Parents all over the USA from Connecticut, Manchester and to the state of Florida are very disillusioned with the school system and are considering home schooling. They wonder is this really the best thing for them and their little recruits. The news reports all-time highs of parents deciding to home-school their children. There are obviously a lot of factors to take into consideration there are obviously going to be pros and cons to doing this and you need to weigh these up and come to a decision which is the best option for your child. All children and different and will all respond differently to various environments and circumstances, these are thoughts and opinions shared by Chris Bugbee, a chief educator.
The positives of home-schooling are that you as a parent can choose the curriculum that you want to study. You can show your children that learning is fun as you can include activities outside, to museums, theatres and this can be done within a budget. This is said to help establish really strong bonds between you and your children. As you will only have one pupil differentiation will not be as much of a concern as you can ensure that your teaching methods are the correct ones for your child. You can spend extra time on areas where your child is struggling and quickly skim over things you know that they already understand. Your one to one approach will give your child a dedicated learning plan. You can make your timetable flexible to suit the whole family. You could schedule their guitar lesson or judo class in with your timetable and if you want to take your children out of class in term time, you are perfectly able to do so, you do not have to consult the teachers, the school principal or the board of trustees or the whole department to be allowed to do so, becoming harassed in the process! You can ensure that your child will only be exposed to the topics you desire in terms of religion and contentious matters.
One of the main reasons these days is to keep your children safe from drugs and bullying and the negative impacts of these situations.
There are obviously some negatives to consider also, will you become agitated being around your child all day every day. Will you be able to remain calm and patient with your child when they are finding a topic difficult, this is sometimes exasperating if it is something you find easy. Will you be able to continue to motivate them at the required level, will they play you up? You will need to spend a lot of money and time on sourcing and printing materials and to be successful you would still need to have a lesson plan. You would have to keep up to date with any curriculum changes you may even need some training yourself.
You would also worry about a lack of socialisation for your child. You would therefore need to find other children, perhaps those that are also being home schooled and plan in times for them to meet with your child. You need to be prepared to work hard for success.