Home Schooling
The positive effect of homeschooled children is that students are freed from the pressure to survive in the external environment of classroom-based school (Vahid and Vahid 85). As a result, the relationship of the homeschooled child with his or her parents and siblings develops without the intense external pressure that is being imposed by a classroom-based environment. In addition, the main set-up of the child who is homeschooled revolves within the family itself. In effects, homeschooling builds stronger family ties since the surviving environment is equivalent to keeping harmonious relationships with family members. Initially, the transition period for a child who had attended a classroom-based school and will shift to homeschooling is a very challenging endeavor. Over a period of time, the parents will reach a point where they will realize that the relationships with their children normalize because of deeper understanding of what they children are going through. The advantage of having a child undergo homeschooling is developing the value of respect for family members (Vahid and Vahid 86). This is due to the fact that family relationships become the cornerstone of the child’s education. The child will learn to respect his or her family as the family functions as one unit.
Thesis Statement: Homeschooled children grow up to become matured and responsible adults as compared to those children who attend regular school, since they are properly guided by their parents who are able to access the social skills of their children.
Another important aspect of homeschooling is that children are no longer influenced by peer-pressure who can have a significant power to change the way the dress up, the hairstyle, the jewelry and make-up especially for the young teenaged girls. The low-cut tops, gothic make-up, complicated hairstyle, tattoos, are just some of the things that home-schooled children will no longer have to put up with. In effect, the homeschooled children are freed from the demands of establishing an identity in order to fit in the social-clique of a normal school environment (Vahid and Vahid 86). This becomes an advantage for the homeschooled because they will no longer have to be influenced by trendy clothes and will be content with dressing up simply and more functional compared to students who belong to the classroom-based environment.
The third advantage of having children homeschooled is that they get as much sleep and rest that they need. Unlike children who attend normal classroom-bases set-up, they have to prepare early and to commute when they start high school. Waking up early in the morning means shortage of sleep which can hamper learning. In fact, lack of sleep can also hamper the child’s behavior (Vahid and Vahid 86). For teenagers, lack of sleep increases inattentiveness which may result to the following acquired behaviors such as irritability, depression, low-tolerance for frustration, impulsiveness and sadness among the student.
For the parents who decide to homeschool their children, it can be considered as a sacrifice since they have to give-up their careers in order to educate their own children. However, the long-term effect will be for their children since they will enjoy the flexibility of being homeschooled, as compared to the children who have to attend normal classroom-based set-up. It bears stressing that homeschooling is hard for the parents who become the teacher to their own children. The duty of the parents who become teachers to their children is that they have to prepare their curriculum, making the home conducive for studying, helping their children learn different subjects and evaluating the materials that will be used by the children to complete the curriculum (Vahid and Vahid 88). In fact, some homeschooled parents and their children are more productive because there is no suspension of classes. This scenario usually takes place in regular schools. For some homeschooled children, they are allowed to progress in their own pace and time. Some of the students who are eager to learn can work on straight curriculum without the usual winter or spring break. This will allow them to plan and take a long vacation with the entire family. Based on the study of Vahid and Vahid, it appears that some homeschoolers get further ahead when compared to kids who go to normal classroom based environment. Despite the fact that they have more time to accommodate life events, they reach the full-grade level because they can progress according to their own pace (Vahid and Vahid 88).
The only problem posed by homeschooling is that children lack socialization with their friends on a daily basis which is present in the classroom-based environment. Some parents of classroom-based students argue that children who are homeschooled will not grow up to be well-rounded individuals because they lack socialization. However, based on the study of Koehler, Langness, Pietig, Stoffel, and Wyttenbach, it was shown that home educated children are more mature and socialized than those sent to regular school due to parental perception which will assess the social skills of their children (470). The maturity of the homeschooled children comes from the fact that they learn how to behave toward others by modeling their parents and are not influenced by their peers (Koehler 470).
Bibliography
Koehler, Lindsey D., Langness, Trent J., Pietig, Sarah S., Stoffel, Nicole L. and Jamie L.
Wyttenbach Socialization Skills in Home Schooled Children Versus Conventionally
Schooled Children. Journal of Undergraduate Research V, (2002): 469-74.
Vahid, Amy Schechter and Frank Vahid. Homeschooling: A Path Rediscovered for
Socialization, Education, and Family. USA: Lulu.com, 2007. Print.
