Homeschooling is a trend that has gathered many adherents over the last few decades. As public schools appear to decline in quality and private schools continue to rise in cost, many parents have made up their minds that they can take the responsibility for teaching their own children through a home-school program. As it grows in participants, homeschooling has in many ways improved in the quality of its programs and the variety of its offerings. Still careful observation of the homeschooling phenomenon is important before signing on. Here are are ten reasons why homeschooling might not be exactly right for your family . The first five observations have to do with parents, the second five with the children.
1. What’s your personal stress? One way to determine if homeschooling is right for your family is to take a look at how it ‘s demands matche up with the parent who will be doing the major portion of the home-school instruction. One question you might ask yourself is ,” Do I already have more than enough stress in my life?”
While it is true that taking on homeschooling can reduce certain kinds of stress, like the daily drop off and pick up of students, it’s inaccurate to think that homeschooling will not produce additional , if different, stress of its own. Teaching kids at home might mean giving up that part time job and the money that goes with it. It could also mean that the free time you once had to use for all your other errands and chores has just vanished in thin air. Before you decide to homeschool it’s really important for your mental health and the well being of the whole family to determine how the change in schooling will affect the level of stress on the people in your household.
2.How’s your self esteem? Taking on homeschooling may not be right for your family if the principle educator is not a person with considerable confidence. If the teaching starts off fine but ends up in a heap, you may find that the parent-teacher has also taken a significant hit in the self esteem area. People with lots of confidence will be more likely to just shrug off the fact that home schooling hasn’t worked for them. Those with less self confidence may spend months fretting over their personal failing and the damage they feel they have done to the children.
3. How well do you get along with your children. Some parents decide to homeschool because they recognize that they have a great connection with their child and sense that this could have a positive effect on his or her education. In jumping to this conclusion they might not have recognized that homeschooling may not be what’s is right for their family if it ends up destroying or altering the dynamic between parent and child. Adding another aspect to the relationship really can make a difference. You don’t want to destroy what you treasure most in this equation , your relationship with your children.
4. Do you like to teach? Teaching is not something that everyone is comfortable doing. If you are not someone who likes to teach, then homeschooling is not necessarily right for your family. It is not enough for a parent just to have an excellent educational portfolio. All the degrees in the world don’t help if you are uncomfortable or inept at breaking material down and rendering it in a way that children can assimilate. Being smart doesn’t disqualify you from homeschooling , but just being smart may not be enough for you to really get the job done.
5. Are you smiling yet? One really good hint that might tell you if homeschooling is right for your family or not is your own reaction when someone starts talking about homeschooling. If you aren’t smiling then you might want to thing a little more about the idea. Going into homeschooling half-heartedly may mean that homeschooling is not going to be the pleasant activity that it should be. If you can’t really, and happily, commit to homeschool your children then it might be wiser to check out other educational options.
6. Your child’s vision of you. Some of the reasons why homeschooling might not be right for your family have to do with the way it is perceived by the recipient of the schooling- your child. The first problem some children have when switching over to homeschooling is likely to be with the dual role that a parent is now playing. Do you think your child will be able to distinguish between mom ( or dad) as teacher and mom as mom without difficulty? Has your child had experience with you in multiple roles before perhaps as coach or scout leader? How well did that work for the family? This may not be a major issue for you and your child, but it surely is worth some consideration before beginning a homeschooling program.
7. Your child and discipline. Some parents make the switch to homeschooling for their children because they have concerns about the overall discipline in the public schools. It’s a legitimate concern. But parents considering homeschooling need also to consider the way in which their own children respond to discipline at home. Will disciplining your child become an ongoing issue that gets in the way of your teaching? Do you have concerns about being too hard or too easy with discipline? Do you think you can gear your teaching discipline to keep your child on task ? Would your child benefit more from being discipline by someone outside of the family.? These too are questions you should at least consider when deciding if homeschooling is right for your family.
8. And what about that social life? Many parents make the move to homeschooling because they see it as a way to make sure that their child receives a quality education. This is a good motivation. The truth is of course that education is more than what is found in the curriculum. Education to live in society includes learning about the many elements of that society and how to interact effectively. This kind of socialization is a tall order for homeschooling .
It is also often in school that children, through exposure to many different types of people, discover who makes a good friend and who does not. By necessity they learn about taking turns, sharing, working in groups and being there for one another. There are ways that home schooled children can get many of these experiences but are you ready to do the leg work to make that happen? Or, does all that extra effort mean that perhaps homeschooling is not a good idea for your family?
9. Extra Curricular Activities . What does your son or daughter like to do after school right now. Do they engage in sports, practice with the band, sing in the choral group, participate in the school drama program? Before you sign on for homeschooling investigate what activities your child will not be able to duplicate. How will that affect his or her attitude towards homeschooling?
Just think about how many kids are motivated to get up for school in the morning because they know they have to go in order to stay involved in the extra curriculars. The extras are a big part of the whole picture for lots of kids. How well will your child do, how motivated will they be, if they end up missing out on some of their favorite activities?
10. Your child’s learning style. Professional educators know that kids have different learning styles and abilities. Do you know right now, as you read this page, how your child learns best? Does he like abstract reasoning? Is she a tactile learner? Are you able to first of all determine that learning style and secondly are you able to respond to it?
Some parents, rather than acknowledge special needs which their children have, determine to home-school them. In such instances homeschooling might not be the right thing for your family. Your child may honestly need the specialized educational assistance that a public school program or private education facility can provide. By homeschooling it is sometimes possible to inadvertently deny your child the help he or she really needs in order to learn.
Homeschooling will continue to be debated and considered as an alternative to public and private school education. The truth is there is no right or wrong answer that applies in all cases. Some families will thrive with homeschooling, others will not. There are no guarantees. What parents can do though is to read , talk and think about whether or not homeschooling is right for their family . Your peace of mind and your children’s futures are worth it.
