The Argument for and against Homeschooling - Research Paper Example

Homeschooling Outline I. Introduction II. Advantages of homeschooling III. Disadvantages of homeschooling IV. Conclusion Introduction Before thinking on whether to educate children through home schooling or public schooling, it is necessary to analyze and understand the criteria involved. In home schooling, tutors and parents need to adapt to special set of rules to abide to when homeschooling. Homeschooling involves educating children at home that used to be done in the past but the system changed after the introduction of compulsory education. There are various reasons why some parents prefer homeschooling from public schooling. These reasons relate to safety, social, morals, mental condition and flexibility of education offered in public and private schools. This study shows the argument for and against homeschooling. Advantages of homeschooling According to Lips & Feinberg (2008), homeschooling provides parents with various options such as spending more time with their children and they help them develop and build a good relationship. Parents are also able to customize their children’s studying schedules to fit their learning goals. Parent and tutors also consider choosing the subjects that are necessary for their children according to their future goals. It is also easy to supplement various learning materials to link them according to the needs of their children. Parents have a great control over the outside influences that may affect a child’s learning system such as peer pressure. They are also able to share personal knowledge and skills with their children and both get to understand one another. Increased opportunities for homeschooling With the increase of changing attitudes towards homeschooling, the situation has also changed, for example, some homeschooling children are able to access activities practiced in public schools. Parents are researching on the activities that can be provided to their children while at home to improve social interactions and broaden learning environments. In some communities, activities that promote educational and creativity are provided to children schooling from home. Ray (2009) shows parents have also designed personal educational programs and improved homeschooling curriculum for both primary and secondary programs. There are also higher educational programs introduced for homeschooling children. Other universities and colleges provide online options for homeschooling children. The online program is also used for primary and secondary curriculum. The program and offers variety of resources needed for homeschooling purposes. Eliminates social aspects According to Homeschool-companion.com (2010), the advantages of homeschooling depend on how one starts and researches about the program. It depends on the selected method that is effective for both children and parents. It also depends on the home curriculum chosen that is able to meet the needs of both parent and children. The first advantage is that homeschooling eliminates various negative social aspects seen in public and private schools. Children face various influences while at public and private schools and the child may interact with wrong people and influenced by peer pressure. Children may succumb to bullying, drug use, alcohol and sex due to peer pressure and negative aspects in a school environment. The advantage of homeschooling is that the parent is able to control people that interact with their children at their learning environment. This gives a child strong defense against negative social influence. Creates optimum learning environment Homeschooling has an advantage over public and private schools as children are exposed to a different curriculum. The problem with traditional way of learning is that children learn the same things using same way and same teachers. In homeschooling, parents are able to understand that their children need to use a different method of learning, for example, some kids may prefer a calm and quiet environment to learn while some need more activities and visual motivation. Homeschooling is necessary for giving parents flexibility in matching a teaching approach to the learning style preferred by their children (Welner & Kevin 13). Offers a steady flow of learning Homeschooling is flexible unlike public schools where learning is only in classrooms. In homeschooling, children may learn from anywhere, everywhere and at anytime. For example, if they want to learn about the history of Texas, they may visit the Alamo and if they want to know about World War II, they may visit their grandparents and ask about anything. Abundance of healthy socialization The traditional method of learning only allow children to socialize with people from the same age group while in homeschooling, children are free to meet with other homeschooling children or volunteer to homeless people. There are many forms of socialization for homeschooling children. These offer natural ways of relating with the outside world. Parents that have homeschooled their children reported various benefits on academic achievements such as; Earlier college entrance The most essential benefit for homeschooling is the ability to enter college at an early age. Colleges admit homeschooled children at 15 years into their start programs and at 16 into their full-time programs. This approach allows the child to gain experience in obtaining a bachelor’s degree and start working at an earlier age. The children are able to become responsible at an earlier age and establish a family. Parents need to determine their children ability and choose the best time to enter the college. Development of autonomy Homeschooling also benefits children through the development of child’s independence. In public and private schools, there are influences from peer pressure while in homeschooling, children are able to conform themselves and fit into a better world. Homeschooling also allows parents to give their children activities that expose them to a wide selection of opportunities that enable them develop individuality. Spiegler (90-100) shows development of independence enables children to build self-motivation skills and reduce reliance on their parents or peers. They are able to form many options about the world and the environment around them. Fostering of independence The most prevalent benefit of homeschooling is the development and fostering of high self-esteem. Children feel safe and secure while learning from their home environment. They also feel unique and able to express their opinion without ridicule from peers and teachers. This is beneficial as it allows building of confidence. They are also able and confident to make personal decisions and come up with efficient ideas. Maximization of academic achievements Most children in today’s world are more interested in moving beyond the academic field. These may feel held back by the inflexible regular way of learning. These children prefer using homeschooling that allows them maximize their academic achievements at all fields. These children may choose to learn using their curriculum quickly or slowly as long as they understand their personal goals. Homeschooling is also beneficial to children that struggle in some areas academically. The reason is that it offers one-to-one environment for learning skills needed to achieve the subject. Flexibility of curriculum and time Homeschooling