Is the Homeschooling Really Good?

            Today, homeschooling is becoming popular in every day. Homeschooling is one of the parent ways to educate their children at home other than send them to school. Nowadays, there are many children who are homeschooled. There is literature to validate both homeschooling and public schooling, however, it is also apparent that the number of parents deciding to home school their children is on the rise. “The number of home-educated students in America is estimated between 1.7 million and 2.3 million and over the last two decades, home education has grown consistently at a rate of 7 percent to 15 percent a year”; “Reasons to keep the kids home are as varied as the students themselves” (Long, 2012, p.1). Homeschooling is an alternative to educating today’s youth, but there have been uncertainties and disputes as well as support and encouragement for this educational approach (Romanowski, 2001). Therefore, educating children through homeschooling is not a light decision to take.

According to the information from a study conducted by Cai, Reeves & Robinson (2002) included data obtained through surveys from 584 teachers that included 176 home school teachers, 204 public school teachers, and 204 education students enrolled in a university. Therefore, many parents who educate their children through homeschooling system think that homeschooling is good for them because individuality is encouraged. Homeschooled children will learn how to think for themselves and how to think critically. They will not be dependent on other people thinking. There will also be no cheating while doing assignments and tests. On the other hand, many people believe that individuality is not too good for children. They can be developed as selfish children. When children are taught at home they are typically only taught by one individual, who in most cases is the mother. This does not allow various learning and teaching techniques and could severely restrict a child (Wichers, 2001). Parents can only teach areas in which they are skilled, consequently leading to a possible bias in their child’s capabilities (Collom, 2005). They do and decide something based on what they think without weighing other people thinking. Thus, the ability to generalize from this small percentage of individuals to the greater population is difficult. It will be bad for their future life when they work with people. Children have to learn how to share their opinion and discuss something with others.

            It was important to understanding why parents choose to homeschool was identified as; to give their children a better education, for religious reasons, to avoid a poor school environment, for family reasons, and to instill character/morality (Bolle et al., 2007). Family quality time is one of the considerations of parents who apply homeschooling system. Homeschooling strengthens family relationships because it gives parents more time with their children. Parents can watch and control over their children because they do not go outside the house. The homeschooled children do not have to waste their time on the way to school such as getting trapped on traffic jam. They can use their time to communicate and get closer to their parents and siblings. However, homeschooling system gives bad effects to the socialization of their children. To support this idea, Shaw (2000) said that there is still a large portion of society that questions the possible negative effects this method creates, in particular regarding the socialization of children who are homeschooled compared to those who are enrolled in traditional systems. The concerns about socialization when it comes to homeschooling rest on the assumption that private or public schooling is the only effective means for socializing students. Children who are homeschooled often do not have peers because they have to be at home every day. They do not have time to socialize with neighborhood kids and have to study all day long, instead. The homeschooled children miss out their opportunities to talk and play with other kids. Also, they may not develop their people skill because they have less interaction with people out there.

               The parents who do not send their children to school believe that the flexibility, more relaxing, and educational experience is less stressful for children. According to book “HOME SCHOOLING: A Guide For Parents” (2004), the home school schedule of instruction is flexible, the class size is necessarily small, and parents are available. Therefore, they think that it is easier for their children to study because they study at home. The relaxing atmosphere of the home will be helpful to lessen the stress of their children while they study. However, it will be difficult for the children to study multiple grades at once. It will be more stressful if they have to learn too many subjects all day long. The various levels of study will place the children under pressured.

To sum up, there are both advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling. The parents have to be really responsible to whatever they have decided. Moreover, it comes to their children education. Although there are benefits of homeschooling, I believe that parents should send their children to school. The children will get the education, friends, and experience. 

References:

Ashleigh Ricardo (2014). Homeschooling: A Restriction on Socialization for Children

Bolle, M. B., Wessel, R. D., & Mulvihill, T. M. (2007). Transitional experiences of first-year

college students who were homeschooled. Journal of College Student Development, 48,

637-654.

Cai, Y., Reeve, J., & Robinson, D. T. (2002). Home schooling and teaching style: Comparing the

motivating styles of home school and public school teachers. Journal of Educational

Psychology, 94, 372-380.

Caven S. McLoughlin, PhD. &Helena Chambers, EdS. (2004). National Association of School

Psychologists. Home Schooling: A Guide For Parents, p. 33-36.

Kathi Moreau (2012). Specific Differences in the Educational Outcomes of Those Students Who

Are Home Schooled Vs. Students In A Traditional School Setting. Northern Michigan

University

Shaw, I. (2000). Social Skills and Homeschooling: Myths and Facts. Pearson Education Inc.

Retrieved <March 4, 2007>, from <http://www.familyeducation.com/article/0,1120,58-

17910,00.html>.

Wichers, M. (2001, Fall). Homeschooling: Adventitious or Detrimental for Proficiency in Higher

Education. Education, 122(1). Retrieved on <March 12, 2007>, from EBSCOhost

database.

Romanowski, M. (2001). Common Arguments about the Strengths and Limitations of Home

Schooling. The Clearing House, 75(2), 79-83. Retrieved <January 10, 2007>, from

EBSCOhost database.

Alif Rachman Hidayah

Final Project