Issues Of Modern Education System And Benefits Of Homeschooling - Term Paper Example

Issues Of Modern Education System And Benefits Of Homeschooling Homeschooling and Public Schooling is an emerging issue in education nowadays. Homeschooling takes place when children engage in learning at home with the supervision of their parents. Meanwhile, Public Schooling involves the academic training of children in the classroom which implies their interaction with teachers as well as with other students. This issue is quite a central focus in most countries over the years especially with the dawn of virtual communications on the Internet and the growing educational set-ups using other means. In the United States, it all started when some parents have realized how the public school system seems not to be functioning as expected (Macionis, 2009). They believed that teaching their very own children at home may prove to be more beneficial. The others even came to a point when they organized themselves in order to strengthen various aspects of educating children at home. The result had been impressive as children who have been homeschooled outdid those who did not go through it. In a study conducted by Richman (as cited in Secor, n.d.), they scored higher in Reading and Math in terms of average percentile. Homeschooling in particular, allows students to study at their own pace and permits flexibility of time to pursue other interests like sports. Moreover, homeschooling paves the way for individualized instruction. It helps save time and money for travelling and it provides more chances for family bonding. Macionis (2009) stated that socialization is one of the functions of schooling. While there are apprehensions about homeschooling limiting or hampering children’s social interactions, this can be thwarted by organizing activities which involve other children. As such, homeschooling-based education presents a big advantage to education in terms of indoctrination of the family system and skills training. Apparently, learners appear less stressed out as the day ends and have a more relaxing lifestyle. Burkhart (n.d.) revealed that some of them have the freedom to decide which curriculum they want to use and attend school online. It gives them less pressure while working and learning at the same time at home. As such, family relationships tend to become closer and children can enjoy the togetherness of the family members that are made possible with homeschooling. It can also be expected that learners will be happy spending time at home with the family, than learning in the classroom environment. Also, fears of parents for adolescent children will be reduced considerably. Apparently, children who are learning at home will have personal attention than children in a school set up. Also, homeschooling makes the children relatively more efficient at studies. The advantages to homeschooled children are many, and is much revealing as to why homeschoolers do so well. There is individualized attention. If the child needs his parent’s assistance with regard to subject matter, the parents will be able to address the needs of the child immediately. With public schooling, the teacher’s attention is divided because of the many students that the teacher will give her attention to. On the contrary, the limitation of the child in a certain subject will be easily addressed in homeschooling, if the child excels in Science but is weak in Mathematics then the ability to focus on a certain weaknesses will be given immediately by parents. Public schools are contingent, with a certain subject receiving the same time regardless as to the accomplishment of the student. Homeschooled students progress at their own pace. If a student is excellent in math, then he can advance to the next level faster as compared to students in public schools where they learn and move up altogether. In most cases, many people have the misconception that homeschoolers are cut off from the outside world while studying at home, with little or no contact with other people. And thus, homeschooling might hamper interaction of children with other children. But socialization is not merely an interaction with others but also it is about enhancing skills that will make children participate appropriately in certain situations. Erickson puts forward that at an early age, a child may encounter a lot of problems in infancy which will shape one’s personality and social development. A child may come across a particular socialization problem at every stage. If he successfully solves the problem, he will develop a good social trait that will help him solve the next problem (Arenas, 2004). Socialization starts at home and so, if the foundation of the emotional state of the child is developed by parents, apparently the child will be equipped to face the pressure that the world presents to him. The concept of learning from the progressivists’ point of view states that individual differences are recognized. Each individual is considered a unique individual. This calls for differentiated subject-matter and flexible standards to be accomplished (Gregorio, 1994). On the other hand, public schooling is a long process of educating children which assist them to discover and develop their full potential. It is likewise a value-motivated environment that will enable the child to make his destiny in the global community. Public schooling are established by law, financially supported, managed and administered by government and private owned schools. With public schooling, families are entailed to submit their children to an approved state education. Meanwhile, the majority of children worldwide, the future citizens and leaders of the nations, are taught, trained, and indoctrinated in state-controlled schools (World Bank Group, 2002). The trend in the United States for more than 150 years has been for the increasing of state education for students. Furthermore, 88 percent of the general populace in the United Sates is educated in public schools for their elementary and secondary school years. Homeschooling is the contrast to this arrangement. Public schooling can be a profound benefit to children in a school setting. Some countries offer educational material, like textbooks and other schools need to make their education accessible to all children of their country. But to some children, it can be a venue for bullying where one is hampered in developing his skills and self-worth. Moreover, there