If you are a parent who has decided to homeschool, you have no doubt heard, on at least one occasion, arguments against your decision to homeschool. This may arise within you an angry desire to defend your right to school your children in the way you decide. After all, as Americans we still have the legal right to choose how our children receive their education.
When deciding whether to homeschool or not, it’s important to know that your role as your child’s parent is important. Even the public school based Parents As Teachers program admits: “As a parent, you are your child’s first and most important teacher.” Does that somehow stop the moment your child is of Kindergarten age? If even a government sponsored organization admits that parents are their children’s best first teacher - that is, the best teacher for their own child during the time in the child’s life where his or her brain develops at a more rapid speed than it ever will again in the child’s lifetime - then, why is there even an argument about whether this same parent of this same child is adequate to continue to be their own child’s best teacher throughout the child’s school years? One other concern of non-homeschoolers is that parents are not adequately educated or trained to teach their own children. In fact, a great number of homeschooling parents have higher than a high school diploma level learning; and, some even have a teaching degree with experience teaching in the classroom having left to educate their own children at home. Last year, a report from BBC News admits that teachers with the highest qualifications aren’t necessarily the best teachers. Good teachers don’t know all there is to know, but they know how to direct their student in the direction of learning.
But, why homeschool? What are the benefits of homeschooling? When you start to make your pros and cons list, one of the immediate pro-homeschooling thoughts that enters most parent’s minds is that you will be with your child all day long. Though, we as homeschoolers thoroughly enjoy our children by our side; if you are completely honest with yourself, there are also those days when this pro can also slip over onto the con side. So, what are the benefits of homeschooling:
Socialization – Yes, that’s right – socialization. While non-homeschoolers raise this as a cause for concern. One of the most passionate reasons for homeschooling is the concern that your children receive the proper introduction to socialization. While some private and public schools may be a good experience, others are not. For those school experiences that are not so attractive, they can be compared to throwing your baby into a shark-infested ocean in an effort to teach them to swim. No one would do that. No sane person anyway. That is how a lot of homeschooling parents feel about plopping an innocent little child into some public school scenarios, even those seemingly innocuous situations such as riding the school bus. The desire to lay a solid foundation within the family before spring boarding them out into the world is heavy on most homeschooler’s hearts. It’s not that homeschoolers seek to be overprotective and isolate their child from all fun or interactions with children of their own age. But, homeschoolers tend to prefer to lay the foundation of solid family relationships. When a child is taught that they are of value and are loved and nurtured, they are then able to have healthy social interactions. While there may be some homeschoolers who are thrown out to the public’s view who have not yet developed adequate social habits which the general population wants to see, and there are always late bloomers among any social group; others far surpass social skills of their public or even private-schooled peers. This may be because a homeschooled child is exposed constantly to a wide age-range, not just their peers of equal age. Because of this, many homeschoolers are not afraid to carry on a conversation with an adult and then turn around and entertain a younger sibling or play with a child of their own age.
If all this, doesn’t convince you, then rest assured there are several homeschooling co-ops out there that offer group classes as well as church functions like AWANAS or scouting groups, American Heritage Girls or sports teams to name a few.
Flexibility – One of the biggest benefits to homeschooling is flexibility. Of course, those homeschoolers who have strict unchanging structure in their households may not find this benefit as appealing as others. Homeschoolers are free to schedule their days around life & not the other way around. A huge benefit to homeschooling scheduling is that it can be adjusted. If it is 70 degrees and sunny, studies can be moved to the park. Some parks have wonderful covered picnic table areas where the children can study. And, there is usually a playground which can be logged for Physical Education hours as well. If you want to ditch the books entirely for the day, feel free to explore all the science adventures that the outside has to offer. Since most children are in school when homeschoolers choose to go to a park, fields and other areas are quite often open. So, on a windy day, you might even want to bring a kite along. Kite flying offers lessons in science and physics as well as great exercise. Flexibility is also good when life circumstances bring surprises. When a homeschooling mom is expecting a baby, she can choose to double up on the children’s lessons so when the new baby arrives, she has time to heal as the children have time to adjust to their new sibling and not get behind in schooling. Other life changes can happen as well such as a grandparent needing help with health issues that demand your family’s time. Situations like this are a great opportunity for the children to work together as a family as they watch and learn how to love and support aging grandparents. No school book teaches lessons like these. There is also flexibility to arrange school work around lessons such as piano, violin, dance, art, etc. Whatever learning a child chooses to pursue, homeschooling offers opportunities for that child to pursue lessons during the day when other children are not available; which makes it possible to get taught by instructors who may otherwise be full and unable to teach at the time you would need. You are free as a homeschooler to set up any schedule you want. Though rules and structure are important, on occasion, if it’s raining outside, you are free to sleep in. You are free to stay in your pajamas and learn in comfort if you have nowhere to go that day. You are free to get in some PE and weather-related science lessons by playing outside in the snow on those days where public schools may not be called off, but we have enough snow to enjoy. You are free to occasionally stay up past your bedtime to watch an educational special on TV.
Curriculum Choice – You are in control of what your children are exposed to and hopefully learn with excellence. Many parents who homeschool choose to do so based upon religious beliefs. For instance, if you homeschool, you can teach creationism in your science classes and introduce sex education when your child is ready. You are free to instill in your children those spiritual and religious values you hold dear. If a child is not excelling with a particular curriculum, you can also select and then change curriculum as you notice individual children’s needs. You can select a different curriculum for each individual child if you see the need. Or, you can unschool and allow your children to “happen upon” interesting educational books and learning materials which you have placed in their paths. If you choose to purchase box curriculums, there are so many solid curriculum companies available now for homeschoolers to easily purchase. And, while many homeschooling parents have college degrees – some were even school teachers before deciding to homeschool themselves, you don’t need a college degree to follow the teacher’s guides word for word. If you choose to use living books, the library is your best friend. Whichever style you choose – you are free to choose the curriculum. This freedom to choose curriculum is probably what scares most non-homeschoolers the most next to the fear of lack of socialization. But, the truth is that while most homeschooling parents don’t have the teaching degreed education under their belts; the majority of nurturing homeschooling parents wants the best educational experience for their child. So, they are constantly aware of whether their children are moving forward or lagging behind. This makes them very capable of adjusting curriculum presented for their individual child’s needs or to seek outside help when necessary. Every family’s makeup is unique. Every family undergoes changes throughout life that they deal with successfully or otherwise. Homeschooling families are no different. For the families who choose to homeschool, there will be challenges and hurdles to leap over as well as joys and celebrations. It is important for each homeschooling family to sit down and write out their mission statement: The reason why they homeschool. That way, you will stay focused as to what your purpose is and what goals you are hoping to attain in your family’s homeschool.
