Home School Education - Advantages and Disadvantages

Why Parents Choose a Home School Education

An increasing number of children today are receiving a home school education. The reasons for making the choice to home school their kids varies from family to family but there are three main reasons why parents are removing their children from the public school system and giving them a home school education.

The first reason is that the public education system in the United States is struggling to provide a proper education for the nation's children with out of date text books, run down school buildings and inadequate equipment. Provision of a home school education enables the parents to have control over the quality of the educational materials used by their children and the general conditions in which they are educated.

The second reason is that parents wish to assume more control over the influences their children will be exposed to. This is often on the basis of religious grounds but, very often, it is simply because a home school education will ensure the child learns the values upheld by the family and is taught from an early age what behavior is appropriate. Unfortunately, many public schools have a poor reputation for instilling good discipline in students. This often results in badly behaved children disrupting lessons and preventing their peers from getting the full benefit of classes. Discipline and the upholding of proper standards of behavior is an important part of a home school education.

The third reason many parents choose to give their children a home school education is fear for their safety. Violence is on the increase everywhere and the public school system has not escaped this trend. Violence in the public education system is getting worse and the individual acts of violence are more serious. Since the shocking events at Columbine High School there have been further tragedies involving firearms where teachers and students have been injured or killed. A home school education ensures the safety of children who would otherwise be seriously at risk of harm.

The Disadvantages of Opting For Homeschooling

Providing a home school education is not simply a matter of parental choice. In most cases the state education board of the state in which the family resides will have to approve a decision to give a child a home school education. The person taking on the responsibility of homeschooling must be certified to be a home teacher, the curriculum must follow the state curriculum, and the text books and other educational materials to be used must be approved by the state. Although this might seen like undue interference in what is a matter of personal choice, the state has a responsibility to ensure that all children receive an adequate standard of education and checks will be made to ensure that any child being kept away from public school is being properly educated.

A home school education might mean that a child is deprived of certain opportunities which would have been available within the public school system. There could be difficulties in providing facilities for athletic children to realize their potential. Musically talented children could be similarly disadvantaged. In some states there is provision for children receiving a home school education to take part in amenities such as being able to attend sports lessons and join after-school clubs. However, the level of assistance provided to homeschooling parents is not uniform and varies a lot from state to state.

The final potential disadvantage to affect children receiving a home school education is that they will not develop the social skills which will be important as they grow up. Social interaction with their peers and with adults outside the family is essential if a child is going to grow up with a properly balance personality and a reasonable level of social skills. These developmental issues can be fairly easily overcome if the child lives in a state where homeschooling parents are given support and the child receiving a home school education is accepted into classes and extra-curricular activities.

The decision to keep a child out of the public education system is not one any parent would make lightly and any weighing up of the pros and cons must take into account the level of support the state will provide. However, if the public school system continues to deteriorate, the number of children receiving a home school education is bound to increase.

Tammy Carter reviews Home School Education [http://www.homeschoolonlineresources.com] at HomeSchoolResourcesOnline.com

Home Schooling is a Popular Education Option

Schooling children at home was not an unusual thing in the not-so-distant past. Settlements were often far apart and children were not often gathered in large numbers. Parents would purchase the textbooks most accepted as "necessary," such as the McGuffey Reader, and both parents would be involved in educating their children. In addition to learning "the three 'R's," students also learned the tasks of daily living and of spiritual and moral growth. Home schooling fell out of favor when people lived in more populated areas and when the federal government began emphasizing public education for all students.

The requirements of Home Schooling should be considered. The federal government requires that certain compulsory education requirements be covered for children attending K-12. Individual states may have other additional requirements. Parents should check the laws before starting to home school.

There can be drawbacks to Home Schooling. Home schooled children may have a reduced amount of age-segregated socialization with their peers. In addition to limited contact with children their own age, home schooled children are unable to participate in organized school sports that encourage teamwork and teach healthy competition with opponents of roughly equivalent age and skill. Children have fewer opportunities to participate in musical groups, concerts, and recitals. Although children can learn an instrument at home, they are unable to participate in school-related parades or events.

None of these things are entirely precluded by a child being home schooled. However, parents will need to work harder to ensure that their children can participate in them should their children be interested.

What are the Benefits of Home Schooling? Home schooled students are not around children of their age group as much as other students; however, most school students have limited interaction during the day. Rather, they interact with their teachers while competing with peers for those teachers' attention. Home schooling is usually conducted in the spirit of cooperation. Students taught together often work together, rather than compete to be the first to find the "right" answer.

Home schooling tends to be safer. Students are not exposed to hazards outside of dangers that exist in any home, unless students are anticipating in scientific experimentation or in rigorous physical education classes. Students do not need to worry about classmates with knives or illegal firearms, nor do they need to face going through a metal detector on a daily basis.

Sports are not a part of the regular school curriculum. Roughly the same percentages of home schooled students participate in after school activities as do their peers. It is also possible that home-based physical education programs are as effective as school-based programs, given that students are more likely to be active for the entire period and are not waiting their turn in class.

Children are not exposed to drugs, teasing, or bullying, other than what they ordinarily find at home. Drugs are kept under control of the parents, at least in the classroom experience. Teasing and bullying is usually only among siblings. In addition, parents are able to teach spirituality and morality, if they feel that such things are an important part of the curriculum.

Many other benefits exist to home schooling. More information can be found through one of many local home schooling organizations.

Jerry Cahill is a publisher and webmaster. He maintains several informative websites. Find more at http://www.thehomeschoolinghelper.com

The Children of Caesar: The State of American Education

Christians will NOT win the Culture War until they remove their children from Government Schools. Watch these DVDs and give them to friends, family, and most importantly-your pastor.

In the first presentation. entitled "Whoever Controls the School Controls the World", Dr. Voddie Baucham knows what most parents are too quick to dismiss: whoever is teaching our children is also discipling them. Voddie persuasively argues that Christian parents need to take the initiative in their children's education and stop turning them over to the anti-God environment of the government school. Using Scripture, statistics, and sound reasoning, Voddie powerfully makes the case that whoever controls the schools does indeed control the world.

In the second presentation, entitled "Getting Your House In Order," Dr. Baucham turns his attention to the Christian home and explains what an "orderly" home should look like. Expounding on the Old Testament text of Deuteronomy 6, Voddie highlights six characteristics of a properly ordered home. Through personal testimony and biblical instruction, Voddie educates and motivates Christian parents to rise to the challenge of changing the world-one household at a time.

Two Disc Set ? Total Running Time: 103 minutes

Price: $24.95

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