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How Effective Is Homeschooling

Home schooling has become a major source of education, especially under the raging pandemic. But, is it really effective in imparting education?

That is the question that agitates many parents, who opt for homeschooling, both during the pandemic and otherwise. Bearing in mind the pertinent issue of effectiveness in homeschooling, this article outlines the nuances of effectiveness under different scenarios.

Defining Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a mode of education where the parents become the teachers for their children, thereby superseding the orthodox set up of schools. Moreover, it is not limited to a certain age or education level.

Rather, anyone from preschool to college level students can opt for this kind of education.

Advantages of Homeschooling

The first and foremost advantage of this particular mode of education is the one-on-one interaction between the teacher and student. Despite the fact that children can idly tune out in school settings, this issue is eliminated when a child and teacher are confined to the same space.

Additionally, homeschooling also provides the parents with direct control over the curriculum and the time they devote to teaching each subject. Thus, it becomes much easier to customize the education according to the needs of both the children and the parents. Furthermore, it is also much easier to instill in children the values and principles that the parents hold dear to them, especially in the present day context where the negative influence of drugs, alcohol, and violent behavior is on the rise among young children in regular schools.

Other advantages of homeschooling include the freedom of being able to use computers and the internet in conjunction with the traditional methods of teaching. This can lead to more engaging teaching and more interactive learning opportunities.

Disadvantages to Homeschooling

An obvious drawback of homeschooling is that it places the burden of teaching on the parents. Considering the fact that the parents have their own responsibilities, they may be less inclined to take the time needed to devote to homeschooling efficiently, which can lead to the child’s education suffering in the long run.

Moreover, children who are homeschooled often find it difficult to make friends and engage in extracurricular activities. Despite being able to find a good number of homeschool curriculums, parents may also find it difficult to decide which curriculum would suit the needs of their children. On top of that, it cannot be denied that the social stigma associated with home schooling still persists in some parts of the nation, with children trying to get into college after being homeschooled sometimes facing difficulty.

Flexibility of Homeschooling

One of the main advantages of homeschooling is the enormous amount of flexibility it offers, both in terms of the learning materials as well as the time spent teaching. The parents can tailor the learning materials according to the need of the child, and control the time spent on teaching, especially in children who may be facing difficulty in understanding a particular subject.

Furthermore, parents can decide the pace with which their child learns the curriculum due to the flexibility offered by homeschooling. This helps in understanding the child’s needs, which may shift with the changing times and principles. In fact, even the curriculum itself is subject to change according to the new learning styles.

Apart from the flexibility in terms of teaching, homeschooling also allows students to pursue a specialized interest according to their own set of ideas and aptitude. This also helps increase their motivation towards learning, and provides them opportunities which may otherwise be denied by regular schools.

Benefits of Homeschooling Over Traditional Schools

The traditional schooling system is often geared towards providing knowledge to students without addressing their psychological needs. On the other hand, homeschooling allows the parents to have a much more direct and hands-on approach to their child’s learning, as they have full control over the material and pace.

Moreover, the home environment is often much safer than the school environment, especially during the pandemic. With regular schools operating at the risk of health damage to its students, homeschooling can work as an alternative for parents who want to protect their children from the potential threat of coronavirus. Additionally, homeschooling also eliminates the stress and anxiety of going to school for examinations and dealing with fellow students.

Apart from these particular benefits, homeschooling also helps in better understanding of the material and general attitude along with the development of better study habits on the part of the children.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Homeschooling

The basic question remains: Is homeschooling really effective in imparting education? The answer obviously varies from one individual to another, but statistics suggest that the overall development of the child is boosted when homeschooled rather than when enrolled at a traditional school. There are many case studies which have been conducted to understand the effectiveness of homeschooling.

A study conducted by the US Department of Education in 2017 concluded that homeschooled children performed significantly better than their peers in public schools. The study also had a sample of 5000 students, 1000 of which were homeschooled and 4000 enrolled in public schools.

In addition, a separate study by the National Home Education Research Institute found that homeschooled students consistently surpassed the students attending traditional schools in assessable and measurable outcomes such as standardized test scores, college entrance exam scores and GPA.

Conclusion

In conclusion, homeschooling, if it is done effectively, offers immense possibilities for the academic advancement of children. However, the onus lies on the parents to ensure that their child receives the best education possible. Moreover, homeschooling does not isolate the children from socialization opportunities but rather, due to its flexible regime, provides more than what traditional schooling can.

Therefore, it can be concluded with certainty that homeschooling is certainly an effective method of imparting education.

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