
Deciding to homeschool your child is a big decision that will define his life, his career, and everything about his future. There are several valid reasons why a parent decide on homeschooling their children and it’s neither a breeze nor impossible. One thing is sure to be true – it takes a lot of commitment for a parent to take on his kid’s education on his own hands, or in this case, in your home.
But before you take your kid out of the usual school system, reflect first on these considerations:
Can you commit to it? Being responsible for your child’s education requires so much more than just spending 5 hours straight of reading and writing or solving equations. You have to cover for all the alternative learning occasions a child gets in the usual school like field trips, historical place visits, sports, and other extra-curricular knowledge.
Homeschooling gives you a lot of time which you have to maximize. Plan a schedule to make sure you’re going to cover all there is to learn for a kid his age.
One of the key yet subtle things a child learns in school is the social skills and values. Being in school enables your child to pick-up good values and build good character based on interactions with the other children and by example from the teachers. If you’re going to take away that kind of interplay, make sure the home is a positive environment for them to learn not just the academics but also the personality and character.
Prepare to spend for good material. People think home schooling is cheap learning but it’s not quite true. Although relatively, compared to tuition fees, there might be some truth to it, the best learning materials are nonetheless still pretty much expensive. Definitely there’s room for savings in homeschool, but you have to make sure that the money you save does not compromise the quality if education. Bottom line, don’t use homeschool if you’re only goal is to save on your child’s education.
One Response
Keith G.
November 11th, 2008 at 9:16 pm
1Keep in mind that homeschooling does not necessarily mean that you need to replicate school at home. There is a lot of time wasted in schools on stuff other than “the three Rs”. A child can be educated in many ways. Homeschoolers look at learning differently and develop a lifestyle of learning that goes way beyond any textbook.
As for curriculum, real learning doesn’t only come from a curriculum. Libraries are filled with knowledge and the world is ready to be explored. What interests does your child have? Look at how you can guide their learning in those topics across multiple academic areas.
I beg to differ with the assertion that school is a good place to “pick up good values and build good character”. Have you walked through a public high school lately? I would argue instead that interaction with *adults* and people of all ages in real life situations is the best way to obtain those values rather than spending hours a day with hordes of same age peers all vying for self significance. After all, the goal is to train your child to be a good adult, right?
Research what activities are available during the day. Sometimes the usual extracurricular activities (gymnastics, dance, etc.) are also available during school hours, perfect for homeschoolers.
Also, before you begin, be sure you know your state’s requirements are for homeschooling. Some states require annual testing or a “portfolio review” of what your child has been learning. Others (Michigan, for example) have no restrictions whatsoever.
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