What are the pros and cons of homeschooling?
Homeschooling Pros and Cons: For everything that has an advantage, there is a disadvantage. Homeschooling is a significant lifestyle change for the student as well as the family.
One considerable advantage of homeschooling is the ‘Flexibility’ benefit. Homeschooling allows parents and trainers to have more time with their students, ensuring that the student completely understands and comprehends what they are being taught.
The teacher /parent will also have the freedom to pick what to teach and the most effective way to explain the subjects to the student.
One significant advantage of homeschooling is also the elimination of unhealthy competition as well as distraction among peers. Homeschooling allows the students to learn at his or her own space without having to compete for the best grades.
Passions and Homeschooling Can Work in Harmony
Homeschooling also allows students to pursue their passion, especially for young athletes. There is free time to train, go on vacations, learn new skills as well as participate in AAU leagues, attend local sports classes as well as create their own sports groups.
It also fosters a better relationship between parents and their children.
However, the cons of homeschooling are that there will be restrictions on learning. Restrictions exits do to the parent or teacher may not be well equipped or knowledgeable enough to teach some specific courses the student may require.
Also, dedicating your time to teaching your kids at home may lead to a significant loss in the family income, especially if he/she is a single parent.
Homeschooling may also create room for laziness and excuses on the part of the students, especially when it comes to managing their study time.
An emotional outburst is another con of homeschooling because parent-teacher may be going through emotional distress and can likely let it loose on their child /student during the teaching session.
The Pros of Homeschooling
- More flexibility in hours
- Choose a more focused curriculum on science, engineering, math, arts or music
- Customize the education based on needs
- You can use the best resources like Khan Academy
- Focus on learning not testing
The Cons of Homeschooling
- Requires personal time
- Loss of Additional Income
- Outside judgment or separation
- Must comply with federal and state laws
Is homeschooling really worth it?
Parents are now forced to deal with school curriculums that are times to slow and don’t keep of with international standards.
As the world becomes more of a global workforce that has access to a global hiring pool, students and parents must ensure that they are ahead of the curriculum.
Additionally, many school districts in America are forcing down many curriculums that can be dangerous for elementary level kids. The sex-ed curriculum for many parents was the last straw.
In a Sacramento Bee editorial piece titled “Rocklin group mobilizes parents, saying California sex-ed curriculum goes way too far,” parents rights group Informed Parents of California mobilized at a local Christian University William Jessup to protest what they said was a curriculum that greatly exceeds what the law requires, introducing sex and feelings material that is inappropriate for students of any age.”
Parents feel the right to protect their children is worth the price.
Spending time with your children, teaching, influencing, directing, nurturing is the essential career you can have. Working a great job, with an excellent career, bonuses, and then blindly handing your child off to a random school, can have consequences.
Children spend an average of 7 – 8 hours at school, being taught, and administered too. What would 7 -8 hours more time with your child result in terms of bonding and communication.
The value and worth of homeschooling allow you as a parent to witness the growth and development that is a direct result of the work that you put in as a homeschooling parent.
Homeschooling is a wonderful opportunity to teach your child
You have an opportunity to input, inspire and infuse your child with the necessary skills to run this race of life with a fire that can extinguish the arrows and overcome the challenges and obstacles that we all face.
Yes, homeschooling is worth it! It is an opportunity for all of the family to get involved. Grandparents can pass down long traditions and skills that can be valuable in economic ways and navigating our social environment.
Grandparents have seen a lot and can pass down historical wisdom about past events when teaching history classes. This creates a bond between families and additionally provides homeschooled children with a deeper understanding of what they are learning.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
Psalm 78:2-4 (NIV)
An old proverb says we should train our children so that they will not be lead astray in various diverse questionable, and dangerous ways.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6 King James Version (KJV)
How do you discipline your homeschool children?
Discipline and love are the two fundamental principles of child-rearing. It is not without question that discipline is one of the best ways to show love. Not discipline that is abuse, yelling. Spanking but discipline that is based on correction directing, leading by example, demonstrating and motivating.
