Posted by Colin Jones on May 26, 2010
According to the National Center For Education Statistics, roughly 1.1 million children underwent home schooling in 2005 alone. That’s a lot of children. Once upon a time, homeschooling used to be an extreme statement – something like a declaration of independence.
It was the conservative Christians who pushed for homeschooling in the 1980′s and legalized it in every State. But these day, average homeschooling student is not religiously motivated.
Later surveys indicate that parents are quite fed up with the public school system where much of the learning is superficial and compulsory. They are also concerned about the negative environment in school, which ranges from drugs and abuse to negative pressure from their peers.
As a result, we have a surprising mix of people who make up the homeschooling world of today. They cut across all religious creeds and all regional borders. Their main aim is providing meaningful and productive learning through a method that strengthens the bond between the various members of the family.
These families all have one main thing in common – a long enduring commitment to the sanctity of childhood. The children of these families are accorded a primary position. Many believe, and, I think, rightly so, that home schooling allows parents to bring up their kids in a more natural and nurturing environment.
Public schools can make a child anxious, diffident and thoroughly nasty. Children who receive their education at home are protected from these damaging, negative influences until they attain an age where they can deal with them.
Home-schooling draws the whole family into the almost religious job of teaching. Everyone has a role to play. Both the parents together form a bond with the children. Any experience can be turned into an educational experience. Both the parents are aware of exactly what is going into their child’s head.
Parents also have a greater say over the kind of religious and moral values that the child is learning. Even watching a film together can become a learning experience. Trips to the libraries, zoos, museums and other places become educational as well as recreational.
A home-schooling family is primarily dependent on the income of one earning member. That means that often outgoings have to be curtailed and proper planning of expenditure is a must. This helps to bring the family members together and everybody becomes involved in the process of saving money.
Just having a parent at home to look after, to nurture and to care for the children brings with it a lot of love and caring. Even the husband chips in and there is just no room for complacency.
Yes OK, problems still do sometimes occur, and there will be many misgivings in your mind, but when you know that your children can always rely on you, and your kids know it too, then homeschooling becomes a richly rewarding experience.
If you are thinking about Home Schooling then please pop along to our web-based resource at Home Schooling Information
Posted by Marion Jones on September 24, 2009
by Marion Jones
In the last decade, home schooling has become extremely popular especially among middle and upper-middle class families. There have been many arguments over the years about home schooling, but teachers claim that there are pros and cons in home schooling but it appears that the former outweigh the latter and therefore, a lot of families are now choosing home schooling over normal schools.
Cultures vary enormously and relationships within the family are affected by culture too. In some cultures, family bonds are fairly strong, but there are also those who don’t have very good relationships with other family members at all. However, by home schooling, family ties are enhanced. Parents will spend enough time with their kids because of the home schooling program and the children will have to listen to their parents as well. Communication is much enhanced and both parties will learn about the importance of both speaking and listening.
Many families opt for home schooling because of its diversity. However, since the cost of home education is a bit more than traditional schools, the financial standing of the family is very important. However, even without thinking about money, many parents will still go for home schooling, because it can guarantee their children’s safety. Public schools often have dangerous situations that can affect kids enormously, but if they are in a home schooling program, they can avoid these situations and their parents will be there to supervise them.
Instead of placing the kids at a public school, many parents prefer home schooling because the learning environment in the public schools is not that conducive. In public schools, very young pupils may experience problems that can affect them socially, mentally, and academically for a long time. Experts who have conducted surveys, claim that children learn better in a safe environment surrounded by loved ones. A further advantage of home schooling is that children can learn according to their ability. You can’t just give a new lesson, if the previous one hasn’t been learned yet. It may take longer, but the results are better.
As stated earlier, home schooling is a tad more costly. However, if you think that you might be able to reduce your child’s educational expenses, you’re probably wrong. Home schooling expenses are almost the same as those of traditional schools. However, if you participate in the forums of the parents of home-schoolers, you will find that there are ways to cut down costs. Naturally, you will need to spend on the resource materials, computer, and internet, but you can also visit external events like cultural do’s, public libraries, etc..
You will get even more cost-cutting notions, if you get in touch with other parents. The Internet provides numerable possibilities and with a bit of research, you can surely discover ways to ease the costs. If you don’t want to hire teachers, then you will have to learn the lessons too, however, you have already studied the various subjects in your kids’ educational program, so you only need to review them. You can get further learning material online or the bookshop and later on, educate your kids.
So, it is obvious, that home schooling is far and away the best option, especially if your child is still rather young. So, it all depends on you and your kid, whether they continue this form of education until they graduate for college.
