Are there any benefits to homeschooling your children? Some people believe that there aren’t. They argue that parents who homeschool their children are depriving them of the experiences and independence that traditional schooling provides, giving their children unfair advantages in relation to their schoolwork and believe that these parents aren’t educated correctly to homeschool their children. While this may be true, my hope is to show those people that even though there are differences in homeschooling and traditional schooling, homeschooling is not as detrimental to children as one might think. I don’t want to change their mind. I just want to show them that traditional schooling is not for everyone like they might believe and that homeschooling may be a better option for some families.
I interviewed Amy Parmer, a mother in my community who homeschools her children, in order to get some perspective on what it’s really like to homeschool. It’s one thing to read about the pros and cons of homeschooling, but it’s completely different to hear it and witness it in person. In this interview, I asked her some of the same questions that I researched and wrote about below. I found it interesting to hear what she thought about homeschooling and the reasoning behind why she decided to homeschool in the first place. I think the biggest reason that people are against homeschooling children is, because their parents aren’t professional educators, homeschooled children will not be
psychological theories on the effects of homeschooling, be it either positive or negative effects. Amy Thornton-Kelly makes a valid argument as to why homeschooling is a good choice, but does not have any research or statistics to back up her theories. Her argument relies heavily on personal experience, and generalizations. By not having conducted any research, readers have no hard evidence or facts to truly know if homeschooling is a good option for them. Homeschooling could be the best choice for her and her family, but it might not be the best decision for other parents. If Amy were to have quoted research that may have been done or referenced case studies done on children who have been homeschooled compared to children who have not been home schooled, then her argument would have more credibility. Homeschooling not only takes away all your time, but it also costs a lot of money to homeschool. When homeschooling, you’re responsible for everything; including books, food, and extracurricular activities. Amy does not mention any of this. However, Amy appeals to the audience by stating that she started off as a regular mom taking her children to school and working a full time job. Amy
Not long ago, my parents received an endless amount of criticism, similar to the Walls’ family, for their decision to homeschool my siblings and me. Many “feared” for us, because according to them, there was no way we were going to learn effectively at home, what we could in a formal school. My mom tells me stories of how people she’d known expressed genuine concern over the idea of educating children in a different way than what is deemed “normal.” I do not blame these people for their concern, as they were raised in a society that emphasizes a single approach to learning. Although there were definitely times growing up when I wished to attend a brick and mortar school like “normal” people, after a certain age I genuinely appreciated my parent’s decision. Being home-schooled has taught me so much more than just the basic principles of education. I grew up being highly self-reliant due to my online school requiring students to be almost entirely responsible for keeping up with their work. Similar to college, I had a syllabus provided to me, and had no one other than myself to make sure I was on top of everything. This helped me to become a responsible and well-organized individual. I also gained a quality education, despite all of the fear and concern of those around me. I still have to answer the questions, “Why were you homeschooled?” and, “Didn’t you want to go to regular school?” more
Education in our society is a very important factor in shaping our future. One’s future is depended on the education they receive and everyone is somehow affected by this. Children from the ages of kindergarteners to seniors in high school, college graduates, and stay at home mothers, are all shaped by the education the government provides us. There are many different ways to acquire an education some through private schools, public, charter, and being homeschooled. However, homeschooling is growing more in popularity than it has ever been.
Summary: Michael Romanowski wrote an article called "Common Arguments about the Strengths and Limitations of Home schooling." Home schooling is continuing to grow rapidly in many places. He explains that home schooling serves children equally well as public schools. Romanowski supports the main idea by giving claims that home schooling helps a child improve their social skills, children who are homeschooled are more likely to become academically successful, a student is not put on time limit and they are not told to put everything up and focus on a new topic. Home schooling allows children to learn to socialize with older people and stills allows them to socialize outside of their home with community activities. When the parents are closely involved in the student's academic work
While the American public school system educates the majority of students today, a fast growing population is beginning to accept homeschooling as an adequate alternative. Anyone with kids desires only the best education and experiences for them. Those who face this decision have to take in the plentiful list of differences and decide which will suit their family best. For years, most people saw homeschooling as an ineffiecent replacement to the government-provided schools already in existence. However, in the last ten years, studies have proved that homeschooling well equipps a student for college and beyond, changing the minds of many(http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college?page=2). In order to make this crutial decision between public or home school, one must account for the social and extracurricular opportunites, the educational aspect, and what role the family plays in education.