21 Fathers provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
Colossians 3:21 King James Version (KJV)
Another meaning for discipline is a branch of knowledge. You are teaching a branch of knowledge that is based on routines, direction, order, regime, instruction, and lastly, an understanding of authority.
Teaching discipline in children teaches them how to achieve goals and weed out distractions. Self-control is not about abstaining but rather about navigating your environment, discerning good and bad situations, and accomplishing your goals. Not letting the noise distract you’re from your purpose is the ultimate goal of discipline.
4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Ephesians 6:4 King James Version (KJV)
Teaching your children discipline develops an ability to identify situations and choose those that are most beneficial to their meant, physical, spiritual, and emotional lives. Discipline is the basis for wisdom and understanding.
One must have the discipline to move away from negative temptations that cause difficulty and poverty. More importantly, poverty of one’s spirit.
Discipline promotes delayed gratification, which is extremely important in today’s world. When children go to school, they are influenced if not by the teacher, more importantly, other students that already have bad habits that can change other children.
Timeless Biblical Scriptures about Discipline, Instruction, and Teaching
5 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him.
Proverbs 22:15 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 Correct your son, and he will give you rest; Yes, he will give delight to your soul.
Proverbs 29:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
15 The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.
Proverbs 29:15 King James Version (KJV)
What are the disadvantages of being homeschooled?
Time – Homeschooling, your child, will require your time commitment. You will need to invest resources and time during your day to teach, influence, discipline, and instruct your child.
Social Differences – In public schools, a child will have other children around them. This proximity creates the appearance of a healthy social atmosphere. Homeschool is limited unless you make a point to reach out to other parents that are homeschooling their children.
Lack of Facilities – Typically, public schools will have basketball courts, soccer fields, playgrounds, and computers. You, as a parent, may need to add more learning facilities and playground facilities so that the child does not feel like they are missing out.
Can homeschool students play sports?
Yes, homeschool athletes can play sports and in recreational leagues like AAU, club teams, and other organized sports. Additionally, homeschooled athletes can participate in some private school leagues. But these rules for homeschoolers participating in public school leagues vary from state to state.
For example, in my home state of California, homeschoolers cannot participate on public school teams.
8 States That Allow Home-based Education Students Access to Public School Extracurricular activities
- States like Colorado homeschooled students have equal access to public schools in extracurricular and interscholastic activities.
- Florida homeschool students are allowed access to extracurricular activities
- Idaho
- Arizona
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Minnesota
- Utah
How do you, homeschool athletes?
The best curriculum tips are to make sure every course your student takes meets the NCAA academic requirements. So you must do your research!
Homeschooling is probably the oldest form of education known to man and has been employed over the years by parents on their children from different parts of the world.
Famous athletes like Serena and Venus Williams, Micheal Beasley, Maria Sharapova, Blake Griffin, and many others were all homeschooled athletes who took their skills to the highest levels.
Over time, homeschooling is becoming a favorite choice for parents whose children have displayed unique talents in the sporting world.
For these young athletes, homeschooling is proving to be one form of education that has a substantial advantage of building the child’s sports talents and ensuring significant excellence in their sporting activities.
Homeschooling fosters a bond between children and parents
First of all, homeschooling athletes serve as a bond between students and teachers; especially, if your coach happens to be your parent. It fosters a strong relationship among sporting families as the coaching process tends to be less rigid, and parents get to be more empathic towards their children and know when to and when not to push too hard.
For most young athletes, constant practice counts, and the time flexibility of homeschooling allows the athlete to take advantage of the free time and will enable them to get additional training if they’re feeling inclined to.
Homeschooling athletes also allow them to create a schedule that fits their lifestyle as youngsters. They have the opportunity to train, learn, and still catch up with their everyday social life.
For these young athletes, extensive coaching outside the regular school gym classes is essential.
Parents who have gifted sports athletes as kids are starting to embrace the advantage of homeschooling as it provides their kids an avenue to enhance their skills outside their formal school education.
It is becoming quite apparent that homeschooled athletes get a head start in mastering these skills, and consequently, become better athletes and students at the same time.
Can homeschoolers get sports scholarships?
