Homeschooling Pros & Cons?

Question

I need 5 cons of homeschooling i already have enough pros. i also need 2 benefits of homeschooling.the homeschooling program im gonna prolably use does field trips and social events so leave social events out of the cons. thanks im trying to convince my parents to let me.

Answer 1

Some of the cons might be that if both of your parents are currently working, one of them might need to take some time off to teach you. That would be time consuming for them and may leave them a little behind in finances if they depend on 2 incomes and have to reduce them down to 1 income.

Another thing is that you would end up being together with your parents (and they with you) maybe too much and there may be some attitudes that develop. Also, while you may get plenty of social interaction, your parents might have to suffer in theirs when cutting back on their regular routine to teach you.

You also are limited on the types of sports or activities you can join in on depending on your district.

Just a little note...I went to school until my 10th grade year and homeschooled my junior and senior years and graduated 3 months earlier! So, I am for homeschooling but it has to be the right time for both the parents and children. They all need to make sure they are dedicated to it and have enough patience to do it. Good luck to you!

Answer 2

2 major benifits

     You have an increased probability of finishing college because you have learned to take responsibility for your own coursework.  

     You develop social skills with a broader range of people than just your peer group.  Most public schools leave you in a group of people your own age for 12 years.  This isn't real life, and young people come away from high school completely unable to interact effectively with older and younger people, which means they struggle to deal with superiors and subordinates in work environments.  

As for disadvantages - they are pretty relative

     You spend a lot of time with your family (you get tired of each other sometimes)

     You tend to be more serious-minded about academics (at the expense of other school related stuff)

     You can advance too fast and find yourself out of a high school program and too young for college (unless parents are flexible about sending you early)

     Your first year of college you will be REALLY nervous to speak in class

     The Biggest Con I've Seen - People who know nothing about homeschooling, and who are probably years behind you academically, will apply stupid stereotypes to you because you are not like them.  (Public schools do NOT teach any respect for people who CHOOSE to be different)

Answer 3

Cons

1. There is a lot of prejudice against homeschooling.  

2. It requires a lot of attentiveness by parents.

3. Some facilities and supplies may be less available to homeschoolers.

4. Homeschoolers tend to mature socially more quickly.  

5. Homeschoolers aren't exposed to certain schooly things that schooled kids are.  (like grade grubbing)  

Benefits of Homeschooling

More time to spend on what you are truly passionate about doing.  

More options for travel, field trips and social situations which lead to interacting with a wider variety of people than available in school.

Hope this helps, and good luck :)

Answer 4

I thought I'd ask my 12 y/o son (who has homeschooled for 6 years) what he thought 5 cons of homeschooling were.  Here's what he said:

1.  There's more stuff that you'll like to try than you'll have time to do, so you have to pick and choose.

2.  If you live near a large city, there'll be more homeschooling activities to do than you could ever have time to do.  (moms note: most larger towns have several homeschool groups that have everything from book groups to proms).

3. Sometimes people who don't know anything about homeschooling ask you stupid questions (usually about math or something).  I usually ask them something that I know they can't answer, and then they get embarrased.

4. You don't get to see public school friends very much during the week.  They spend 8 hours in school and then have homework.  You feel kind of bad for them.  You spend lots of time with homeschool friends and other activities.

5. I can't thing of any other cons.

Mom here:

I have a couple of things to add to the list.  

1.  Once you realize that learning can actually be *fun* (who knew??), it can be really easy to go overboard and try and do too much.  

2.  There is *so much* more things available for homeschoolers than public school kids (I'm speaking of books, learning games, and activities) that it can be really easy to spend too much.  If you really want to understand this concept, request a free catalog from Rainbow Resource Center and you'll see).

3.  If you've been public schooled, you'll quickly learn how much time was wasted there and how little you learned.  It can be a bit disconcerting.

4. Dealing with people who don't know anything about homeschooling (and have negative feeling toward it).  If they only knew how many public school teachers homeschool their own kids!

5. Having people drop buy and trying to explain away the various projects and books lying all around the house, which may include: the bug trap set up outside, the excavation grid in the yard (for the archaeology unit), the marshmallow molecule projects on the dining room table, the Lord of the Rings movie set built out Legos, and the 4 course meal that my son is in the middle of cooking "just for fun".  

Two pros:

1. Letting my son learn what he's interested in.  An added by-product of this is his finding friends, of all ages, that share his interests.  When a 12 year old can cary on a conversation with a college student, it's a great thing.  It's even more fun when the 12 year old helps explain the college students history lesson to him.

2. We actually like spending time together as a family.

Answer 5

Homeschooling requires a lot of self motivation.  Are you willing to work on your own for a long period of time without constant supervision?

Learning high level math and science.  Do you know someone who could teach you this?  Sometimes its not as simple as reading the lesson and following the directions.

Lack of exposure to a variety of opinions, thoughts and ideas.

Not working in a group oriented environment, although this can be seen as a pro by some, I would consider it a con simply because most occupations depend on team work and working in group situations.

Also, as a college professor, it has become very obvious to me which of my students were homeschooled and which went to high school with their peers.  Granted, many of my homeschooled students had great academic skills and were very good students, however most of them also had terrible social skills.  They didn't work well in team situations, they had difficulty in finding and keeping friends, and they were just socially off a bit.  I asked my students if they ever had opportunities to go on field trips and social events and they told me they did, but I guess it was the lack of constant social stimuli that impacted their people skills.

Really,  you have to weigh the pros and cons for you as a person and for your family as your parents are going to have to take on extra responsibility if you decide to stay home.  Perhaps for you, being homeschooled would be a much better alternative than being in a regular school.  Whatever you decide, don't lose lose sight of the fact that people skills are just as important as academic skills.

Answer 6

Following are two benefits of homeschooling:

1) working at  your own pace

2) mastering the material before moving on to something new