Is Home Education Right for Your Family?
Choosing to educate a child at home is a very big decision which will have implications for you, for your child and for your entire family. It is not a decision to be made lightly and hopefully these questions, which are intended to be starting points for discussion and thought, will be helpful to you in making whatever decision is right for your family.
These questions that take no account of the issues that led you to consider home education or of the type of home education you are considering. That is deliberate. It is all to easy to get wrapped up in philosophies or in any educational issues that your children face and to forget the more practical matters that are associated with a decision of this magnitude.
Some Questions to Ask Yourself
Why do you want to educate your child at home?
List at least 10 answers, being very precise and detailed, why you think home education would be a good choice for you and your family. Spend sometime playing devil's advocate with these, or get someone you trust and whose opinion you value to play that role for you.
Do you believe you are qualified or will be able to teach your child?
This does not mean academic qualifications - but how you feel about it. You know yourself and your temperament and skills, you know your children and their needs. Do you think you can persist with home education? Will you be able to give it the time and effort it requires on an on-going basis? How does the thought of it make you feel? If it is a terrifying prospect, could this simply be lack of information or a sign that it's not for you?
Can you afford to educate your child at home?
If you do chose home education will this entail one parent giving up work outside the home? How will the loss of income effect your family? Will you still have the financial resources to purchase book and other materials required for your child's education? Will the disadvantages that result from any reduction in income be offset by the advantages?
What does your child think?
Even with young children is is essential to include children in this decision and to take their opinions into account, and this is especially so with children over about 7 years old and those attending secondary school. You may see home education as a good choice but for all sorts of reasons they may not.
Do you know anyone else who educates at home?
How do you feel they have handled it? What is your opinion of how their children have progressed? Do you feel you could do as well/better/worse than them? Ask them about the difficulties as well as the advantages they have experienced. Talk to their children, and have your children talk to their children.
Info Elsewhere
It is not an assessment and is really America oriented, but this homeschooling quiz may get you thinking about some of the issues involved for you and your family.
These articles, one by a parent who decided to homeschool and another by a parent who decided against homeschooling, outline the thinking and the decision making process in two families considering their options. They are American families, whose situations are somewhat different to those of most Irish families, but the way in which they came to the decision that they believed was the right one makes interesting reading.