So far there have been three the most popular ways of getting education: to attend a public school, a private school or to study at home. All of them, for sure, have advantages and disadvantages. It is worth mentioning that none of it can suit children perfectly well. Among advantages of going to a public school, for instance, are social and cultural interaction of children with their classmates and teachers, opportunity to get involved in different tasks and getting the right idea of how to overcome them. The same is about a private school, however, an additional advantage is the particular circle of pupils. They find it easier to set a common bond with each other because of the equality of their status. Nevertheless, in my opinion the perspective of studying at home may be quite strong. Not only it is considered nowadays to be quite progressive but students taught at home exceed in results in all subjects comparing those from a regular school. If the educational process is built correctly and thoroughly thought over, homeschooling can bring even more advantages than going to a regular school, i.e. balance of the teacher-pupil interaction, educational freedom, relaxed and motivating atmosphere of studying, a closer tie with the parents and protect from negative influence, class equipment opportunities. An important issue of homeschooling is that it makes up for all cons of an average school.
The first problem of any school, which the government and public organizations always fight against, is the weakened bond between teachers and their students. It is peculiar to almost every school, which classes are usually overwhelmed with pupils. It is hardly possible for a teacher to take control over a class in such a situation. Some pupils, due to the lack of attention, find other occupations but studying. A completely another atmosphere occurs during homeschooling: a student gets all teacher’s attention on the one hand, and on the other hand, a teacher also concentrates on the teaching process. Is a child doesn’t understand some task, he does not have to wait until the teacher becomes free, but comes up with the solution and a hand right away. It is a well-known fact that homeschooled children, having more free time, can concentrate on their subjects more thoroughly, so, basically, they need less time to get educated at a competent level. As a consequence, the studying process goes faster and is in fact more productive, which is the aim of any education.
Secondly, and, perhaps, it is one of the most significant pivots, homeschooling gives lots of freedom: educational, emotional, physical, etc. Starting with the most hated by all pupils rule of any school – waking up early in the morning and attend classes due to a rigid schedule and finishing with an obligation to confirm to an accepted standard – homeschooling offers freedom in all these aspects. It is a well-known fact, that a relaxed student who feels comfortable while studying, has a positive view on education, and, as a consequence, is highly motivated to succeed. That is why it so important that a student can set a schedule on his or her own due to one’s preferences, style of life and even biological rhythm. For instance, a biological rhythm of every person varies greatly, influencing the working productivity during a day. It is more convenient for some people to work in the evening rather than in the morning. So for such people going early to a regular school is a complete torture. They start failing at tests and exams not because of the lack of their intelligence abilities but simply because they were not physically prepared for studying.
Another benefit students get by studying at school is getting rid of an emotional tension and pressure. By planning their day according to their preferences and abilities they become more independent and learn how to manage their time, which a very important skill for every employee and a person in particular. Many name social interaction as inherent only to a regular school. However, no one usually mentions how unpredictably harmful it can be to a mental health of a child (Kunzman 311-330). It especially concerns a public school, to which children come out of different stats of the society. Where cultures clash, there can be different problems. Sure thing, the teachers try to control this kind of interaction. But they handle the situation during the educational process, but they are helpless when children leave the walls of a school. Many parents are also worried how to help their child not to suffer from standing their ground, protecting moral or religious beliefs. Basically, at a regular school they usually face this problem, however, homeschooled children successfully avoid bullying (Davis 29-35).
Moreover, children become closer towards their parents by getting less pressure from school and negative influence from classmates. Building a positive common bond with caregivers results also in communication with other people, including friends, partners and their own children in future.
The absence of communication with age-mates is ascribed unjustified to homeschooling. However, the correct schedule and resources assessment will result in a complete and adequate educational process for a child. School aside, children usually have hobbies and friends outside. They still have plenty of opportunities to be engaged in extracurricular activities, attend specialized art, sport clubs or schools, etc. A recent study has shown that homeschooling pupils gain in general higher level of socialization, communication skills and maturity that those from a regular school. “Homeschool parents are aware of the issue of socialization and are strongly committed to providing positive socialization opportunities for their children” (Romanoswski 125-129). In addition to socialization, Lathem (85), for instance, studied homeschooler’s self-esteem. The results showed that homeschooled students scored comparable or even higher than those of public school in areas of math, science, verbal skills and are not socially deprived. By the way, isn’t communication with peers sometimes exaggerated? Many problems connected with the USA teenagers are vital nowadays, among them an early pregnancy, drugs consuming, disorderly conduct and many others. The thing is that teenagers tend to imitate their same-ages loosing at the same time their own identity and uniqueness. For example, they try to buy and wear clothes which are the entire vogue or acquire bad habits in order to be just like others, not to stand out from the herd. Perhaps not realizing full, they can step on the wrong path and because they have already lost this special bond with their parents, there is no authority for them to show the right way out.
Along with the consideration of a not sufficient equipment of “classrooms” at home, I believe some important pivots are missing. For sure, parents should be well-off to supply the studying process with all necessary items like microscopes or even musical instruments. However, a great advantage of a home classroom is a possibility to use a computer system with access to the Internet. Needless to say, how much useful materials it can offer to the studying process, making it easier and providing a child with all necessary computing skills. If needed, parents can even hire a teacher for programming and coding, which can make a student a competetive and sought-after employee. And, for instance, at foreign languages classes, it is quite possible not only to use numerous Internet resources and their materials but also experience a real communication with native speakers. There are plenty of free websites where people from different countries search for friends all over the world to improve their language skills in a real communication. Moreover, any student can have access to various libraries or even university courses and study them for free or charge as they wish. Sure thing, it is only one of the many wonderful possibilities to learn provided by a computer system and the Internet.
LIST OF REFERENCES
Davis, Aislin. “Evolution of homeschooling”. Distance learning. Jun 2011. N 8(2), 29-35. Print
Kunzman, Robert. “Understanding homeschooling a better approach to regulation”. Theory and Research in Education, Nov 2009. 7, 311-330. Print
Latham, Andrew S. “Home schooling”. Educational Leadership, May 1998. 55(8), 85. Print
Romanoswski, Michael H. “Revisiting the common myths about homeschooling”. Center for Teacher Education, Jan-Feb 2006. 79(3), 125-129. Print
