It’s important to know the benefits of home schooling before deciding that’s the way to go with your kids. Many schools are inflexible, and the weight of the system renders reform and modernization slow. For many kids, a customized home schooling experience rather than an institutionalized one is the best option. Many parents believe that the industrial school models of today are preparing the kids for a world that no longer exists and classroom-based instruction is outmoded. Here are 10 reasons to consider home schooling.
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1. The School Environment
The 3 main reasons why parents prefer home education are: Concern about the school environment; as well as peer pressure, bullying is at an all-time high. Religious/moral instruction; they have their own ideas about the values they want their children exposed to. And finally, dissatisfaction with the academic instruction. They feel that they can offer more to their children than some of the burnt-out, cynical teachers one often comes across.
2. Accomplishments
With home tutoring, children are able to accomplish what matters to them. They have the autonomy to set their personal goals, and assess their successes in meeting them. At school, the students are force-fed stuff that they might not have the slightest interest in, and that they feel is wasting their time that could be better spent on an interest they have.
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3. Customized, Not Standardized Learning
This pertains to the above 2 points; kids who have home schooling and their parents can customize the learning experience specifically for the child, and not be restrained by a standard curriculum that is imposed across the board.
4. Technology
A child that is learning at home can have the world of technology opened up to them. Cell phones, computers, laptops, notebooks and iPads are all tools that they can employ on their search for knowledge. They will also be picking up valuable life skills that they will employ when they’re adults. Few schools allow or have the financial wherewithal to have these gadgets in the classroom.
5. Association
Home based learning allows you to associate with those you enjoy, unlike at an institution, where you are forced to associate with those who share your birth year, your zip code and your geography. Home-schooled children can associate with those who share their passions, and global connections can be made through the Internet. Thus, networking is utilized at an early age, and will serve them well in their future endeavors.
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6. Working towards Exploring Ones’ Interests
At school one is dictated to do work according to someone’s agenda, and for someone else’s purposes. Children who have a home education can engage in work that is meaningful to them, and to their parents. This also encourages enthusiasm and passion for the topic at hand.
7. Independence over Dependence
School students are told by others what to do, and when; compliance with authority is ingrained into the child. With home schooling, children are encouraged to be free and independent thinkers; to explore, discover and develop where their interests lie. They learn independently because they have interest in the subject, not because they have been ordered to.
8. Tests, Exams, Reports, Worksheets…
A great deal of time at school is spent preparing for tests and exams. These preparations are stressful for the students, and waste valuable time; and little time is spent on evaluating the usefulness of these imposed timelines. When was the last time you took a test? Yeah, I can’t remember my last time either. Children in the home school environment don’t have to waste time in preparation for these tests that are regarded as essential in institutional halls of learning. They are better using the time to learn more.
The same with worksheets and reports - instead of reading a book then having to write a report on it, they can hop online and discuss it with others who’ve read it; or they can read a review of it, and compare their feelings about it. This encourages critical thinking – an invaluable life skill. Portfolios can be created at home reflecting how that child has captured the subject, and can be a joy to pore over.
9. Dynamic Vs. Static
At school, kids sit at a desk all day, reading and learning about others’ experiences, and being lectured at. A kid schooled at home has the freedom to actually go out and have their own experiences.
10. Freedom from the Constricts of Time
As you know, if you have a kid in school, the vacations have to be worked around. If you have a kid who’s getting a home education the family is free to take off on their own time, at a time of their choosing, and are not tied down to enduring crowded holiday venues at the same time as everybody else. Freedom from the high holiday seasons means more value-for-money vacations for the family.
Do these reasons sound like good incentives for home schooling? I’m willing to bet they do. Freedom for the entire family, not only the child involved, versus the family held hostage to a faceless institution sure sound much better to me. Plus you get the bonus of a kid with a healthy curiosity and an enquiring mind. Sounds like a good deal to me, but of course every child has different needs. What do you think?
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