Skipping the woes of peer pressure and bullying is not the only reason why homeschooling is becoming popular. Today, approximately 3 per cent of Americans are homeschooled.
Each parent has their own reason for choosing to homeschool their children. Some of the popular pros of homeschooling are – the increased opportunity to participate in children’s’ learning process and greater control.
Homeschooling, however, is NOT all about parents designing and running through a curriculum. There is plenty of help available in various forms for parents who choose to homeschool their children:
- Online resources can help you effectively design a holistic curriculum
- Video lectures can help you brush up on your subject basics and teaching skills
- You can find many tutors to ensure subject matter expertise
- There are also micro-schools and part-time schools that are viable alternatives to expensive private schools.
Let us look at the top 5 reasons why homeschooling is gaining popularity in the 21st-century :
1. The private education system has become one size fits all solution
English, History, Math, Economics, Physical Education, some DIY classes in pottery and periodic tests every month – sounds familiar?
Imagine being put through the same set of classes and activities as thousands of others. It is unfair to coerce a child to secure an A grade in both literature and chess. As a parent, one would want their child to be a genius in whatever field they choose.
But can we expect a genius from a child who has been forced to learn and take tests on ten different disciplines?
Sure, every child needs to learn the basics of art, math, science, and economics. Can varying the length and breadth of each subject to suit a child’s predilections do good to them? Certainly, yes!
With homeschooling, you can tailor the curricula to suit your child’s learning needs and inclinations. No one but the parents can identify their child’s specific learning needs. And, parents of the 21st century no longer want to haggle with teachers about why their ward’s performance in a particular subject. With homeschooling, you are no longer going to submerge a budding Shakespeare under the weight of algebraic identities and statistics!
2. Rising need for subject-specific tutors
Even the parents who choose private schools, feel the need for subject-specific assistance. The need for after-school tutoring is on a rise and not for no reason.
There are many ways to identify the right tutor for your child if you choose to homeschool them. Here are some reasons why hiring tutors works best when you decide to homeschool:
- Tutors can come down to your home and that is the most conducive environment for your child to learn
- You can always handpick tutors after a few demo classes. This is not the case with school teachers, you as parents have no choice there
- A tutor will teach only your child at a time ensuring that their whole attention is on one student at a time
- Children are usually more open to asking questions when in a one-on-one setting as compared to a big classroom setting
- You can always find a new tutor if the results do not match your expectations. In a school, on the other hand, there isn’t much you can do about the teachers chosen for your child
Also read: 5 Mistakes to Avoid While Hiring a Private Tutor for Your Kids
3. Parents want more control and participation
Busy parents today are realizing the importance of being involved in their child’s learning process. the way to have more participation and control is nothing but homeschooling. Yes, it’s a straightforward answer!
You become more involved in your child’s learning curve when you homeschool them. It is not just a report card signature anymore. You play with them, build scientific models with them and also fill out coloring books with them.
Parents can control the various aspects of their child’s learning viz:
- The total number of hours in the day your child must study
- Textbooks, extra-reading material, video content, etc. – everything is at your discretion with homeschooling
- The number of hours your child must devote to extra-curricular activities on a monthly or weekly basis
- Nature of extra-curricular activities and duration of time spent on each on a given day. For example, if you know your child loves badminton, you can always put it in the daily schedule!
- A minimum number of days that your child needs an off in a month or a year. No longer haggling with teachers for granting leaves for important family occasions and outings. They are after all an important part of a child’s grooming!
4. Homeschooling allows the child to develop and hone their aptitude(s)
90% development of a child’s brain happens during the first five years. The parents play the most important role in a child’s life during the first five years. Then why must you suddenly trust a school to take care of the rest?
Homeschooling has the inherent advantage of keeping children comfortable during the learning process. There are no long queues at the toilet or the fear of drinking water from a tap or the fear of dropping the lunch box. When you take out the gratuitous struggles of a traditional school, your child has a more productive time overall in the day.
When there are no period bells, your child can study for longer hours for a subject they love. And when there are no peers to distract, your child develops their talents better. At home, children are encouraged to stand up each time they fall. At a school, they may squander their learning time over trifles like recovering from peer pressure.
Also read: 7 Reasons Why You Must Consider Homeschooling for Your Child
5. Parents are more aware of the harmful effects of bullying at school than ever
There are horrific stories of bullying and its repercussions floating around in the media. Parents today want to go every length to ensure emotional safety and wellbeing of their children. So, last but not least, homeschooled children have safer learning environments. This one is a no brainer! It is the most intuitive, preliminary thought when we think of homeschooling.
Trying to save your child from unnecessary bullying is not akin to being overprotective. Guarding your child in the tender years is nothing but a moral responsibility. A school, even after its best endeavors can’t eradicate bullying from its ecosystem. As a parent, you have no control over what your child undergoes at school. Sometimes, children may not even open up to their parents about their bad experiences at school.
Only many years later, parents can look back and find traces of early schooling as contributory to behavioral disorders in teens. Homeschooled children thus have a lesser probability of developing behavioral disorders arising out of bullying.
You can slowly let them open up to the world by introducing them to hobby groups, playmates, family friends, etc. Homeschooling doesn’t create recluses, but it definitely saves the innocent ones from the terrors of bullying!
Are you considering homeschooling your child? If you are planning to homeschool your child, help is right here! Talentnook provides one of the most convenient ways to find a home tutor local to you in any lesson you want. Register now and start exploring the best tutors in your vicinity.