Yes, the cost of attending college can be quite staggering, whether for the private/public schooled students as well as the homeschooled student. Most times, the cost of college expenses may lead to financial intervention from relatives and friends as well as grants or scholarships from the community or sponsors.
This should not, discourage homeschoolers as they can qualify for scholarships as their private/public – schooled peers. These scholarships may come in the form of career-specific scholarships, which may be awarded to the homeschooled students for excelling in a particular career field.
However, there may be other requirements, especially if he or she is applying for a sports scholarship. The first stage towards qualifying for a sports scholarship may be proving to be the best in your sports of choice. Showing an ‘above average’ level of excellence in your games of choice can be the stepping stone in getting that sports scholarship.
There’s also the important challenge of trying to make good grades in your academic courses. A straight As an academic result, can attract the necessary attention from significant sports scholarship bodies and, thus, getting you your needed scholarship.
Homeschoolers may also be required to contact their college of choice to know their specific athletic requirements for your particular sport. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), is responsible for approving college-bound homeschooled athletes.
Homeschooled athletes are receiving scholarships in growing numbers. The NCAA and NAIA recognize the accuracy and legitimate standing of homeschooled transcripts, which makes them eligible for college scholarships.
Can homeschoolers participate in private school sports?
Yes, depending on state requirements, most students can participate in private and some chart school sports. Additionally, many states grant homeschooled athletes access to public school interscholastic after school activities. Here is a list of some of the states that allow homeschooler access to public school athletics: Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Arizona, Alabama, Alaska, Minnesota, Utah, and others.
Can homeschoolers get scholarships?
Yes, Homeschooled students and athletes can get scholarships. Most colleges recognize the transcript of homeschooled students. The NCAA and NAIA recognize the accuracy and legitimate standing of homeschooled transcripts, which makes them eligible for college athletic scholarships.
Does Harvard accept homeschoolers?
Yes, all of the Ivy League Colleges, including Harvard, accept applications from homeschoolers. Do your research on the admission requirements which will be found on each university admissions site before applying.
Can a homeschooler go to prom?
Yes, a homeschooler would be looked at as a guest just like a date from another school. However, some states may require a signature before attending, so check with your high school office to see if there are guest passes that will be needed for dates that do not attend your high school.
Is homeschooling lonely?
This is a question fro the homeschooling parent. It is up to the parent to create an engaging learning and development atmosphere for the child student. With the addition of online learning, video conferencing, and learning tools like Khan Academy, students can find many ways to feel part of a large homeschooling community. Additionally, parents can meet with other homeschooling parents during the day for joint activities.
Which is better homeschooling or public school?
This is a parent’s choice based on a variety of factors. There are pros and cons to both! Many school districts have great curriculums; you must do you research. Additionally, sometimes homeschooling may be a better option for unique students such as athletes. Tennis, motocross, supercross, and golf athletes have used homeschooling as a great benefit for some time.
Can Homeschoolers play college sports?
Yes, they can, in addition, they can receive college scholarships. Homeschool students will need to work with parents, and the NCAA to ensure they meet all the NCAA guidelines and standards for eligibility. But yes, The NCAA recognizes homeschool transcripts and learning protocol.
Why should homeschoolers play sports?
Sports provide an additional method fo child development and skill mastery. Sports is one of the best teaching tools for learning discipline, resolving conflict, and learning how to achieve in the midst of adversity. All homeschoolers would ad some extracurricular activity to their daily homeschooling curriculum.
How many hours a day do you have to home school?
A study was taken from howdihomeschool.com gives average teaching hours per grade for homeschooled students:
- 1 – 3 grade 2 hours a day
- 4 – 6 grade 3 hours a day
- 7 – 9 grade 4 hours a day
- 10 – 12 grade 7 hours a day
As you now know, homeschooling is quite flexible as you get to decide how long you want to spend teaching.
However, there is a need to find the right balance as to how many hours you should put into homeschooling to ensure an effective and efficient learning process.
With a proper and flexible timetable, hours spent on teaching will turn out to be fun, and the homeschooling objective will be achieved.
