The Advantages of Homeschooling

In the article “Why I Homeschool: The Answers Change Almost as Fast as My Kids Do. But My Commitment to At-Home Learning Remains Strong.” Amy Thornton-Kelly initially home schooled her three children in order to spend more time with them. This was her only reason, or so she thought. Amy Thornton–Kelly explains the many reasons why homeschooling is the best decision she has made. First, she explains that once her husband and her considered homeschooling “the floodgates opened” to the many benefits of homeschooling. It alleviates stress, allows her kids to learn in a healthier environment and allows her to teach her kids in a more profound way. Second, Thornton-Kelly states that homeschooling allows her kids to better master subjects,

Home schooling is another way that children can achieve an education in a smaller and more relaxed learning environment. It also allows children to go at their own pace and have more time to get their work done. Home schooling can be a better way for kids to get their education especially if the child has a problem with being around other kids or being away from home. Home schooling allows children to learn at home in familiar surroundings, which can have a positive effect on kids if they have trouble adjusting to a classroom and being around other kids. Being at home, doing school work also allows kids to work in a stress free environment by means of getting one-on-one attention if they are having difficulty understanding or solving a problem.

This especially pertains to families who are religious or spiritual. Many choose to homeschool because of religion. With children spending around eight hours a day learning at a school or at home, it can be easy for personal beliefs to lose priority. In some cases, children may be very talented and not have time to do schooling. They may be good at a sport, singing, playing an instrument, or acting and choose to pursue this at a very young age. For some of these children who choose to pursue their dreams, they may choose to get an education later in life, but for others, success allows for them to not receive an education. With the main focus not being on school for these children, it allows them to focus on who they are as a person, and naturally allows for them to be more creative. For some, not going to school alleviates the pressures and social standards of other children and teachers, allowing for kids to be

Homeschooling a child can drastically affect their lives in the future, and put them in a clouded state of mind for seeing what the world is. Schooling your child from home will hold them back from learning a wide variety of basic skills that can be easily provided in public or private school systems. Although some see homeschooling as a good way to shelter their children from the world they view as harsh, it is not giving them any chance to gain common social skills. Social skills cannot be taught to a child, they are something the child must learn from interaction with his or her peers. Furthermore, homeschool teachers are not required the level of training and experience that a teacher at a public school are required (Hudak). Diversity is something widely portrayed in school systems; however, homeschooling doesn't allow students to bear witness to the diverse nature found in school systems.

In the other hand parents who choose to home school their kids are faced with a great deal of advantages. Home schooling a child means that a parent has to give 100 percent dedication into teaching there child. One great asset to home schooling is that children are often way ahead in their grade work as compared with their peers in public school. They learn to read much earlier and advance through their subjects much faster and in a more thorough manner, due to more individualized attention and subject-specific attention. By being taught at home, the student has immediate access to the "teacher", and can ask questions at just about any time without having to worry about other students and their learning habits. Parents don’t have to worry about the safety of their child when it comes to home schooling. The child is in the home and always being watched if something where to happen it would be the parents’ responsibility and the parent would know what to do

Students that attend home school are less likely to be stressed out because of school work, and less likely to be a victim of peer pressure.

Being homeschooled gives you options for yourself and your surroundings. “They’ve had complete control over their bodies, minds and spirits almost all their lives. As a result, they know exactly who they are and what they’re passionate about” (Source B). Homeschooling makes you think outside of the box. Think learning on a new level, you can still

Before presenting both the positive and the negative aspects of homeschooling it is worth mentioning that the deciding factor for parents choosing to homeschool as opposed to public schooling generally falls into a biased opinion of public schooling. As mentioned in an NPR radio interview, “the number one reason parents give is the desire to provide religious or moral instruction and that the second most popular reason, closely followed behind, was a concern about the school environment” Martin, M. (2013). These type of reasoning for home schooling presents some valid question, such as, who determines what the best approach or the best form of education? Is the quality of education

Homeschooling, down to its essence, is just school done in the comfort of your home. Compared to regular schooling, there is far more interaction and one on one time with the teacher, and more dedication on the homeschooled and the homeschooled alone. This is great for those who cannot learn with others, be it that they cannot keep up with the rest of the group or they simply cannot focus on what is going on with a number of others doing the same.

Public school is easier to get involved in, and is the better option for those purusing careers in sports, while homeschooling provides recreational-level sports and clubs, but they might only be available at a distance. Homeschooling has a more tailored education style and the flexible hours encourages the desire to learn and to pursue personal interests, where other students have to conform to the cookie-cutter class style of a public school. While family is the center of the homeschool system, parents are almost left out of public schools entirely, unless in the event of misconduct. Lastly, homeschooling requires purchasing textbooks and sometimes paying tuition, while simultaineously paying for other children to be educated through taxes. In conclusion, every child thrives in a different environment and the parents should ultimately decide what is most beneficial in their

Rachel Gathercole, the author of The Well-Adjusted Child: The Social Benefits of Homeschooling says “Whatever the teaching methods used in school or homeschool, it is ultimately the social environment itself that distinguishes homeschooling from conventional school.” When it comes to being socialized there is a difference between being homeschooled and being a homeschooler. A homeschooler is the image that society has planted in many people’s minds to be an anti-social, long skirt wearing, and religious children. But, being homeschooled is simply a child that is doing school at home. While doing school at home students are being challenged in social norms, they have more time for extra curricular activities, most are learning skills that are not being taught in a regular classroom setting, it has been found by Rockney Randall, author of The Home Schooling Debate: Why Some Parents Choose It, Others Oppose It gathered, “When speaking to a student that has grown up in a household that participates in the homeschool traditions I found that 9 times out of 10 the homeschooled student makes better eye contact, uses better grammar when speaking, and can carry a better conversation.”

According to http://a2zhomeschooling.com/ thirty four percent of teenagers in the United States are home schooled. Some people believe that homeschooling is better for their children, in that they have more family time, better protected from bad examples, etc. As a retort parents have the ability to argue that being homeschooled is unfair to the children. Seeing that they are not exposed to real life situations that they could experience in public school, they will not be able to deal with difficult situations. Homeschooling is not the route to take if a child is expected to perform in real life situations.

There are a few options parents have when deciding where their children will go to school. One of those options is homeschooling. While there are many stereotypes about children who are homeschooled, such as being socially awkward, not having any friends, missing out on “real world” experiences, being able to do whatever they want, just to name a few, you will learn that they are just that. Homeschooled children have many of the same experiences and opportunities as those who attend public and private school.

However, if on one hand homeschooling can provide the student with freedom on different levels, on the other hand learning at home can drastically reduce parents’ freedom and can consume a lot of their time causing stress and frustration in most cases.

Homeschooling allows me to teach my children life skills I feel are important. We garden, raise chickens, cook, and sew. They also learn to budget their own time. When they waste time, they have less time for their own recreational activities. From a young age, they have learned the importance of time management and