Homeschool Basics: Homeschooling Pros and Cons

For various reasons, more and more families have opted to teach their children at home. Parents are dissatisfied with the quality of education in the public school system and concerned about the safety of their children. Here’s a brief summary of homeschooling pros and cons, based on my own experience with my daughter from kindergarten through eighth grade.

Homeschooling Pros and Cons

Social Development: You, as the parent, need to schedule a lot of play dates, plan various field trips, and do as much as possible as a family to ensure that your child will be well-rounded socially.

Qualification: Even when you feel you are lacking in some way or another, your child will benefit fully from that ‘one-on-one’ education.

Options: Each state has different requirements but I will explain a few types of homeschooling that I am familiar with. Regardless of where you live, there are several support groups to help you along.

1) Fill in and submit a form that you are a private school and do all your teaching on your own.
2) Go through a public school that has an independent study course (they will provide all the textbooks, homework, etc. and you bring your child in the school weekly).
3) Use an online course in which your child does all their work on the computer (or at least logs on each day) and also communicates with their teacher online.
4) Use a charter school. This is the program that works best for us. Once a month, a credentialed teacher meets to check on her progress and gather samples. We get an allotted amount of funding to spend on various activities and my daughter takes all the state tests.

Further Education: In most cases, homeschool children excel academically. Therefore, the number of colleges and universities that accept them is increasing. Some community colleges will also allow homeschooled high school students take college courses and accrue credit.

Affect on the Family: Patience will be tried often and expect to have days that you and your child just don’t get along well. That being said, you will build a greater bond than ever before and your family will benefit greatly.

Should You Homeschool?

Homeschooling may not be the right fit for every family and every child. But, don’t let that discourage you from trying to provide superior education for your child that you, as a parent, might be able to provide.