is beneficial to both parents and students due to the regular academic that become an adventure in homeschooling environment. The significant benefit of homeschooling is flexibility in curriculum. It is enjoyable to parents that wish to expose their children to effective curriculum. This includes learning practical subjects such as biology at an aquarium or zoo or mathematics through learning about spaceship and navigation at a local flight museum. In homeschooling, the curriculum is flexible provided the basic are leant. Time flexibility is also beneficial in homeschooling and necessary for a growing child. This allows every child to study at the time children best understand, for example, early morning, evening or midday. Parents are also able to change their schedules to the time they are available to teach their children. The time structure includes one that fits best for the child. The specific needs of children are catered for in homeschooling; for example, some children prefer a social environment while others like working alone. Disadvantages of homeschooling On the other hand, most people may not prefer homeschooling because homeschooling environment do not offer great social environment as with the case of private and public schooling. The reason is that though homeschooling offers security and safety, children are not free to interact with their peers and participate in community related activities. Public and private schools also offer greater academic achievements that may have greater opportunities that are not available through homeschooling, for example, participation in scholarships, sports, art and craft, music and theatre. As more people become disappointed by the education system used in public and private schools, there are various instances where parents prefer homeschooling. The decision need to be considered with much care and requires much research, as there are various disadvantages with the approach of learning. Do not match a school curriculum Homeschooling programs do not match with the nationally recognized schools and their curriculum that involves accreditation and examinations. Additionally, unless a parent trained or holds qualifications for becoming a teacher, it becomes difficult to teach children as effectively as trained professional teacher would teach. Taylor (2010) puts it that parents need to give their children the best start in the world and facing life that involves giving them education to succeed at work. The parents are stressed while preparing lessons for very subject and need to research about the basics of every topic enough for them to be comfortable to answer a question from their children. Involves much commitment This involves much work, as parents are also not aware how to plan the lessons. It is disadvantageous as if the child struggles to understand the concept of learning they blame their parents. These disagreements may result in resentment and bitterness between a child and a parent. Although most parent feel they could do better training than teachers do, they need much commitment and rearrange their life and activities. The reason is that homeschooling includes a full time job and parents need to consider whether they are available to provide both time and resources needed for teaching at home. Martin-Chang, Gould & Meuse (192) describes that in order to achieve the full benefits of homeschooling; the parent should not be involved in any other work. This is because by factoring out the costs involved in homeschooling resources and materials, it results to an expensive responsibility. Lack of opportunity to interact A serious negative effect of homeschooling is lack of opportunity to interact with others. This may exploit children development socially. They may find difficulty to communicate within a group setting or be involved in teamwork activities, which is a necessary skill while working or living in adult life. Children also look back and miss school experiences, for example, competing in music, drama and sports. Without a school setting, failing to go together with the rest in their age groups affect them and make it difficult to find friends (Lines 2008). Parent as teachers Parents also lack the professional way of teaching their children as teachers, for example, if the parent has limited education qualifications. A parent may not manage to plan their lessons effectively and use specific strategies for managing a student’s behavior. A parent that lacks formal training and personal experience on subject and topics needed for their children to grow also lacks knowledge for effectively teaching the basic topics. Children also do not learn on how to deal with people in authority and becomes challenging if the parents are not consistent in homeschooling. Parents need to direct their children to build skills such as independence and self-motivation (Golden 2000). Gaps in sequence and scope According to Whitney (2010), the reason why parents prefer homeschooling their children is to have total control over their behavior. However, if the parent do not use accredited homeschooling programs or fails to create homeschooling schedule and plan, then this approach creates gaps in scope and sequence. Rather than learning concepts, facts and information taught to their peers, homeschooled children find themselves learning what their parent prefers necessary. For example, there are adults that have skewed ideas on inaccurate facts and biases and give this information to their children as facts. Conclusion A child’s education is a major parent’s responsibility and parents need to analyze and choose carefully before deciding on the best method to use in learning. The reason is that although homeschooling has effective benefits and advantages, it distances children from the social learning environment provided by public and private schools. Parents need to weigh out the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling. These also need to carry out a research on the resources needed, time taken and lessons to teach their children for effective learning outcome. In this analysis, the disadvantages of homeschooling outweigh the advantages. Works cited Golden, Daniel. "Home-Schooled Kids Defy Stereotypes, Ace SAT Test", 2000, The Wall Street Journal. Homeschool-companion.com. Arguments against Homeschooling, 2010, http://www.homeschool-companion.com/against-homeschooling.html  Lines, Patricia.  Homeschooling, Kidsource, 2008. Lips, Dan. & Feinberg, Evan. Homeschooling: A Growing Option in American Education, 2008, Heritage Foundation. Martin-Chang, S, Gould, O. & Meuse, R. The impact of schooling on academic achievement: Evidence from home-schooled and traditionally-schooled students". Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science 43 (2011): 195–202. Ray, Brian. Progress Report: Homeschool Academic Achievement and Demographics, Survey, 2009. Spiegler, Thomas. "Home education in Germany: An overview of the contemporary situation". Evaluation and Research in Education, 17. 2 (2003): 179–90. Taylor, V. Self-Concept in home-schooling children, John Wesley: Berrien Springs, 2010. Welner, Mari & Kevin, Welner. "Contextualizing Homeschooling Data: A Response to Rudner". Education Policy Analysis Archives 7 (2011): 13. Whitney. Five Advantages and Disadvantages to Homeschooling, 2010, http://whitney05.hubpages.com/hub/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-to-Homeschooling Read More