Knowing how many hours you have to home school may depend on the age grade of the child involved. For younger children ages of 2 – 6 (1st grade to 3rd grade-schoolers), two hours of studying may be appropriate for easy assimilation of things learned.
Teaching Time Should Not Be Limited
For these young ones, it is quite challenging to have a suggested amount of time for teaching, as most teaching may be done in spurts amidst breaks and intervals for them to unwind. This is because they’re more easily distracted and can lose interest quickly. Therefore you need to observe them well so we can know the right time to stop.
For older kids, there are also variances in the hours you should put in homeschooling. Children between 8 – 11 years, putting in 3 hours of teaching is well enough to teach them, and for 12 – 14 years old, straight four hours of learning is deemed sufficient. The typical high school student between the age of 15 – 18, learning should likely take six to eight hours of the day.
Understanding the dynamics behind timing your teaching will go a long way in helping you create a schedule that works for both the teacher and student as well as make the learning process a lot more interesting for both parents and the student being homeschooled.
Why do colleges want homeschoolers?
Homeschoolers have a unique education path that allows them to develop skills that public school students would be hard-pressed to future. Homeschoolers can get more detailed and develop a curriculum that is more focused on an area such as engineering, science, athletics, or music. They have an opportunity to hone their skills, which can make them more enticing to colleges.
Where is homeschooling most popular?
States the have the most homeschooled students and highest percentage include: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Alaska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Maine.
Top homeschooled Countries Include:
- United States
- Canada
- Russia
- United Kingdom
- Philippines
- Austalia
- New Zealand
The Home of Education Research Institute states, in the United States, there are an estimated 2.5 million homeschooled students in the K through 12 grades. Taxpayers pay an average of 11,732 per student in public schools. Taxpayers do not pay anything towards homeschooled students.
Why do some parents homeschool?
Parents have grown frustrated with the public school curriculum. The growing number of social bullying, violence, and political agenda issues are pushing parents to homeschool. These outside adult issues seem to supersede politics over that of basic education such as mathematics, science, arts, music, and engineering. Have left parents feeling like public schools are causing more confusion in children than fostering intelligence, innovation, and people that can contribute to society.
Parents simply want children to get the knowledge that will be useful and not for there children to be used as some of the social advocated for the next socio-political cause.
Black parents have many reasons for homeschooling their children that include the above mentions but also include deeper educational flaws.
Why Black Parents are choosing to homeschool kids
Additionally, black parents or African American or negro descent have long understood the bis and oppression that happens to black students, especially to those that have high intelligence.
Many black parents have worked in corporate America for more than a decade and have denied racism to only come to the hard conclusion that still exists.
While these parents are unwilling to go marching down the street, causing disruption, they realize they will not allow their children to experience what they as children experience in schools and in transitioning to the workforce.
Black parents are determined to create a new educational narrative!
Homeschooling black children include inspiring highly intelligent children, that are aware of their environment and able to still strive in the face of a non-ideal situation. The days of being blindsided by racism or denying racism because of economic success are long gone.
Black parents are learning about the benefits of homeschooling
Black parents realize that homeschooling is the best way to teach a love for their black identity while respected others that may be different.
In the past, many teachers used the classroom to humiliate, subjugate and often crush the dreams of black children.
The sad part is children could not express nor defend themselves. Now we are looking at a generation of parents that have overcome these abuses and taking positive peaceful action to remove their children from these environments.
Black parents are homeschooling to ensure that their children develop high levels of social, Mathematical, scientific, physical, and engineering skills. While also ensuring that black children do not lose their community, spiritual identity and roots that have been passed down for generations.
How do I successfully homeschool my child?
7 Keys to Successfully Homeschooling Your Child
- Understand and adhere to your state’s homeschooling requirements.
- Do your research – Examine all your homeschooling options and determine the right fit, philosophy, and curriculum that best fits your child’s mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs.
- Join and communicate with a local and reputable homeschooling group
- Develop ad create a homeschool space in your home
- Implement a physical fitness and sports homeschooling programing
- Define and stay discipline to a Homeschooling Schedule
- Expect it will be a change but make a decision that you will find joy in teaching your child
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