Remember that over familiar sound of a school bell, that constant peer pressure and the unforgiving terror of examinations? We have all been there, haven’t we? Many would agree that this is a period everyone must go through as it teaches children to adapt to different conditions and get a taste of the real world.
But what if I told you that there is an alternative? One that addresses the flaws of the school system and approaches the holistic education philosophy angle? Yes, you got that right! I am talking about homeschooling, which is growing popular by each passing day and has a growth rate of 7 to 15 percent per year. Currently, there are about two million children currently learning at home.
The concept of homeschooling, though an age-old education practice, has re-gained popularity in the recent times, mostly in countries like US, Australia, UK, Japan, Russia and many more, including India. Parents may choose to homeschool their children for several reasons –they want a greater control and responsibility over what kids are learning, want to spend more time with kids, want to teach religious subjects or may be their child can’t attend a regular school due to illness. Whatever the reason may be, some of the major benefits of homeschooling over traditional schools have been discussed here.
Why Is Homeschooling Better Than Traditional Schooling?
Emotional Freedom
Sadly, the truth is that peer pressure, competition, boredom, and bullies are all a part of a typical school day. According to recent studies, self-esteem plummets in middle-school children. However, similar studies of homeschooled students have shown that self-esteem remains intact and that these kids continue to thrive. Homeschooled kids can dress, act and think the way they want, without fear of ridicule or a need to “fit in.” They live in the real world, where lives aren’t dictated by adolescent trends and dangerous experimentation.
Customizable Curriculum
When it comes to home-based education, the curriculum can be changed according to the child’s needs, pace and personality. The areas where the child excels can be expedited; whereas, weaker areas can be addressed with more focus and additional resources. Parents can decide what their child learns and when is the best time for him/her to study. A tailor-made timetable opens doors to a lot of opportunities to grow and learn. Check out the complete all-day timetable for class 9 & 10 students here.
Better Academic Accomplishments (No Busywork)
Homeschooled children can accomplish in a few hours what takes a typical classroom a week or more to cover. It has been noticed that educational quality has been better in homeschooling than traditional schools. With more personal care and grooming, home-schooled kids tend to pick up things easier than in schools. They show more interest in studies, which are more customized than the routine-based courses in schools.
Stronger Student-Teacher Bond
Homeschooling leads to a better student-teacher relationship. Sometimes, a child might be unable to ask questions to his class teachers due to shyness or other external emotions. This hampers a child’s academic performance due to the lack of understanding and clarity. However, students might be able to open up more to homeschool teachers with their doubts and queries. Hence, their studies are less likely to be affected due to their personal traits like shyness or hesitancy.
Closer Family Relationships
Teens seem to benefit enormously from this interaction, and rebellious, destructive behavior often begins to diminish soon after homeschooling begins. Teaching family and social values in the formative years of learning help the child with a strong foundation for life. Sometimes, in conventional schools, a child tends to miss out the point of what is good and what is not due to lack of attention from teachers, which is completely taken care of in homeschooling.
Providing a Safer Environment
Another advantage of homeschooling is – safeguarding a child from external extremities like physical violence, sexual assault, drugs, and alcohol, psychological abuse, etc. With the rising number of such cases in traditional schools, it is extremely important to be able to make a child a better human being alongside imparting good education. Many parents have started to opt for homeschooling to protect their child from the external world where they are vulnerable to unscrupulous people and may not know how to save themselves.
As long as parents make sure that the home-schooled children are getting the required learning and educational experiences, homeschooling can be considered a better alternative to formal school education.
