The Pros and Cons of Home Schooling

The Pros

The Cons

Educational Choice

Home educated children and their parents can choose to study whatever they want, whenever they want and in whatever order they wish.

Fewer Time Constraints

Lessons can take place at the time of day that best suits everyone involved, your days are not marked out by the timetable of a school. Children can continue to study or work on areas that interest them for as long as they like. This allows them to explore topics in depth rather than chopping and changing subjects all the time.

Better Family Relationships

Being together and learning together at home can be very fulfilling for both parents and children. The nature of interaction between parents and children is very complex in a learning situation and often leads to very much improved understanding on both sides. Most homeschooling families say that their relationships improve.

Being out of the Classroom

Some kids just do not take to the physical constraint of being in a classroom situation and for them learning at home is a real pleasure. There is also much greater freedom to get out to places like museums, parks and other places that will benefit a child's education.

Emotional Freedom

Children who have been bullied, bothered by peer pressure, bored by school or who just did not enjoy the school experience can feel truly liberated by being educated at home. The cliques, the pressure to fit in and be like everyone else are gone and this removes a lot of the emotional burden that complicates growing up.

More chances for Travel

Families who educate at home can go away for a month in May when there are bargain holidays available, either continuing education or taking a break at that time. This means greater opportunities to travel within and outside their own country.

Religious/Philosophical Freedom

Many families have difficulty finding a school which is in accordance with their religious beliefs. Educating at home allows beliefs and philosophies to be integrated fully into every part of a child's education. Some parents have very serious misgivings about parts of the standard curriculum and they have no need to incorporate anything they disagree with into a home schooled child's learning.

 

Lack of Choice

Schools have the staff, resources and equipment required to teach a wider range of subjects than may be feasible in a homeschooling situation.

More Time Constraints

Educating at home is very time consuming. In addition to often meaning giving up work outside the home, time for other activities can go by the wayside too. It requires excellent planning skills to juggle time so that everyone gets to do the things they need and want to do.

Being together ALL the time.

While this constant togetherness can lead to opportunities for growth and for closeness, there is no doubt that it can put considerable strain on some parents and children. For some of those who abandon homeschooling, this is the critical factor.

Being out of the Classroom

The interaction with other kids in a classroom setting is a very valuable part of education, with children hearing different opinions and being exposed to thinking they might not otherwise encounter. Often classmates can contribute as much to a child's education as any teacher.

Less Social Interaction

At school children have the opportunity to interact almost all the time with their peers, learning important skills that they will need throughout their lives. When children are home schooled it is important that parents make sure that their children do not become socially isolated from their peer groups and can spend regular time with friends, maintaining their relationships.
 

Limited Team Activities

Sports teams, debating teams, mini-companies and school plays are all enjoyable and beneficial parts of most school programmes and are far less readily available to those learning at home. While there are many community based organisations that can fill a similar role there can be quite a cost in both time and money in making a range of them available to kids educated at home.

Being Different

Educating at home is often seen as an odd choice, and both parents and children will almost inevitably be criticised for their choice. They will need to develop a thick skin and a repertoire of responses to critics of their choice. Children can sometimes be quite upset by being considered 'a bit weird' by their peers.