Question

Some children do not have the experience of going to school. For various reasons, children are home schooled. Some parents feel they can provide a better education at home and others want to shield their children from various issues that can occur at school. Based upon your readings in this unit, what do you think are advantages and disadvantages for home schooling? Did you or someone you know home schooled? If so did you find it beneficial? If you went to school do you feel you may have been better off being home schooled?

Answer 1

Homeschooling can be accompanied by several benefits and disadvantages. Through homeschooling, parents can determine the curriculum and create a flexible schooling schedule. They can adapt teaching methods best suiting how their children learn, spending time on curriculum topics according to the pace that their children are comfortable with. This allows them to provide a personal interaction that teachers in large classrooms are not able to provide. Parents can also focus on helping their children develop any special talents they possess from homeschooling.

On the other hand, homeschooling can be extremely stressful and cumbersome for parents. They maybe required to spend time reviewing numerous curriculum programs up to their standards and best suiting their children's learning needs along with large amounts of money on books and other learning materials. Furthermore, parents are under the pressure to constantly adapt to be effective teachers and motivate their children. From the child’s perspective, their socialisation with peers can be hampered as they may not receive opportunities to make friends.

Although I do not personally know anyone who was homeschooled, I believe that going to school was a very important part of my life not only because of the knowledge I learned but also because it taught me how to function as a social unit.