is no personal attention given to school children. As such, those who are quiet and gifted students were not given opportunities to developed their talent and skills. Homberger (2007) stressed that in Cuba, the educational system was accomplished by Fidel Castro. It is illegal for any public school teacher to challenge the Cuban system. But as long as arguments are couched in terms of improving the “Revolution”, teachers have some degree of flexibility. Cuba and the United States principles of education are more or less the same. These two countries are in charge of educating the children in the nation. Government approved textbooks that contain government approved doctrine are used. Government employees teach the students. As such, public schooling is consistent with what the country’s educational system is offering. Homeschooling in this country is only limited to those with special needs. Meanwhile, the majority of the Muslim parents have no choice but to send their children to public schooling. It is estimated that there are at least 2 million Muslim children in the public school system in America. Public education is supposed to be objective and secular. In 1997, a study was made to determine the key strengths of those who underwent homeschooling in America. The results indicated that those who opted for homeschooling performed better in terms of their achievement in the academic areas. Significantly, this holds true for everyone regardless of race. The study further illustrated the financial benefits of such a system in which educational costs of families of homeschooled children were much lesser compared to those who attended the public schools. The trend today that people have to cope with is global competition. In a competitive world, children are expected to keep abreast with the latest development and have self-advancement. It is now survival of the fittest, in which the fittest are mostly the literates. Literates tend to have far greater chances of achieving much compared to illiterates. An illiterate child can be stripped of the opportunity to apply for higher paying jobs because he can never compete with applicants who are literate. To solve the problem with regards to this issue, a certain country should elicit a policy that would enhance homeschooling educational system that is accessible to all. Perhaps it would be of great value that not only those with disabilities will be considered for homeschooling but also for those who in any way are not special. Likewise, issues in Public schooling should also be resolved, like more classrooms should be added so as not to overcrowd the classroom for better learning. Programs to develop the skills and talents of those who are gifted children and remediation program for those who are not in, any way, challenged children should be developed and implemented. According to the Gestalt Theory of Learning, learning pervades all the work in the classroom. Children not only learn to read, write, spell, and figure, but they learn to perceive, learn attitudes and values, and learn self-respect. Each activity in the school must be appraised in terms of its total effect to the learner (Arenas, 2004). In summary, homeschooling can be strenuous and time consuming for the parents. If parents are both working who will supervise their children? It needs one parent to be at home full time and this will lead to financial difficulty for the family. The earnings would reduce, while the expenses would, almost, remain the same. Outside activities for the kids together with other children will be limited. Developing their skills in sports like football, volleyball, baseball and the like will hamper their growth as a human being. We have to be aware that homeschooling is not the solution to address the problem in the educational system. However if parents opt for home schooling, they will treat their kids judging their mindset and likelihood. In case they feel that it will create some mental setback in them, they can change the syllabus or the manner of teaching their kids. It is also a plus point of home schooling comparing to the public school. As a researcher, homeschooling versus public schooling is still a big issue up to this time. There is no exact data on how many percent of the home school children were helped. It has been an argument for so long and there is no correct answer to this issue. For some parents or families, homeschooling can be an option especially if their children have disabilities or their children have an adjustment problem when being put in certain group. While for some families, public schools can be the better choice. Either way, the ultimate purpose of making a decision between homeschooling or public school, should be finest wisdom for the children. Burkhart (n.d.) revealed that homeschooling as a choice of education has increased and continues to do so at a rate of 11% annually. In particular, the statistics for 1994 showed that 340,000 individuals attended homeschooling. But in 2001, this has gone higher to as much as 1.7 million in numbers. As with public schooling, Sanjaya (n.d.) pointed out that there is a lack of individualized attention given to students considering the number of other individuals in a class that also needs it. Consequently, the ratio of student to teacher is at the former’s disadvantage. . Bibliography Arenas, A.C., Introduction to Psychology: Understanding human behavior, Rex Printing Company, Inc, Burkhart, J. (n.d). Reality: Homeschool vs. Public School. Teen Scene. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://www.teenscenemag.com/sections/reallife/teen411/homeschool.php Homberger, J.G., The Value of Public schooling, Retrieved December, 2010 from www.school.family education,com/home…testing/41081.html Macionis, J. (2009). Society: The basics. New Jersey:Pearson Education Inc. Sanjaya, M. (n.d.). Public School Versus Home School - A Comparative Study. Ezine Articles. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://ezinearticles.com/?Public-School-Versus-Home-School--- A-Comparative-Study&id=3985050 Secor, M.L. (n.d.) Statistics on homeschooling versus public schooling. Love to know. Retrieved December 11, 2010, from http://home- school.lovetoknow.com/Statistics_on_Public_School_Vs_Homeschooling World Bank Group (2002). Private and Public Initiatives: Working Together in Health and Education. Available from http://www.worldbank.org/html/extdr/hnp/health/ppi/p1curren.htm. Read More