THE PROS AND CONS OF HOME SCHOOLING 

By 

Jennifer Cartwright

  Many parents are choosing to home school their children for a variety of reasons ranging from dissatisfaction with a particular individual in the school system to religious reasons.  It is important for a parent to understand his or her specific reason for choosing home schooling and to be aware of the work involved in home schooling.  It is not a choice to be made lightly or in the heat of the moment.  This article will explore rationales for a decision to home school and look at the ramifications of the choice to home school.

Reasons

            There are many reasons for choosing to home school your child or children.  Some reasons may be well considered and others may not.  Listed are some of the more common reasons to home school:

• Religious:  You may feel that you do not want to expose your children to certain type of ideas or individuals who do not have the same religious beliefs that you do.
• Better education:  You may feel that you will be able to give your child a better education than the public school.  You will be able to tailor the educational program to your child and provide undivided attention to them.
• Afraid of the school environment:  You may be concerned that the school is in a neighborhood that is not very desirable or that the students in the school are not a good influence on your child.
• Personal vendetta with the school:  You may have had an argument or problem with some of the school personnel including the principal and teachers.
• “Living off the grid”:  You may like living a self-sufficient life style with little interaction with society in general.

An example of the wrong reason for deciding to home school your child or

children is the case of Adam.  Adam, the father of three school age children, attended a meeting at school in which he became engaged in a heated argument with the school staff.  The argument escalated and Adam was asked to leave the school premises.  When Adam got home, he relayed the event to his wife, and they made the spur of the moment decision to take their children out of school and home school them.  At that time, Adam’s wife was running her own business outside the home and Adam had a business that he conducted from the house.  Neither Adam, nor his wife, had any experience or training with teaching their children.

            The situation quickly fell apart when neither Adam, nor his wife, were able to find time to gather materials, teach new material, monitor progress, or supervise the learning of their children.  The children ended up playing; the oldest one worked a part time job, and doing house work.  The next school year, Adam and his wife enrolled their children in a parochial school.  When the children were tested for placement, it was found that they were not on grade level and they, essentially, had to repeat the year that they had spent at home being “home schooled”.  Adam and his wife had made a decision to home school because of a disagreement with the school district without thinking through the ramifications of their choice, thus penalizing their children in the process.

Pros

            There are many benefits to home schooling your children.  The following list identifies some of the potential benefits if the choice has been thoroughly thought-out and then carefully implemented.

1. Individual Attention.  A normal classroom, depending upon the grade level, has anywhere from 20 to 35, or more, children in it.  In elementary school, it is common practice to try to keep the class size smaller in order to give students more attention, but, because of funding, this is not always possible.  As much as teachers would like to give undivided attention to all students, it is not humanly possible, and, therefore, some students “slip through the cracks”.  Their needs will be missed and they will not perform in school to their potential.  When children are home schooled, you as a parent, have the opportunity to give your child or children undivided attention and, hopefully, support them in working and learning to their potential.
2. Tailoring the Curriculum.  Most schools, out of necessity, teach to the middle ground.  In extreme cases, students who have difficulty with learning may be identified as having an educational handicap and qualify for special education services.  In these cases, the curriculum is then tailored to their needs.  On the other end of the spectrum, some schools may have available accelerated programs for gifted and talented children.  Special education services are federally mandated, so they are available in all public schools for children with documented learning problems, although gifted and talented programs are not always available.  As a parent who is home schooling, you have the unique opportunity to tailor the curriculum to your child.  You can regulate the pace and depth of the curriculum by closely monitoring the progress and interests of your child.  If your child is soaking up material, you have the opportunity to present more academically challenging material.  If your child needs more time to master a concept, you can work on that concept until your child reaches mastery.  The pace is set by your child, not a curriculum driven classroom.
3. Field Trips.  When home schooling, you have the luxury to fulfill every teacher’s dream of being able to take unlimited field trips.  You are in the unique position to be able to take advantage of visiting museums, events, and performances on a frequent basis that a public school would not be able to take advantage of due to the prohibitive cost. 
4. Long Trips.  Along with the flexibility to take unlimited field trips, you will also have the opportunity to travel within your personal schedule, taking advantage of the opportunity to use the world as a teaching tool.  The experience and education gained through travel, especially travel that includes the exposure of historical and culture interests of different regions or countries, can make learning come to life for children.
5. Better Supervision.  The school environment and its influence on children is a major concern for parents.  Home schooling allows parents to control the educational environment.  Limiting the distractions of a public school setting and controlling the peer group that your children are involved with can have positive educational benefits. 

Cons

1. Isolation.  Home schooling can be isolating to both your children and the parent who is in charge of the home schooling, especially if you live in a rural area.  It is important to make sure that your children are involved in activities away from the home with peers in order to allow your children to learn normal social interactions and to develop a peer group.

         A boy, Bill, who had been home schooled until the 10th grade was enrolled at the high school where I was working.  This school was located in a small town in a very isolated, rural area.  Bill came to school every day in chino’s, a button down shirt, and a tie.  He wore horn rimmed glasses and had a very dated hair cut.  He was a very nice young man, but he stuck out like a sore thumb because of his appearance.  Bill didn’t have to come to school with saggy pants, piercings, and a spiky hair do to fit in, but he did need to be updated somewhat.  Because he had been isolated from current styles and culture, he didn’t fit in when he went to public school for the first time and he didn’t understand why.   

2. Limited Facilities.  One of the greatest drawbacks with home schooling can be the lack of facilities.  It is easier to deliver an elementary school curriculum than a middle school or high school curriculum because of the science, technology, and physical education facilities that are readily available in the schools.  It is costly and difficult to duplicate these programs.  Also, high school and advanced courses require a higher level of understanding of math and science skills and concepts in order to be properly taught.  If you haven’t had algebra in twenty years, you may need to take a refresher course in order to teach it to your child.
3. Full time job.  Teaching your children is a full time job that will take lots of planning, dedication, and time.  It is virtually impossible to work a full time job and home school your children.  You will exhaust yourself and never be able to do an adequate job which will frustrate you and leave your children in the dust educationally.  You need to be motivated, self-sufficient, fairly well educated yourself, financially secure, organized, and dedicated.  You will need to do a lot of research and feel comfortable with the material that you are teaching.  This can be fun, but don’t kid yourself that teachers are just over paid babysitters who don’t do much.  You need to understand from the start that this will be hard work.
4. Children with Disabilities.  Teaching children with disabilities is a challenge, even when it is your career choice.  If you have a child with a disability, it is important that you make the decision to home school your child after you have thought this through carefully.  It can be done, but most schools provide good special education services, good facilities to conduct classes, and well trained and experienced staff who have worked with children, like your child, on an ongoing basis.  I do no want to discourage you, since I have known parents who have home schooled their autistic child with wonderful results.  Home schooling a child with disabilities adds a whole other layer of difficulties to the basic difficulties of home schooling.

Making the decision to home school your child or children should be a well

considered decision.  There are a lot of obstacles and difficulties with the process of home schooling, but it can be very rewarding for you and your children.  It would be a good idea to talk to other parents who have home schooled their children to find out what it is really like.   A decision to home school is often based on feeling dissatisfied with your local public school.  If this is the case, and you have the resources to send your child or children to a private school, you may want to explore that option instead.  There are successful home schooling situations.  Examine your reasons carefully and your true dedication to the effort.  I’m sure that you will make the best decision for you and your children.