Homeschooling is an effective way of educating the child because it creates the favourable atmosphere needed for the growth of curiosity, an essential factor for further exploration. Children who receive their education at home enjoy more freedom to experiment, evaluate and conclude the facts in a manner better than the children educated in schools. As per Gina Riley, one of the most impressive strengths of home education lies in the fact that the entire process revolves around the child’s intrinsic motivation to learn (3). It is this intrinsic motivation that prompts the child to look for more knowledge without any external pressure. Thus, the child does not remain confined to the limits of the bookish knowledge alone but goes beyond to find a lot of extra information. Another factor in support of homeschooling is that the parents act as facilitators and not regulators, who are normally found in schools. They allow their children to stretch their imagination to discover something new and different. Consequently, the child educated at home is likely to penetrate the vast expanse of knowledge and emerge as an individual loaded with huge amount of information acquired through self-exploration. On the other hand, conventional form of education sets the limit of curriculum and time in the process of acquiring knowledge, making it difficult to go beyond the things taught in classrooms.Moreover, the traditional form of education lays over emphasis on marks and grade that lead to undue comparison among children. A child is declared winner or loser based on the performance in exams only.Thus, the child is made to believe that education is all about scoring marks in the exam. Due to the above factors, homeschooling has an edge over the conventional education.
Home schooling offers several advantages that make it a preferable option. Schooling at home does not set the limits as done by the classroom education. The boundaries are decided by the children themselves. They can extend the expanse at their will. In other words, children are free to dig deeper to discover the hidden facts. Since the motivation comes from within, there is no need for any enticement to perform better- something which is used in the schools. History is a witness to the fact that many great scientists were driven by the same inner motivation to achieve seemingly impossible task.
Home Schooling addresses the possible unwanted influence at school. When a child enters the premises of school, there could be an exposure to the undesirable experiences like bullying and adverse peer pressure. The child may feel insecure due to constant negative experience. There have been incidents when the innocent school children were massacred by the reckless people in the school itself. Such instances can definitely be avoided at home. Thus, the atmosphere prevailing at home is safe and conducive. Another advantage of education at home is that it caters to the needs of children with special needs. Homeschooling presents the most convenient option if the child has some physical disability, due to which, attending regular school is not possible. They can study in the comfort of their house under the guidance of their parents. This is also applicable to the students having behavioral problems in the school environment.
Proponents of homeschooling argue that it is the concept that has been tested over and over again. They cite the examples of great American personalities -Thomas Jefferson and George Washington- who received their education at home (Clements 23). Despite, homeschooling having been a tool used to educate these great Americans, the emergence of compulsory education slowly began to replace the home based education. However, in the last few years, the trend has been reversed as the benefits of homeschooling are trickling down. Gradually, parents in significant number have been adopting home schooling for their children. Considering this, the future of home schooling appears bright.
Regarding academic performance and achievement, available data shows that homeschoolers perform fairly better than those coming from the traditional classrooms. According to a study conducted by the University of Maryland and led by Dr. Lawrence Rudner, academic performance of the 20,760-homeschool participants was exceptionally high (Lubienski, Tiffany Puckett & Jameson378-392). The reason for better performance is the conceptual clarity that students develop due to the fulfillment of their own curiosity. Hunger for more information drives them to reach the bottom of the truth, making the concept crystal clear. So, these facts disprove the claim that the students can only study well in the atmosphere presented by educational institutions. Even the house can act as the suitable substitute for the schools without affecting the academic performance.
Having proved the effectiveness of home schooling at the academic level, it is imperative to test its efficacy on life skills. In connection with life outcomes and preparedness to face life, evidence-based research indicates that those students who attend homeschooling come out with better and positive life skills in comparison with their counterparts in the traditional model (Duvall151-166). These life skills stem from the fact that when children face problems, they themselves try to find solutions. Once successful, their problem solving ability automatically gets sharpened. A survey conducted by the National Home Education Institute on students who had passed through homeschooling since their junior grades shows that homeschoolers had a higher prevalence to engage in community activities and civic processes compared to their counterparts (Suarez 54-57). Despite the study not being scientific, it lays emphasis on the fact that homeschooling learners achieve significant life skills that translate to better life outcomes in comparison to those who attend general classroom education (Bell 39-42). In other words, homeschoolers respond better to the needs of society and, therefore, can significantly contribute to the community services.
Homeschooling fosters positive family orientation, another factor contributing to its great success. Researchers in the field of homeschooling indicate that it inculcates desirable family values in children, a fundamental reason in shaping learners for academic achievement (Weldon 12-18). Being close to the family creates a special bond between children and their parents. Such partnership overcomes the friction generally observed due to generation gap.
Financially too, homeschooling has a favourable impact on all concerned. It not only saves the parents money but also preserves taxpayer resources, usually spent on educating the children of the traditional model. Normally, the federal, the state or the local government use taxpayers’ money to fund public education. However, if the parents choose to educate the child at home, the resources that the government allocates to the children’s compulsory education can be diverted to other uses (Cooper, Bruce & John 110-131). Another reason for saving resources is that the parents know what is required and how much is required in educating a child, while the resources allocated by the state are not specific. Thus, as per a rough estimate, the education imparted at home is cost-effective to both parents and the government operating at different levels.
