Home Schooling - Research Paper Example

Topic – Home Schooling Introduction Homeschooling is not a rare phenomena and it is all about teaching children at home without them attending schools. Homes schooling more than teaching children is a way of life. It is a socialization process where the parents get chance to learn with children and interact with them extensively. It can be seen many times that home schooled children are more advanced in social skills than peers studying at schools. Home schooling also brings families closer together. Each member of the family takes an active interest in the home education, sharing daily experience, brainstorming together on new ideas and topics to study, and communicating openly and frequently. Homes schooling is better way of educating kids as they are safe at home and also are better connected with family ,when are taught by parents. It is said that the family which study together stays together. Home schooling is the common thread woven throughout their lives that pulls the family together. It also allows giving quality education to the children .Home as always been the heart of a child’s education. One need not be a professional teacher to home school a child as they are natural learners and parents are natural teachers. Parents are the best teacher a child could have as no one knows the children better than them. The parents knows the strength and weakness of their children and can train them accordingly .Rather than teaching home schooling should be treated as a guiding a child for their future development. According to (Connor)“Many Christian families make a commitment to educate their children at home because of a conviction that it is God’s will for them”. History of Home schooling From the earliest days, a child’s education took place inside the home. Children learned from parents, from a large extended family, and from everyday life. In his book (Escoto 1) writes that “ History shows that today’s home education sprang from a rich heritage of family based learning” Families made sure that the children learned important life skills, reading, writing, math skills and socializing skills. In the beginning times, school education was not mandatory for children. Many children were taught home as they could not walk the distance to and from school and mass transportation was not yet an option. Some children were kept at home by bad weather, snowstorms and floods. As industrial revolution swept the country, school transportation improved and so did attendance at public schools. However, in 1960s and 1970s, some families, disappointed with the school system, began teaching their children at home. Early home school pioneers and advocates broke new ground in the home school territory. Family - centered education began moving to the forefront of society once again. By the mid 1980s the success and benefits of homeschooling had become more apparent .Research was documented, books were printed, dedicated magazines took hold, and word spread like wild fire. It was estimated that approximately 150,000 to 200,000 children were homeschooled in the mid 1980s. By the mid 1990s, the number had grown to approaximately5, 00,000 to 6, 00,000.From then the number of home schooled children continued to increase each year. Abilities needed for home schooling -In order to make homeschooling a success certain abilities are needed by parents. These can be defined as follows. i) Learn together and seek answer together: By doing this the child gets the motivation to enquire and work with parents to grasp things easily. As per (Bowen) “ At times children also teach parents and they learn together”. ii) Learn through hands on approaches: This allows active participation of the children during their study procedure. This also encourage children t o understand the information better and keep the interest of them until the task is finished. They have fun doing it and when task is completed the outcome is better. iii) Interact one –on- one with child: Interacting with child during learning process is very essential as it allows the child to absorb what he is taught. iv) Design a curriculum: Designing a curriculum is important as it gives an idea to the parents from where to begin and how to proceed with the teaching procedure. v) Taking advantage of learning opportunities: It is essential for parents to take advantage of learning opportunity whenever possible in order to be efficient to be a home school teacher. vi) Pinpointing child’s weaknesses: A child needs to be made aware of his weaknesses, so that he can correct his mistakes and make effort to avoid it. Vii) Exhibit patience and good humor: A parent need to exercise a lot of patience in order to succeed in teaching children at home. They also should be funny and humorous to keep children engaged in study process. Designing the curriculum The designing of curriculum is an important aspect of home schooling. Tailoring a curriculum to fit each child is one of the benefits of home schooling and many families enjoy the challenge and rewards of such an endeavor. A customized curriculum promises flexibility and financial savings. On the other hand, it will cost the parents in terms of hours of preparation because they will be the one who write the lesson plans, search for books and gather necessary supplies. Creating a curriculum may sound like an overwhelming task if there are several children in a house hold. As per (Malowany) “When choosing a homeschooling curriculum or designing your own, you really need to decide on your goals for your children first”. A balanced curriculum should utilize the time in the best way possible. The availability of library and internet can reduce the workload of parents in preparing a curriculum. A curriculum is simply a plan of what will be a studied. When creating a curriculum from scratch, it should be started the same way if it would be purchased from outside. It is essential to search for topics and resources on internet to design a complete curriculum. According to (Smith) “A homeschooling parent, for example, might be able to make time to take a student on a trip to London to see historical items in museums to learn in context, while an entire classroom in Bangkok could not reasonably replicate this experience”. One should determine what their children should learn when making a curriculum. An estimate time frame for the lessons to be completed should be fixed along with activities. Finally the materials and supplies needed to should be collected to start the lesson. Re- connecting with the child Parents who have recently withdrawn children from a traditional school often need to reconnect with their children. One can reconnect with the children simply sitting down with them each day talking, or by going on walk together, or for a ride around town or through the country. Many