The debate over homeschooling has been going on for years, and will continue to persist as parents look for viable alternatives to public school education.
Proponents of homeschool activities say that their children are allowed to work at a much faster pace, can receive much more individual attention, and are free from possible negative influences that may be present in a public school setting. While those against home schooling say that it stifles creativity, socialization, and can potentially set a child down a more difficult road toward the future.
In truth, there are pieces of each of these arguments that are valid, but nonetheless, they are all also somewhat misleading. A more objective approach to home school education reveals that there a both great benefits and great challenges facing parents and children who choose a home school curriculum for their education.
The argument that homeschooled children can work at a faster pace, and are therefore not “stifled” by the pace of a 30 child classroom is definitely valid, but it must be said that, in truth, a child is really only held back – or allowed to move forward – by his own abilities. If a child is particularly bright, then a home schooling environment does indeed allow him to work at a faster pace than he would be able to in a public classroom. However, some children – that would ordinarily not move at a fast pace – may benefit from being pushed by the pace of a classroom. So, while some may thrive, others may fall back to work at their own pace.
In a related argument, it is true that home schooled children can receive more attention than they would in a classroom. The benefits of this are obvious – more individual attention from your teacher means more opportunity to have in-depth discussions about school work, have your questions answered, and feel a sense of comfort and accomplishment that a traditional classroom might not allow.
The most difficult obstacle for homeschoolers comes in the form of socialization. For years, homeschooled children have faced the stigma of being socially inept and less able to function outside of the “bubble” provided by their parents. This is probably the most accurate of criticisms when it comes to homeschooling. However, much has been done throughout the years to combat this. Involvement in scouting, church groups, and after-school groups comprised completely of homeschoolers, can strongly help combat the socialization challenges.
In short, homeschooling is just like any other culture – it works for some people, and not for others. The results will always be mixed, but so to, are the results from private and public schooling.
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Homeschooling and social repercussions?Forgive the numerous questions today (research for a Sociology paper).
Some parents feel that homeschooling benefits their children by not exposing them to the distractions and potential troubles of public educational institutions. Others feel that homeschooling results in children being ill-prepared to handle the many hurdles they will face in society.
What is your take on homeschooling children? Does it limit opportunities for kids to be active in their age group? Is the descision to homeschool children more based on paranoia on part of the parents, rather than what's best for the child?
Tracy,
Point taken, but never in my question do I STATE that parents are paraniod. I ASKED if people felt that way, but never did I make that judgement myself, nor did I say I agree with that viewpoint. I was merely trying to start a dialogue. I do not stereotype.
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Art Gib is a freelance writer and Heritage Home School Academy is a home schooling organization offering home school curriculums and homeschooling resources.
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Research shows that homeschoolers do well on all the standardized testing, socialization, etc. http://www.nheri.org/content/view/176/53/
I think one huge advantage of homeschooling is that you can tailor the curriculum to the interests of the child: when you are in the school system you often are boring a child because out of 30 children at least some are going to be bored by a topic or have already learned a topic. You can avoid that in homeschooling.
I do think though, obviously, as you mentioned, that homeschooling is wonderful for special needs children. You didn't mention but homeschooling is also great for gifted children who are easily bored by public school. My brother and I are both gifted and were bored through all of our schooling, both private and public, until I hit grad school, where I finally met others who were really enjoying the learning process as well. I think schooling is kind of aimed towards teaching that theoretical "average" child of which there really are so few. Most children, really, may have some deficits and/or gifted areas and so really will benefit from homeschooling in my opinion.
Of course, the reality is not every parent may have the personality, desire, financial situation, or willingness to homeschool so homeschool may not be an option for that reason. And then public and private schools are other options to be considered in that case.