Do you home school......what are the benefits? what are the downfalls....any opinions appreciated?

Question

Do you home school......what are the benefits? what are the downfalls....any opinions appreciated?

Answer 1

Wow, there are some issues with the three responses you've received so far at the time that I write my response!

Homeschooling doesn't in and of itself make somebody "smarter", if the first person means "more knowledgeable". You have to work. Homeschooling gives you the opportunity to work at your pace, according to a schedule that fits your needs. It also allows you to delve more deeply into subjects that interest you. These are all benefits, but like many benefits, they don't happen unless you do what you need to!

As for "don't get to make new friends", that's his friend's fault. I know plenty of teen homeschoolers who make new friends. They don't stay at home all the time. This is no different than the academics: it will be what you make it. With homeschooling, you have the opportunity to do things you enjoy with others during the day, volunteering, working (if legal), etc. All of this applies to the person who said that homeschooling means having no friends. Homecchoolers can and do have friends!

"Not much education"--here we see the common fallacy that you actually have to have somebody transmit every single piece of information from their brain into yours. If that's the only way humanity learned, we would become dumber and dumber with each generation because there's no way we can teach somebody everything we know. And it means there would never be anything new to learn. Parents can assist you with learning, using fantastic resources if need be, or even find tutors if you need extra help. The education you get in homeschooling depends on the effort you put into it. Same as in school. The advantage with homeschooling is that you have more freedom in doing so.

"Being in the same room every day"--uh, isn't that what elementary school kids do? In any case, my kids don't stay in the same room each day. We do have different rooms in the house. Our friends also have houses, there are libraries and swimming pools and playgrounds and parks and biking trails and hiking trails and ponds and museums and... Homeschooling does not mean staying at home all the time.

"Healthy competition"--actually, more and more studies are coming out to show that there really isn't such a thing as "healthy competition". It's actually better to adopt an attitude of "let's work together and encourage each other." I think watching the Olympics shows very clearly the strain that competition puts on people, how their own sense of self-worth is tied to how well they do. It's sad. Just look at the Swede who considers these Olympics a "failure" because he didn't win gold! http://ca.news.yahoo.com/indepth/olympic...

Answer 2

I cant think of any benefits ,

Downfalls - no friends , not much education your parents can give you (unless they are incredibly smart ) , being in the same room everyday.  

Answer 3

I'm not home schooled, but my friend does. Some pros are he can go at his own pace. which makes him smarter than most people. second he can make his hours. so he can start school at ten and then end it at four. You get your own free stuff from the public schools.

Cons: you dont get to make new friends and lose a little bit of social skills. more homework.  

Answer 4

I home school, I'm in 12th grade,and I've been home schooled since 5th grade. I enjoy having the time and flexibility to spend on my hard subjects (like geometry) and I can go through easier subjects (for me, English) faster. I have more time for sports-gymnastics, homeschool volleyball, running, and tennis this way. I get to choose which curriculum I use (Abeka). I use the Abeka DVDs for some subjects so my mom doesn't have to teach everything.

     Downfalls....maybe not quite as many friends, but if you join a home school group in your area you should meet lots of people. If you live in a large enough city, the groups usually have sports teams, special interest classes, science fairs, prom, etc.-just about everything the schools have.

Answer 5

Many people don't consider home schooling thier children, because they are afraid thier children will miss out on socialization. According to the U.S. Department of Education, it is estimated that 1.7 percent of all students participate in a home schooling program. A greater number of parents are turning to home schooling as an option for educating their children.

This concept once only included the idea of parents assuming the responsibility of educating their own children. Today, the modern home school has evolved to include the use of computers and other technically-advanced equipment. Although home schooling has the predominant form of education throughout history, many people consider it to be a new concept.

Why are parents choosing home schooling more and more? There are many benefits. You can customize your curriculum (just as k12 does). Home schooling enables students to participate in a curriculum that is tailored to their needs. They can focus on specific areas of interest or other areas that require extra attention. Your chouces are many. You can choose a free online charter school, private online schools, an online curriculum or text book based curriculum.

You can use different learning methods, so students don't have to sit at a desk all day. They might go on a field trip to a historical place, explore nature at a park, or visit a science camp. There are many free sites where you can learn about the things that you see on these kinds of field trips too. E Field Trips and National Park Curriculum is available for free to everyone.

Most home school based curriculum is self-paced, so if students require extra help on an assignment or want additional challenges, they can learn as fast or as slow as they choose. In a traditional school setting , the teacher can't always slow down and go over an area that a few students may not understand as well as the rest of the class. This is how so many kids today "get lost" and are left behind. A situation like this is easily avoided at home.

Having a flexible schedule is a great benefit. Home schooling provides students with more options than a traditional classroom. Students can set their own schedule and learn at any time. If they want to take a test at night, they have the freedom to do so. They are learning on their own terms. Many sites are free offering help for children in all subjects through free worksheets, games and activities.

There are fewer social distractions for children at home. Home schooling allows students to learn without the worry or interference of social distractions. They are not faced with the social pressures of regular school. They can focus on their work and not what another kid in the class might be saying or doing. You don't have to worry about bad influences that your child might have at school (drugs, alcohol, the wrong crowd etc). If you teach your child a certain set of morals and values, they will not learn something entirely different as they may have in a traditional school setting.

Home schooling enables students to get one-on-one attention from their teacher. Whether they are learning from a parent or online teacher, they can get immediate attention for all of their educational needs.

A home schooling program can provide students with choices. It gives them an alternative to the traditional classroom. Whether they choose home schooling for academic, safety or social reasons, they can be in charge of their education. It enables them to create an individualized learning experience.

