Essay on The Benefits of Homeschooling
Education
is an important component of the American society. Parents are keen on
investing money, time, and attention just to ensure that their children are
provided with the highest quality of education. One of the ways in which
children are taught involves the concept called homeschooling. Even before
forma education was introduced in the US, homeschooling was already common in
several American households. According to Basham et al. (2007), homeschooling
on the US started in 1870s when it served as the learning foundation before
children attend institutionalized education. Through the years, homeschooling
has evolved is legal in all the states in the US.
At the end
of 2003, approximately 1.1 million children in the US are attending
homeschooling. This figure represents 2.2 percent of the total student
population in the US (Department of Education, US). The number also exceeds the
actual students enrolled in the states of Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, Delaware,
Vermont, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Homeschooling has even broken down social boundaries where there are variations
in political and religious affiliations among students. As quoted from Lines
(2000), “Both the left and right wings of homeschooling are active today, and
many families have both philosophical and religious reasons for their choice.
Joining them are many homeschoolers who simply seek the highest quality
education for their child, which they believe public and even private schools
can no longer provide.”
One of the reasons why parents prefer
homeschooling is because it is flexible. Parents can develop teaching methods
that fit their children as well as introduce teaching materials the promote
creativity. Unlike the traditional institutional education, homeschooling
provides parents the leeway to develop learning schemes that aim to support the
skills of their children. There is focus in teaching as parents have the ideal
ratio of one student per teacher. In most public schools, children are cramped
in big classes because of limited resources. Learning is believed to be impeded
the attention of the teacher is divided among several students. Regarding the
lessons, parents are not required to agree to certain norms and standards that
are usually being used in public and private schools.
Some
schools have remained traditional when it comes to teaching that the use of
technology is limited. Also, schools are not equipped to tap technology based
materials because of lack of resources. Through homeschooling, parents are
allowed to use an array of learning material from various sources. The use of
television, radio, and presentations could also boost the learning capabilities
of their children. Interactive learning has become an effective tool in getting
the attention of students. There are observations made that students respond
well lessons that are taught in non-traditional methods.
Homeschooling
is considered as practical in a lot of ways. Cost wise, parents spend minimal
on learning materials compared to the rising cost of tuition and fees in some
schools. Also, there is no need for parents to queue during enrolment and the
time saved could be allocated to other household activities. Some parents,
specifically mothers prefer homeschooling because while doing so, they can work
from home. Several online jobs such as telemarketing and email support could be
done by parents while teaching their children. Also, homeschooling provides the
opportunity for parents to introduce real life lessons that are not common in
schools.
Although
traditional education remains a priority for parents, the clamor for
homeschooling has intensified over the years. Mothers in particular could
multi-task by teaching and also doing household chores or doing home-based
work. The best way to approach homeschooling is to identify the needs of a
child and from there establish the learning priorities.
References
Basham, P., Hepburn, C., and J. Merrifield. “Home
Schooling: From the Extreme to the
Mainstream.”
Studies on Educational Policy, 2007.
Lines, P. “Homeschooling Comes of Age” International
Publication, 2000: 75-77
US Department of Education. “The Condition of Education,
2005.” National Center for
Educational
Statistics. 2005
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