An article from 2015 about homeschooling and public school stated that “it’s estimated that as many as 2 million American students are being educated at home.” There are several families that would prefer homeschooling over public school for several reasons, which will be discussed in this essay. The two topics that will be discussed are homeschooling and public school. There will be multiple topics discussed in this essay, such as pros and cons of homeschooling and public schooling, and which option would be the best option for certain types of families and students. These two topics will be contrasted by explaining which topic would be the better option for specific groups of people, and certain families. The purpose of this essay is to describe the advantages and disadvantages of home and public schooling. Also, the purpose of this essay to show statistics about which system of education would be best for certain families, specifically those who are low-income families, and want the best option for their children. Whereas public schooling is inexpensive and gives children a chance to make friends, homeschooling is the best option because it gives children a safe, and more compatible learning environment.
Homeschooling is on the rise in America. According to a 2007 NHES study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education there are an estimated 1.5 million students actively being homeschooled up from the 850,000 estimated in previous study conducted in 1999 (NCES, 1). Once seen as a fringe activity usually associated with the religious right, homeschooling now encompasses many mainstream families looking for educational alternatives in the face of such issues as violence, peer pressure, and poor academic quality in many public schools. Detractors on the other hand claim that homeschooling is a less effective method of educating America’s youth citing academic and social issues. Despite critics’ claims to the contrary, homeschooling is an effective and viable method of education as its participants not only do well academically; they are well socialized and are successful in college and later life.
Despite home-schooling’s controversy because of the lack of teaching credentials for parents and socialization, homeschooling has big benefits for children. The first benefit is that while homeschooled, students receive individualized education. Parents spend all their time and attention to their children. Parents can devote all their time and attention to their children. Martin points out that parents understand their children best (Martin). Therefore, they can choose the best method to motivate their children to learn. “Parents are also able to evaluate their children on a daily basis and provide further instruction if needed” (Martin). Individualized education also provide necessary help as needed. As a result, homeschooled students achieve
because they are oblivious to the fundamentals of it. If parents were knowledgeable of the
"Parents of 136 homeschooled elementary children completed questionnaires assessing constructs derived from the parental involvement literature and personal beliefs identified in the homeschooling literature as important to parents’ decisions to home school. Results suggest that home-schooling parents appear to be motivated by an active role construction, strong sense of efficacy for helping the child learn, and positive perceptions of life context"(1). This shows that parents who choose to home school are very motivated to allow their children to succeed as best they can, also that they would want their children to learn every
The popularity of home school began rising in the 1970s and growth continues to increase. (Murphy 336). The National Center for Education Statistics estimated in 2007 that 1.5 million students were homeschooled in the United States (Drenovsky and Cohen 20). This number is now reported at around two million, and Murphy states, “ . . . it [homeschooling] remains the fastest growing form of education in the United States” (342). This information proves that parents are searching for an alternative to traditional public-school education. Many wish to educate their children due to their own experiences, beliefs, and values. While other people argue that home school provides students with no social skills and complications when applying for college; however, these are misconceptions. Home school is an appropriate option to provide an education to children, and it does not leave them incompetent to survive in the “real world”.
Those who view that home-schooling is the best option believe they can teach their children, using home examples and guiding their children through their beliefs to impart a deeper appreciation and understanding of the education and information that is presented. Susanne Allen, 35, a home-schooling mother from Atlanta, claims that being schooled at home will make her children “better citizens” because home schooling gives children the opportunity to work together rather than working individually. Allen said, “They learn to be caring for other people by seeing older siblings care for them” (Cloud par.16). Home-Schooling test scores are typically higher than public or private schools. Some believe that home-schooling is the best option because public schools breed behavioral problems. Those who choose home-schooling believe that the pros outweigh the cons.
Every education system put in place by the government will offer an excellent opportunity for young children to learn new skill and information as well as discovering their interest and unique qualities. There is no doubt that children are talented. Therefore, we need to support them as they grow up (Ray, 2015). There is no significant difference between homeschooling and the public schools, charter schools, private schools and all other models as each has pros and cons. Homeschooling is a progressive system around the country and the world in general, where parents conclude to educate their kids at home instead of taking them to a public and private school. Most parents chose to homeschool their young kids for various reasons including being dissatisfied with the current education system, religious beliefs, and different educational philosophies. However, whether or not the child is taken to a public, private school or homeschooled the most important thing is the achievement at the end of the day.
Surprisingly, there are a variety of people that do homeschooling. Both people from high-income to low-income families. There are parents that even have doctorates or even a diploma in a general subject. Families with either one or two parents and differing ethnics and religious or secular inducement choose to homeschool (Ray 2002). Researchers come to the conclusion that homeschoolers, for the most part, have free reign when it comes to their homework and school pace that they feel that suits them the best.
Both the left and right wings of home schooling are active today with an estimated 1.5 million home-schooled children, as many families have both philosophical and religious for their choice (Kantrowitz & Wingert 1). Joining them are many home schoolers who simply seek the highest quality education for their child, which they believe public and even private schools can no longer provide.