Positive Effects of Homeschooling - Essay Example

Positive Effects of Homeschooling Homeschooling has become increasingly popular due to several reasons.The most often cited is religious convictions. Parents are rightly concerned that their children are not learning a value system at public schools. Religious values, by law, cannot be included within a public school’s curriculum and private schools that do teach a parent’s particular belief may not be located in the area and/or may be cost prohibitive. At home, students are the focal point of the instructor and not lost in the crowd in a classroom of 25 or more other kids. Homeschooled kids advance at their own pace which is clearly to their advantage whether they are fast or slower learners in particular subjects. Critics of homeschooling usually point out the lack of socialization skills learned at public schools which is a valid concern but quality time with parents is important as well and is also productive time for the student. Parents are in control of the subject material and control the topics. This is a definite advantage for the homeschooled child. Homeschooling is a growing in popularity because it is the most effective way to educate children. The best teachers are those who possess a passion to convey knowledge with a sense of purpose. Parents motivated with a passionate spiritual conviction have a sustained energy for teaching their child more so than a relative stranger of unknown conviction at public school. These parents generate an infectious enthusiasm about whatever subject they are teaching, a virtue that motivates kids. Homeschooling allows a parent to weave their spiritual convictions into every facet of their curriculum. Nothing is more important to the heart of people’s motivation than their personal beliefs. Everyone has convictions of some description; something that has alters their lives in a positive way, something that is etched in deep in their soul. Some people can express it, some cannot find words for it, but everyone has it. When that intangible something is employed, put to use, people demonstrate a passion and direction that can be explained. For many this describes their religious convictions, a way of life for some. People who have these convictions people make excellent home-school teachers. Their sense of passion and purpose help them keep going throughout the rough times in life. This passion motivates them to continue reaching for higher goals, for themselves and their children. The homeschooled child benefits from socialization skills that are community-based rather than socialization based in the classroom. This advantage takes them away from confinement with other kids their own age. Public school classrooms are divided by age, not scholastic ability or maturity level. The expressions ‘all boats float at the same level’ and ‘a chain is only as strong as its weakest link’ applies. Exceptional kids are held back at public school but are accelerated academically and socially by the home-school experience. Additionally, the socialization at home is not the contrived, artificial socialization found in the classroom. In the conventional public class the environment is influenced by an unfamiliar adult. The variables are managed by persons who are required to maintain a defined, prescribed program in the classroom. In the home class environment, kids are exposed to many the variables found in real world situations. They interact daily with the adults they know, trust and love solving the real problems of daily life, scholastic study balanced with true-life schedules including grocery shopping, having the car repaired, changing diapers, cooking, cleaning, caring for a sick neighbor, etc. Witnessing life’s balancing act ever-present in the real life for real people is a much more enriching social education than is the contrived regulation of the public school classroom experience. The most easily defendable feature of parents’ homeschooling their kids is scholastics because the results are easily measurable. Several explanations exist for homeschooled kids being farther ahead academically than their public school counterparts. Homeschooled students are allowed to progress at their own pace instead of being bound by the curriculum outline. Few 3rd graders are the ‘average’ 3rd grader. Instead they may read at a 5th grade level, spell and do math at a 4th grade level and complete science at a 6th grade level. In a flexible home-school program, the lesson plan is created around the individual childs actual level in each course. This advantage allows for genuine progress. If the homeschooled student has finished the assigned chapter or project they can move ahead on to other topics. They do not have to wait for another class, another day, another year before going on to the next level. They do not have to sit there bored while others finish an assignment until the bell rings, they continue as does their education. On the other hand, if the student is slower to master a subject the home-school environment allows the flexibility to repeat it until they learn successfully. Kids in the classroom do not enjoy this benefit and may fall irrevocably behind in a certain subject. Each student has a particular style of learning, a unique way by which they process in-coming information. Parents, more than any teacher, understand what method will get the point across to their child and what will not. A parent intuitively understands the keys to unlock the door of their child’s unique learning style and is far more motivated to find those keys. The classroom teacher does not have the time to dedicate in this endeavor. Instead, the students must adapt to each instructor’s style of teaching. In the home, average students can become excellent students when allowed to learn in a way that is natural for them. When properly engaged any child can become exceptional learners which will benefit them in other aspects of life as well. The distractions of the classroom are not a hindrance for the homeschooled child. Other students are the largest influence for kids in the classroom. Hardly a group that is better than parents for teaching young people values, morals and study habits. Typically school-aged peers are not the best decision makers and not always the favored influence, certainly not favored over parents. Parents don’t try to get their kids to do things for the simple amusement of others such as what is typical in the public schools. Parents don’t dare kids to do things that will get them in trouble if caught. They don’t generally bully their kids or offer them drugs either. When kids move from the childhood to adult phase of life they do so either inspired more by their peers or their parents. As they grow they model who they are most influenced by. The homeschooling advantage is obvious. A quality beginning to life nurtured by a loving, caring parental influence gives kids a clear advantage. Read More