For many children this is definitely a good option. A student needs to be self disciplined enough to do the school work daily. If a student is dedicated to being home schooled and can appreciate it, they can be successful !

Answer 6

There is no home schooling in our country.  Hs & College Institutions wont accept students without prior records. I was taught by my mom the basic stuffs before I went to grade school. With both my parent working, the best they could do is let me go to school. Which was best. I meet friends, learned to associate, and learn what you need in school.

1 downfall I see in homeschool is there is no healthy competition coz who are you gonna compete with? your mom ? 1 benefit- your own pace, probably learn more if your mom's a good teacher.  

Answer 7

Hello!

I totally agree with with Glurpy said.

Speaking as the parent, the benefits of home schooling are:

More quality time with your kids,

work at your child's pace,

study your child's interests and "bents"

save precious time (no roll call, dealing with unruly kids, dealing with having to take testing for funding),

You have more influence with your kids, not peers who you have no idea what the family may believe or how they may or may not discipline and nurture their own kids.

Downfall?

Well, I guess it does take some work, but it is worth it! So I don't really consider it a downfall.

My kids are VERY busy and happy socially. They have home schooled friends as well as public schooled friends. Academically they are well ahead for their ages. My oldest ( in 10th grade) was excepted in to a community college this year for the bulk of her classes and probably will "graduate" high school with a two year degree. Not to shabby!

Answer 8

I am in agreement with Glurpy, Melissa, and Brax Owl.

I have homeschooled my kids and have had them in Public and Private school here and there.  My 15 year old was homeschooled and wanted to try out middle school, so he went to 7th and 8th grade. Now we are going to homeschool again for 9th grade.  He is behind for what he could have learned at home.  I tested him and now in English and Math he has to do a lot of 7th and 8th grade material that he didn't get in the Public school, because they don't teach as much as mom does.  So he will be doing the same material as his 13 year old brother, to get caught up.

My goal is that my kids are educated and ready for college if they choose to go.  I went to public school and that was not the case for me.  

We are also so very involved in activities.  My kids, I have three that I homeschool, could not be involved in the things they are if they were in a class room for most of their day.  We do roller skating, skiing, piano and guitar lessons, field trips, tai-kwan-do, 4-H, swimming, lego club, youth group and other chuch activities, volunteering in the nursing homes, and oh gosh I know there is more!  

The downfalls which are worth it, is that you have to be totally commited.  Homeschooling takes time.  And a lot of parents do not want to give their time, (or can't because they work) to their kids.  I have a relative who is a stay at home mom and couldn't wait to get her kids out of the house.  How sad!  They grow up so fast, and why would anyone want the government to raise their children?  God has instructed me to train my children up in the way they should go.  I take that seriously.

Have a good day.

Answer 9

I homeschool my children.

The benefits are seemingly endless-focus on family, customized education, "real world" socialization are some of the more important ones.  The ability to take a sick day and not fall behind (we can easily catch up, and can even do some of our lessons while sick if we are up to it), the ability to alter our schedule if soemthing comes up (such as doing science late at night/wee hours of the morning in the event of a meteor shower, and being able to sleep in the next morning), and the ability to take vacations int he off season (lower cost, lighter crowd and nicer weather) are some of the more trivial ones, though we really enjoy them.

The only cons we have come met with homeschooling are dealing with people that have no true knowledge of what homeschooling is.  They perpetuate myths such as the inability to socialize (church, Scouts, 4H, coop classes, community programs, extracurricular activities, cousins, friends, neighbors, meeting people while out in the real world at the bank, library, grocery store, etc.), an inability to enter college (many actively seek out homeschoolers because they are impressed with their ability to adapt to college life, as most have used a more college-like approach in their homeschooling) or lack of diploma (your parent or homeschool association can issue this, but it is really a mere decoration and much more important are ACT/SAT scores and your transcripts).  These same people suggest that homeschoolers can not take higher level courses (many actually enroll at community college for higher level courses)...so there are no real cons, just people that can not think outside of the box so they think of things that might be cons, but do not look into the routes around it.

I hope this answers your question!

Answer 10

I am home schooled. I enjoy it and I can pick when I want to start and stop for the day. I obviously miss being around people my age but they have all sorts programs that you can put your kid(s) in so they will meet other kids who are being home schooled. And most kids who are home schooled are pretty darn smart because they don't have to worry about other kids around them and being cool..... I love it and I have also been in actual schools..so I know both of them

Answer 11

You have lots of great answers-

Can I address the social skills issue?

I am a product of the public school system.  The only reason I have decent social skills is because my PARENTS taught me.  If I would have relied on the school system to teach me, I would have come away with poor social skills.  In some ways, I do have some poor social skills as a result of public school.  The poor skills I am talking about is the inablitly to mingle in a crowd of new people for fear that they will look down on me.

You see in public school I was taught that appropriate social skills include, judging a person not based on character, but based on their ability to conform with the in crowd.  I was taught that it is acceptable to laugh and make fun of kids who shop at K-Mart.  It is ok to laugh at kids with little or no fashion sense.  It is ok for to tease the kids who don't do their hair the correct way.  Kids who have any sort of disability aren't worth a hill of beans.  In order to be cool in school, you have to dress a certain way, make fun of those who are different, like certain tv shows, behave a certain way and have no disablity whatsoever.  You also have to shop at certain stores, keep up to date on fashion etc...  The quality of a person's character is not important in public schools, just the amount of money they can spend.

98% of the homeschool kids I know have awesome social skills and are accepting of all children.  Most are some of the nicest kids I know.  Most are even up on the latest in pop-culture and fashion.  You put them next to a public school kid, and you could not tell the difference by appearance.

Homeschool kids also tend to be a little more free thinking and better problem solvers than public schoolers.