Your home as a school: why you should consider alternative education?
Home schooling is often thought as a niche education method. However, many cultures welcome and even encourage home schooling, with levels of home schooling rising globally.
Homeschooling is great for parents who might want to keep a closer eye on their child and their education, or perhaps are looking to help a child who has been bullied; or maybe just feel the local education is unsatisfactory. However, there are considerations to take into account. In this article we’ll look over these aspects and how you can make a decision for your child (or children).
The Out-of-classroom Benefits
While the benefit of public schooling, such as a varied, specialized education and an enhanced social life, are well established, there are key aspects to homeschooling that make it of particular benefit. For example, things your child misses at school include learning how to learn. Some schools will have your child focus entirely on grades, as opposed to the learning process. Home teaching can emphasize to your kids good skills in terms of processing and absorbing knowledge.
Time vs Cost
Cost is undoubtedly one of the biggest tick marks in favor of homeschooling. You will save on uniforms, where some schools are concerned; gas money, for getting to and from the school gate; and often, the exorbitant costs of school trips, equipment and textbooks that you can procure yourself at a better price.
Balancing against the cost saved is the reduced amount of time you have available. However, you can see the added time spent with your child as an opportunity to bond with them. Also, you’ll be making sure your time is spent in a high quality way, with directed learning and practice time in a flexible schedule.
Determining Curriculum
By setting and dictating the pace of the curriculum and syllabus, you will ensure your kids learn a broad range of good skills that can put them in good stead for achieving a career or higher education. Many schools are seen to teach a narrow set of subjects, or not focus on the best areas of learning. However, you must be mindful to teach a broad curriculum and research thoroughly to make sure you aren’t biased towards your favored subjects. Thanks to the internet, there are plentiful teaching resources online that can help to ensure you’re delivering your teaching in a structured manner.
Homeschooling is not a niche subject, and in the US in particular incredibly popular. Don’t be put off by the stereotypes you might hear around it. If you feel your child could benefit, consider checking the local laws and bringing your child back into home education.