Those advocating for home schooling have gone ahead to create the legal framework for their children or those of their peers to forego the compulsory traditional schooling. However, there has been stiff opposition to home schooling. For instance, the National Education Association proposes tougher restrictions to control and manage homeschooling (Lips & Feinberg 42). It is of the opinion that only individuals who possess licenses from state education licensing agencies should be allowed to discharge educational responsibilities. Besides this, there is also a mandate to the instructors to use curriculum approved by the state department of education. However, the supporters of this unconventional educational model are undeterred. Fortunately, authorities of different states are willing to allow this alternative form of education. A nonprofit organization called Home School Legal Defense Association, which supports homeschooling, discloses that, in ten states, parents using this model are not required to notify the state. In 15 other states, the regulations are not tight and the parents are only required to notify the state. Unlike the most liberal states, about 20 states have instituted moderate regulatory procedures for homeschooling, while just six states have watertight regulations for homeschoolers (Duvall151-166). From the preceding figures, it is apparent that a majority of policy makers across the nation recognize and support homeschooling.
Every coin has two sides and this is applicable to homeschooling also. If there are merits, there are drawbacks too. It will be prudent to look at the flip side of homeschooling before drawing an inference. First, the children educated at home get isolated from their peers because homeschooling happens within the four walls of home. They don’t come into contact with their peers and, therefore, feel trapped inside the house. They miss out on other skills like cooperation, nationalism etc. Due to pursuing their self-interest, they develop the feeling of individualism, which narrows their thought process. Second, the children from homeschooling are likely to lack discipline. There is substance in the argument that the children learn discipline sooner at school because it is mandatory there. On the contrary, there are no strict rules at home and children, many a times, take their family members for granted. At school, they also come to know the importance of giving respect to their elders. Besides this, there are extra- curricular activities that promote all round development and the company of friends widens their horizon. Third, the parents tutoring their children at home may not possess the skills and expertise of different subjects, which are found in teachers. Therefore, parents may find it difficult to teach all the subjects with equal proficiency. At school, children can also learn from their classmates while, at home, they have the option of only consulting their family members. Fourth, though many states have enacted legal homeschooling rights for the students but the positive effect of these measures is difficult to gauge. This is because, homeschooling being so scattered, makes it challenging to find the number of homeschoolers, positive outcomes and academic achievements (Lippincott 39). Moreover, another challenge is the lack of evidence-based studies that can establish the effectiveness of homeschooling by comparing it to the outcome of conventional education.
It should be noted that homeschooling eases the burden on the resources required for compulsory education schools, especially in regions where there is high pressure on growing demographics, demand for staff and new structures. Critics argue that homeschooling weakens the very fabric of national integrity promoted by traditional schools. Agreed, that the traditional education is necessary in pushing shared national values in students, a prerequisite for unifying the country. It is understandable that children, because of being with other students in schools, learn adaptability better and faster. There is also a truth in the statement that the schools provide the platform for a child to interact more with other students. Nevertheless, the potential harm created by homeschooling is insignificant (Clements 27). In children, the values of national unity can be infused by the parents at home also. After all, love for country and society is nothing but a mental state that can be shaped anywhere. Children receiving education at home can be encouraged to mix-up with the children of their neighbourhood to make up for the loss caused due to staying away from their peers. From the point of view of discipline, parents are the best people who can teach and enforce discipline on their children. Compliance with rules taught at home goes a long way in shaping their future.
Parents donning the role of teachers create a huge impact on education. Those who adopt homeschooling dedicate energy and time to educational activities, which solely rest on educators in the traditional model. As such, homeschooling offers parents the opportunity to scrutinize the materials, skills, and the projects that their children are involved in (Weldon 17). Parents, being the educators also, can design the best study material for their kids. Availability of internet has opened the wide scope of finding the best reference material. Evidences show that homeschooling promotes parents involvement; in fact, most parents involved in homeschooling seek ideas from other sources to help their children. Online interaction with other parents undergoing the similar experience can help parents to provide the best to their kids. This can easily make up for the lack of training on the part of parents. In connection with the data, homeschooling is still gaining ground. As it becomes popular, clear data will emerge to prove the success of this form of education.
In conclusion, there is growing acceptance of homeschooling among American families. For children, homeschooling offers unlimited opportunities to learn innovation. The biggest merit of homeschooling is that it breeds hunger for knowledge. It drives children to become more inquisitive and explore on their own. It encourages children to discover their own likes and gives the freedom to pursue them. This is the true essence of education. The children, by virtue of homeschooling, create their own path rather than following the path already made by schools. The effectiveness of homeschooling reflects in equally good academic performance of a child when compared to traditional form of education. Besides, it offers students an opportunity to learn family attributes; it enhances the bonding of children with their parents and other family members; it saves the money of parents as well as of the government. Finally, parental involvement in education insulates the children from any possible negative influences present in education received at schools. It is not that the classroom education is wrong but the advantages offered by the home based education outnumber the benefits of the education imparted in schools. To cite an example, none can forget the great inventor Thomas A Edison who learnt many of his scientific skills at home. It is very likely that another Thomas Edison, with the help of homeschooling, could be taking shape at some home.
Works cited
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