Are you seriously interested in home-schooling your children? Well, then, you will like to know how the progressive movement is becoming increasingly popular in certain countries including the United States of America. But before making the ultimate move, you should know the pros and cons of homeschooling.It is fine that you have thought of grooming and educating your children at home, without exposing them to the structured method of learning that is in vogue at schools, the so-called formal centers of learning.
Things for you to know
In this context, you will like to take note of a statistical survey. Kids who have undergone homeschooling are found excelling in the standardized tests which are undertaken by various colleges and universities. Consequently, they are likely to face little or no difficulty in getting admission to the higher centers of learning. If you have been thinking of grooming your children so that they turn out to be independent, resourceful individuals, then, you may think of getting them homeschooled. It is important that you take the beneficial aspects of the concept, into your account.
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You get the right to choose
Your focus is on imparting the best education to your child. So, things prove to be advantageous when you find yourself in the role of a decider. You can choose the course of study. Likewise, you are free to decide on the learning methods. You can make your pick from the homeschooled curriculum that the state offers, but you are under no compulsion to accept the same.
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The liberty allows you to try and test various methods
Teaching and learning are far from being a two-way interaction between the teacher and the taught. An ideal teaching-learning method has to be flexible to serve the distinct purposes and orientation of learners. Here again, the fact that you have the liberty proves to be advantageous. You can track the interest level of your kids and choose subjects accordingly. In this way, you can ensure that he excels in a special field of learning. Similarly, you can try and test out different methods of teaching and thereby ensure that he grasps the core content properly.
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You can incorporate religious and moral ideas
It all boils down to fixing up your priorities. As a parent, you may prioritize value education that consists of spiritual, religious and moral ideas. In that case, all you need to do is incorporate such beliefs or ideas into the teaching-learning process.
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Strengthens familial ties
You can well understand that the family has a dominant role to play in home-schooling. You can spend quality time with kids. You can keep a constant track of his learning process. Instead of confiding in the traditional school teacher, your kids take you into his confidence. You come to know what all obstacles he is facing on his road to grooming and learning. In other words, you can interact closely with your child and play a stellar part in his intellectual growth and development. This in turn, creates condition for improving family ties and bringing the members closer together, as a unit.
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Fosters independence and emotional stability
As a parent, you are there as the pillar of support. That doesn’t mean thatyour child becomes overly dependent on you. Rather, he cultivates the art of independent learning. Moreover, he doesn’t have peer pressure to put up with. Bullying and stiff competition are expected in the structured formal system of learning. But now that your child is learning independently, he can steer clear of these negativities. Consequently, he can become more confident and emotionally stable than before when he was used to traditional schooling.
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You needn’t conform to fixed schedule
In other words, you have the flexibility to plan out a schedule and shape it in such a way that it suits your convenience. That’s because, you don’t have weekly exams, daily homework and the regular school hours to conform to.
Know the disadvantages
The system of homeschooling has its own disadvantages. Before making the move and deciding on your priorities, you should know the challenges that you are likely to face.
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A time taking proposition
Right from choosing the curriculum, the subject matters of learning and the learning method; you have to be your own master. The question is do you have sufficient time to spare? It does become strenuous to divide the time equitably amongst professional assignments, household chores and participate in the teaching-learning process.
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You may need to give up your job
At least, one of the parents needs to give full-fledged attention to the different aspects of teaching. For that, the concerned parent has to sacrifice his or her career so that he can play an active part in the hands-on teaching learning process. Consider if your family’s finances are going to be hurt before parting with your career.
Advantages outweigh the disadvantages
Thus, you can make a profitable use of this activity-based hands-on learning process. Homeschooling gives you the opportunity to plan off-season trips, visit museums, historical monuments, recreational centers, zoos and botanical gardens. So, while at one hand, you can prevent your child from bullies, baffles, and harassment. At the other hand, homeschooling gives you the chance to reward your kids with an enriched learning experience.