home school parents who have withdrawn their children from school suddenly wonder what they will talk about with their children whole day. They may sit down together and find that the gap between them has grown wider than they had anticipated. After an outing with the child, it is possible to find many things about them. At the dinner time one can talk to them about scientific facts and other information you have read together with your child in an effort to reconnect with them. In his book (Caffrey 53) states that, “The most important part of being a parent is developing a relationship with your child and stays connected with them lifelong”. By sharing daily experiences the parent and the child can connect quickly with one another and this can bring the entire family together. By being a part of the child’s education, one naturally connects with them. By learning together, reading together, playing games together, and going on simple, relaxing outings together, one build experience that bring them and children closer. When the children are in schools each day, the opportunity to connect is diminished. But when they are at home, the opportunity to connect is present throughout the day. The learning experiences that are woven into each day are like threads of yarn, connecting the parent and the child. Advantages of Home schooling Teaching children at home have numerous benefits. They can be explained as follows: i) Philosophical Freedom: The most valuable benefit of teaching children at home is that freedom the parent has at directing children’s learning. Because they are in control of the education the student receive, they can insist to teach them the subjects from their world view, or at least can make sure that their world view is accurately represented. In her book (Clement 39)writes that, “An added benefit of home schooling is the freedom to encourage mastery”. In addition, children at home are free from the peer dependence and undesirable influences found in traditional schools. Students will not be carrying drugs and weapons in school, and students don’t have to encounter sexual pressure and criticism. There is freedom of religion in the home school that is not found in public school. ii)Self – Motivation : To a large extent, home schools students are self - motivated and self taught, even when parents direct the education. As they mature, children often develop strong interest in one or two specific areas. Whereas traditional schools do not allow enough time to accommodate personal interests. Home students usually have more self – confidence, self discipline, independence than normal schools students. iii) Practical Advantages: When homes schooling children there is more chance of using libraries, museums and community resources at less crowded hours? At homeschoolers it is free to adjust the family vacations with study schedule, illness and educational travel. This scheduling flexibility also allows students to accept part – time jobs during the day when other students are not available to work. With careful scheduling, the students are able to complete high school early, finish high school with more credits that required, or get a head start on college. iv) Family benefits: It is an advantage to have family together all time day and night. Homeschoolers generally escape relationship problems with family and able to nourish family unity .Home school teens have ample time to spend with their siblings and actually converse with parents and other adults unlike traditional school peers. Since children are closely connected with parents they feel at ease in learning and are less under pressure. v) College Interest: Colleges are also discovering the unique qualities that often result from homeschooling. Because of high level of maturity, self –discipline and academic preparation home – educated students have demonstrated, many colleges actively recruit them. As per (Lyman 34-40)“Dissatisfied with the performance of government-run schools, more and more American families have begun teaching their children at home”. Conclusion Before making a final decision about home schooling, one need to decide why he or she is considering it. If the child has a special need or unseal interest then home schooling might be the answer. If one wants to pass on the faith and improve family relationship then homeschooling is ideal. Homeschoolers are dedicated teachers and students who care about quality education. Home schooling requires incredible commitment and those who persevere know that it is worth the cost. However it is essential to talk with the teens before removing from the private or public school. The beauty of home schooling is that one can do best what works for the family. According to (Connolly)“Another benefit to homeschooling is that the parents model and reinforce valuable behavior and deemphasize undesirable behavior in a natural manner”. One of the challenges facing today’s homeschooling families is the cost of technology. Most traditional students have access to school computer labs, but for homeschoolers this can become an additional expense. The decision to begin homeschooling is often a difficult one. Some immediately find homeschooling a positive experience and embrace it, while some find it difficult and abandon it. The decision to begin home schooling occurs when parents have concerns with traditional schooling so serious that they require considering alternative like home schooling. In additions to concerns about educational quality and cultural, relationship issues were motives for home schooling. However, if the parent and child are comfortable with home schooling there is no better option than it. Bibliography Bowen, Laurie N. Food for the family spirit. Kansas City: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997. 30. Print. Clements, Andrea D. Homeschooling: A research - based how - to manual. Oxford: R& L Education, 2004. 39. Print. Caffrey, Janine W. Drive ; 9 ways to motivate yours kids to acheive. Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2008. 53. Print. Connor, Sandra D. "Benefits of Home - Schooling." pahomeschool. Buxmont Parent Educators, 2003. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. . Connolly, Pamela. "Benefits of Homeschooling." ezinearticles. Ezine articles, 21 Dec. 2005. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. . Escoto, David D. The little book of big reason to homeschool. Nashville: B&H publisihing group, 2007. 1. Print. Lyman, Isable. "Homeschooling: Back to the Future?" CATO 4.27 Jan. (1998): 34-40. Print. Malowany, Wendy I. "Homeschooling Curriculum - What to Teach?." homeschooling - freedom. Home schooling Freedom, 2008. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. . Smith, S E. "What Is Curriculum Design ?." Wise Geek. Conjecture Corporation, 2003. Web. 13 Nov. 2011. . Read More