There were lots of questions and discussions on the benefits and downfalls of homeschooling vs other schooling options.
Recently I got interesting (and precise!) information from my education support group (private network of parents), where different people contributed the points to pros and cons of 3 of the main schooling options: homeschooling, co-op schooling and public or private schooling. And thought to share some of the relevant points, since it can be a help in determining what style will work the best for you and your child.
These are factors that people have encountered, or that could be involved with each of these methods.
Of course, no single situation will benefit from all the pros, or have to deal with all the cons. How much these factors apply also depends on your approach to that method, such as how you home school or which school your children attend. This list is more of an aid in your evaluations, not an absolute guide to what will or won’t happen.
You can look at the factors for the option you are considering, and use them to help you think of aspects you might not have considered, or ask yourself if it’s likely that you and your children will encounter these various positives and negatives, and how you will deal with them.
HOMESCHOOLING
(Parents conduct their children’s schooling either completely within, or based out of, their home. Homeschoolers can also take advantage of tutors, outside classes, virtual/online schools, etc.)
Pros:
• Affords maximum flexibility: Schedules can be adapted to meet the needs of students and parents while curriculum and teaching methods can be customized according to each child’s needs, interests, and learning style.
• Homeschooled children often progress quickly if they receive sufficient attention and challenges.
• Greater freedom to focus on nurturing a child’s talents.
• Can provide more practical learning experiences.
• Promotes well-rounded development of the whole person: Christian life and faith ( if you are giving Christian based education, like us), character building, life skills, academics, etc.
• Gifted students can advance more quickly through their studies without regard to age or grade grouping. (Great for those of us who do early learning!)
• Can be beneficial for some students with certain learning difficulties if they have teachers who are experienced in this area and can give them specialized help and attention.
• Parents and/or teachers know and understand each student personally.
• Even if parents don’t personally do the teaching, the teachers are people they know and trust.
• Parents are more aware of their children’s scholastic progress.
• Parents can freely integrate their faith, values, and beliefs into their children’s education.
• Parents get to choose what their children learn.—And when, or at what age, they learn it.
• Can create a close child/parent bond which is especially beneficial for younger children, and which lays a good foundation for the teen years.
• Less exposure to negative attitudes and behavior.
• Social issues/complications (dating, peer pressure, bullying, etc.) are minimized and/or easier to handle.
• Students are not exposed to education that is contrary to their faith and lifestyle unless their parents choose to include it. Unwanted political, corporate, religious, psychological, or behavioral agendas can be removed from a child’s education.
• Home education can provide stability of teaching and curriculum progression regardless of travel or country of residence. (Great for those of us who travel and move a lot due to our work!)
Cons:
• Requires time to research curriculums, plan classes, teach classes, correct work, monitor progress, and document education.
• It can be challenging to keep up with the variety of different ages, grades, and curriculums that may be present in a family.
• Parents may require further training and study in order to keep up with the needs of the students.
• The quality of teaching—especially in the more challenging subjects—may sometimes be lower than what is available from some of the other schooling methods. (This is not always the case, of course. There are excellent homeschool teachers. And with great aids that are available these days, it does not have to be the case!)
• Familiarity between the parents and students can create lacks in a student’s self-discipline and behavior, and may contribute toward lowered expectations on the part of the parents.
• Because it is mostly conducted at home there’s more chance for the activity of daily life to affect the quality of education.
• Quality educational materials may be rare, expensive, or difficult to obtain in some countries.
• It’s difficult for a homeschool setup to provide the facilities (such as science lab, gym, playground and library) that a traditional school may offer.
• May lack the equipment and specialized teaching required for some special needs students.
• An active social life, team sports, and organized P.E. can be a greater challenge to incorporate or afford.
• Some children may feel bored or unchallenged due to being in the Home a good deal of the time.
• Some children may lack in socialization skills, due to spending most of their time in familiar surroundings with familiar people.
• For some countries and nationalities, homeschooling may not provide the official documentation a student could require for future employment, college attendance, legal work, etc.
• Legal impediments could exist in countries where homeschooling is a novel concept, or where there isn’t provision for alternate forms of education.
Things to consider:
• Do you have a desire for homeschooling?
• Do you believe that by homeschooling you will be providing your children with a better education than they would be able to receive through other available methods?
• For those with students of high school age, do you feel capable of teaching the more advanced subjects at home? If not, do you have a plan for how you will meet this need?
• Will you be able to put in the time needed to research, order, and plan curriculums, teach classes, correct work, and keep up with documenting the schooling?
• Is there a well-rounded homeschool curriculum available in the language your students study in? If not, are there good textbooks and other resources you could use to assemble one?
• Are there legal impediments to homeschooling in your country? Or governmental requirements you would need to be prepared to comply with, such as annual examinations?
• Will homeschooled students in your country be able to obtain certification or documentation of their education? Will this documentation represent a good standard of education?
• Will a homeschool education be sufficient to enable a student to get a job or attend college if he or she wishes to do so in the future?
• Will you be able to provide a well-rounded education? Consider access to outings, sports, science equipment, local language learning, art, music, etc.
• Will you be able to provide sufficient opportunities for socialization and fellowship?
• Is there a homeschooling support group you could join?
I found these very helpful. I will try to post similar list for other two schooling methods tomorrow, and hope it will be a help to others as well.
I, personally, think that combination of Homeschooling and outside classes probably will work best for us in the future. Some of the main reasons: we travel and move a lot due to our International Work; our schooling will be done in the languages, which might not be native languages of the country we reside, so education in those languages might not be available; I will prefer to have a strong belief system in place (ie Creation rather then Evolution, faith principals, Bible study, prayer, etc.); I would want my girl to study on her own pace, do what she is capable for, and not be in a certain “grade” just because she is a certain age…
So these are just some thoughts. But I thought to share these points in hopes they will be helpful
