years and easing them into educational institutes might help them combat the negative side of society as they are slowly exposed to it. If you help your child become more comfortable and confident in themselves, they may find it easier to adjust to society.
Expands The Criteria For Knowledge And Skills
Perhaps the most beneficial and important reason why homeschooling can be better than education institutions is that it expands the criteria for knowledge and skills. Because schools have to follow a set standard for knowledge in a limited amount of time, the concepts are usually very limited.
For this reason, society has developed the idea that the subjects learned in schools and universities are the only important things a person should learn. This creates the idea that only certain skills and jobs are worth pursuing.
Many people often say that they love education but hate schools because they limit our understanding of what it means (and how long) to pursue knowledge. Schools fail to teach children that life is full of learning experiences, and those opportunities should be embraced.
If this is something that bothers you as a parent, you might want to think about homeschooling your child. Even if your child is taking online classes or learning according to your region’s set curriculum, this still grants you more control over your child’s learning.
You can use this opportunity to help your child explore other concepts and acquire different skills that aren’t usually taught by schools.
What you Must Take Account while Homeschooling your Children
The main key to success during homeschooling or at school is the environment created for the child. If your child isn’t given the proper resources and distinction between personal life and school life at home, it is quite possible that homeschooling will have more damaging effects than education systems on your child.
Homeschooling can be a positive experience for some children, but negatively affect others. This all depends on your child’s personal needs. Make sure you discuss these points with your child and listen to whether or not they want to be homeschooled.
Keep in mind
Your child doesn’t have to be homeschooled their entire life. Some parents choose to let their children go to school early in life and then homeschool them when they are older and have more academic responsibilities.
This method is usually better for your child because they have the chance to better interact with others during their early stages of life, which makes it easier to socialize later on in life.
FAQs
1. Which is better? Homeschooling or Traditional schooling?
It is all dependent on your situation, environment, availability, and resources. Both have their highs and lows.
2. How do I know if Homeschooling is right for me?
Homeschooling is all about commitment and commitments become fruitful when you have realistic goals. If you believe that you would not amalgamate your schooling time with your daily life routine, you can go for it.
3. How do I find out my child's learning style?
Your child's learning style is the way your child adopts and learns a thing within the minimum time frame provided. Try to adopt that learning style for your child by observing him under different learning styles.
Takeaway
So, now you have a gist of the advantages of homeschooling children. If you and your child decide that homeschooling will be the best option for their future, it’s necessary to make sure they have a routine and a stable healthy work environment that can help your child focus on their education like a real classroom. Ensuring the well-being of your child’s physical and mental health can help your child rise above and beyond in their academic pursuit. Discuss all these essential points with your children before homeschooling them and then decide according to their needs and thoughts to make a wise decision.
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