Homeschooling, is it for me ?

Pros and cons discussed.

Picture a homeschooling student with his books, pencil and writing pad, sitting at a table in the comfort of his home, perhaps dressed in his best "school attire", with hair well combed back. There he would spend his morning from 8.00am working independently through his books, all the way till 3.00 pm with half an hour of lunch break.

The perfect homeschooler ?

Yes, the perfect saints that you will not easily find in this world. Its idealistic and unreal. Well, maybe you may find one or two, if you're fortunate.

What then is a real scenario of homeschooling?

Picture a student in his pyjamas at 10.00am (when other kids have gone through few periods of lessons in school) slouched at his couch opening his first book of the day; music in his ears, cookies in his mouth... got the picture?

Bear in mind that this does not mean the kid is not learning. He learns in his own way - sometimes not so acceptable to educators or parents.

Actually, doing schools at home calls for a higher intrinsic motivation and therefore you often hear that homeschoolers excel academically and mature at a faster rate.

Next, picture a Homeschooler all alone in the home surrounded by 4 walls, isolated, lonely and without peer stimulation. How will he survive in the working world when he grows up ?

Well, this is yet another myth that came about from people who are conventional educators and concern parents. Homeschooling kids in reality, are out in the parks and beaches, museums and libraries. They finish their work much earlier because they don't have to wait for the others in the class or the teachers to get the class in order. So they are out at ball games, music & dance classes. They could volunteer their time for social services and church activities. They may look like they are playing most of the time.

Have you heard of this phrase ?

I saw this on a printed T-shirt. Cool !

Socially, a Homeschooler makes friends easily, contrary to many myths that he lacks experience with other kids because he is not in school. Read more and you'll find out why and how.

Learning social skills is not a problem for homeschoolers. In fact, most homeschoolers turn out to be more sociable because they are more self-confident as they have a wider age range to interact with. Very often, they have to interact with parents and adults more than their peers. Isn't this what a real world is? Their ability to pace themselves and self-motivate give them a sense of self achievement and confidence.

Morally, oh, he shows all his uncontrolled temper and ill-disciplines at home - but wait, he feels safe at home and is honest with his true nature. A child who goes to school all day, picks up bad habits, and his parents may not see him misbehave. This doesn't mean that a school going child is of any higher moral standard.

Now, you may think that I'm bias and uplifting homeschool philosophy. Yes I am. After all, I've been a homeschool mum. However, I like to be honest. Homeschooling has its challenges.There are pros and cons to homeschooling.

Kids don't excel in homeschooling when:

• Mom and Dad are too busy
• When they're in an environment where there are few kids in the community or church. (This is my situation right now, so I'm sending my teen to High School because we're living in a "Seniors" town.
• When there is a general slack in discipline in the household
• When parents have not spent adequate time researching for the right resources
• When there's no adequate space and study area for them to focus on their work. (This is also my current problem).

What else do you have to add to my list ? Contact Me in the form below.

The Home School
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