Homeschooling, or educating your children at home instead of sending them to a public school, is being done more and more each day. While it can have a lot of benefits, it can also have some disadvantages when it comes to teaching, socializing, and other learning factors.
Let’s take a closer look at what can be some of the downsides to homeschooling.
Limited Access to Specialized Education
One of the biggest disadvantages of homeschooling is that it often limits the access that children have to specialized education. Without being in a public or private school, homeschooled children are unable to take advantage of specialized educational classes, music and/or art classes, and more. Many parents who homeschool try to create something that is similar to these classes at home, such as an art class with a local artist, or adding music lessons into the curriculum.
However, these classes may lack the expertise that a professional would be able to bring to the table and may not be as great as if their child were able to take part in a specialized educational class. It can be hard for some families living in rural communities to gain access to these classes, as well.
While it is becoming easier as technology is becoming more advanced, there are still a lot of things that are simply not accessible where they live. Parents are then forced to try and find ways of either finding experts in their area or recreating things similar to what public or private schools would offer but the quality may not be the same.
Socialization Issues
Another major downside to homeschooling is the risk of not getting the right amount of socialization. Public schools offer children the ability to interact with all different kinds of people on a daily basis and to learn how to properly interact and communicate with them. This is not as readily available to children who are homeschooled.
Parents need to be especially careful here as it is very easy for children to become socially isolated and not know how to communicate with others. Parents need to make sure that their children are getting active with different friends, attending homeschool functions, going to the library and the park, and more in order to ensure that their children are getting the socialization that they need.
Additionally, parents need to be aware of how their children are communicating with friends. Virtual communication and social media can be great tools, but it is important to set some limits as there can also be a lot of negative things that come out of interacting over social media.
Financial Disadvantage
For some parents, homeschooling can be a financial burden. If they decide to go the route of homeschooling, they often have to find their own curriculum and resources, and this can take a toll financially since they will have to pay for all of those things.
Additionally, they may have to pay for curriculum that they may not find in public or private schools, such as foreign language classes, STEM classes, and more. This can be both pricey and time consuming in terms of finding the right resources. Also, if the family decides to hire a tutor for certain subjects, that can really add up as well.
All of these costs can add up quickly and can strain some families if they are not well equipped to handle the financial cost that homeschooling can require.
Lack of Professional Teacher
One other disadvantage of homeschooling is the lack of a professional teacher. Many parents decide to homeschool their children because of the fact that it is difficult to find a good teacher to teach their children in public or private schools. While this may be true, it is often hard to replicate the quality of a professional teacher in the home.
Parents can have a hard time staying organized and keeping a regular curriculum and syllabus when it comes to homeschooling as they do not have the same years of educational experience that a professional teacher does. Additionally, homeschooling parents often team up to teach their children, and this can be great for learning, but can also lead to mistakes.
Lastly, parents may not be aware of the newest teaching methods when it comes to homeschooling. Professional teachers go through years of schooling, apprenticeships, and certification exams in order to learn the best and latest teaching methods, and some parents may not have the same amount of knowledge.
Legal Restrictions
As homeschooling becomes more popular, states have been putting more and more restrictions on the practice. This can have a major effect on some families who are unable to meet the legal requirements or do not have the resources to comply.
It is important to research the particular laws in each state in order to make sure that homeschooling is actually allowed. Additionally, some states require that the parents meet certain qualifications in order to be allowed to homeschool. These could be educational qualifications, financial qualifications, and more.
This again can be a major burden on some families who may not meet the criteria in order to be allowed to homeschool.
Time Commitment
Homeschooling can be both mentally and physically taxing, especially if the family only has one parent who is also working. Homeschooling takes a lot of time and dedication, with some parents having to dedicate up to ten hours a day for teaching, grading, and extra-curricular activities. This can be very hard on the parents, who often have to take time away from their own job in order to dedicate time to home schooling.
Additionally, homeschooling can be taxing on the children as well. They often have to sacrifice their own free time in order to focus on their school work, something they would not have to do if they were to go to a public or private school.
This can be hard for them as social pressures can be very strong at school and they may not get the same free time that other children may get.
Seclusion From the Real World
The last disadvantage of homeschooling is that children can be easily secluded from the real world. Without having to go to school and interact with other children in their age group, children may be stuck in the bubble their parents put them in.
This can be particularly salient if the parents have very strong religious views that the children are made to follow. It is important for parents to not be overly protective of their children and to allow their children to get out in the real world and experience different things. Even if the children are given a vast range of activities to do, without real-world experience, they risk not growing and developing in the same way other children do.
Conclusion: Overall, homeschooling has become a great alternative to traditional public or private schooling and has a lot of benefits as well. However, there are a few drawbacks that parents should consider when deciding to homeschool their children.
From the lack of access to specialized education, to the time commitment and legal restrictions, there are a lot of things to consider when thinking about homeschooling. Parents should weigh their options very carefully in order to decide what is best for their family.