Homeschooling is a less popular form of education in which a learner or student gets his schooling done in their own home. It was a popular method of education in the Middle Ages among wealthy families and royalty. However, after the recent educational reforms of the past centuries, globalisation, and privatisation of the education sector, homeschooling has lost its charm. Even now, according to the US government, 3 - 4% of the primary school-aged population in America is homeschooled (Source: Cross River Therapy). Homeschooling is typically conducted by a tutor, parent, or online teacher in a location other than a school for school-aged children. However, anyone who cannot attend school but learns at home can also be technically classified as "homeschooling." This list includes the physically challenged, women under biased regimes, and children under oppressive governments.

However, if you consider the scale of online learning, especially during and after the pandemic era, homeschooling will no longer be a foreign or mediaeval concept for you. According to research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 300 million students around the world were homeschooled at the same time (Source: Crossriver therapy). It is also important to note that there are thousands of families across the world who choose to homeschool their children despite having access to public education and the absence of the conditions mentioned above. Regardless of the case, in a world of digital learning platforms, educators need to understand the pros and cons of homeschooling.

For whom is Homeschooling perfect?

Homeschooling can be the most advantageous option for children in the following categories:

1. Children under oppressive regimes

Authoritative and extremist governments that snatch the right to education from any of their citizens can pose a serious threat to the growth and potential of children. One fitting example would be the recent ban on women from schools in Afghanistan. Such situations force parents and communities to resort to homeschooling. To pass on knowledge, culture, language, art, and technology, homeschooling is the best option for families living under such governments. This safeguards their right to education without risking their lives.

2. Physically challenged

There are special schools that offer high-quality education to physically and mentally challenged children. However, these schools are often distant and few, and they require the learners to be residential students. Even though the schools provide caretakers to help the children, some families opt not to send their children away. For such families, homeschooling can be a better alternative. Parents who are concerned about their child's well-being, school bullying, and the need for additional efforts to teach their children often choose to homeschool.

3. Children with learning disabilities

Some children are slow learners, and others have learning disabilities that require additional teaching efforts from their teachers. Such children can miss out on their learning in a classroom setting where teaching feels like a rushed experience. Having difficulties understanding a topic requires special teaching techniques and different teaching styles. These children fall behind in their learning in a classroom, making them look incompetent. It can also affect the child's self-esteem and, thus, their future. Homeschooling can bring out the best in these children, as long as a private tutor or a parent takes the time and effort to clarify a difficult topic before moving on to the next one.

Apart from the above categories, parents also choose to homeschool their children for several other reasons, like the fear of racism, the desire for religious and moral education, dissatisfaction with the traditional school system and its results, etc. It is also important to note that homeschooling can also be combined with regular school education if time and circumstances allow it to produce better results. Many institutions actively advise parents to take part in their child's education after school hours. Parents are advised to help their children with their homework and other academic activities outside school. These activities can also be technically considered homeschooling. Here are the major pros and cons of homeschooling a child.

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Advantages of Homeschooling

1. Homeschooling makes it easier to teach and easier to learn.

Homeschooling requires, by default, that a learner gets one individual tutor all to themselves. One-on-one teaching has the potential to bring out the best efforts from the tutor and the student. One-on-one online tutoring has similar effects that positively affect the learner's learning process. Homecoming makes it easier for tutors to identify what motivates a child to learn a particular subject. Unlike a classroom where a teacher has to oversee dozens, if not hundreds, of students at once, homeschooling focuses on a small number of learners for a tutor, which is often one or more learners within a family.

Additionally, homeschooling makes it easier for tutors to identify the learning styles of a particular child. If a child responds well to visual concepts, then using pictures, videos, and charts in the teaching process will ensure that the child understands the concept thoroughly. Moreover, the relationship between the tutor and the learner gets stronger, making it easier to communicate and resolve issues without many hurdles.

2. Discipline issues in the classroom are avoided.

As your child is not sharing their classroom with 20 to 30 other children, like in the case of public education, the educational material can be studied thoroughly. Hence, the discipline issues that arise in a crowded classroom can be avoided in homeschooling. This reduces the waste of learning hours spent disciplining the child in the classroom. Due to this, there will be more time for extracurricular activities after the learning hours, like public education. Children can socialise, rest, sleep, play, and indulge in other outdoor activities after the learning hours, which is not likely the case with public education. The public education system teaches the child for long hours, the homework load will be significant, and the child will be overwhelmed with the educational demands, which leads them to neglect other activities. This is where homeschooling surpasses public education in terms of balancing the equation of childhood.

3. Homeschooling is highly adaptable to special considerations.

For children with special considerations like physical disabilities or learning disabilities, public education can be hard or next to impossible. This is where homeschooling comes in. Homeschooling helps such children focus on their education without moving out of their homes or rushing to catch up with their peers who have learning disabilities. However, it is to be noted that there are also special schools designed especially for such children with well-trained teaching staff and caretakers. If your child falls under one of these categories, homeschooling can be the best solution for the child's special needs.

4. Homeschooling makes good use of time

Homeschooling helps children learn faster and makes the learning process easier. It sets the base for the children according to their pace of study. If the child is a fast learner, homeschooling helps them to move at their pace without having to wait for slow learners, as in the case of public education. If the child is a slow learner, homeschooling helps them learn at their own pace without rushing to catch up with their peers. This is a huge advantage of homeschooling. Moreover, the time spent travelling to and from school is eliminated, which makes good use of time. Tutors can also teach difficult concepts to children without disturbing the learning of other children.

5. Homeschooling fosters a strong parent-child relationship.

The close bond that can develop between parents and their homeschooled children will become the backbone of a child's outlook on the world and relationships. When parents take on the responsibility of educating their children at home, they are directly involved in their children's education and have more opportunities to interact with them daily. This increased interaction and involvement leads to closer relationships and better communication between parents and their children. Additionally, parents can tailor the education to their children's individual needs and interests, fostering a more positive and supportive learning environment. As a result, homeschooled children may feel more connected to their parents and have a greater sense of security and trust in their relationships. This boosts the importance of a family and helps form ideals in the child's mind about whom they should look up to.

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Disadvantages of Homeschooling

1. Cost of homeschooling can go up as families are entirely dependent on their own money.

The cost of homeschooling your child can go up significantly if you are hiring a private tutor. The average cost of homeschooling is $700-$1,800 per student annually according to Parenting Mode. In a world where teachers are expected to manage dozens of students to maintain the increasing teacher-to-student ratio, it is hard to get a tutor, especially one who will dedicate their time to one child. This makes tutors costly. Apart from that, even though there are plenty of free learning resources you can avail of to homeschool a child, buying some textbooks for advanced learning can also increase the costs. In a public or private school, the school library or the government itself takes care of providing these textbooks and learning materials. Hence, a family that is running on a single income might struggle to give a high-quality education to their child through homeschooling because of a lack of resources.

2. Adapting your child to a new reality can be challenging

Adapting to the new world after homeschooling is especially hard for children. Mingling with other children who were schooled in public or private institutions will already have developed relationships inside their classrooms, colleges, or universities. A homeschooled child will find it hard to adapt to the new environment in their transformation phase. They would also have to adjust their flexibility in terms of the comfort of their home and time spent in extracurricular activities and adapt to school norms and schedules.

They will also find it hard to adapt to a crowded classroom where only one teacher is available for an entire class or a single subject. In contrast, homeschoolers will have the same teacher for all the subjects. This can pose problems for communication and the learning progress of a child. This is why parents and teachers must ensure that a homeschooled child develops social connections in the new environment, communicates effectively, and develops interpersonal, intercultural, and other social skills.

3. No social interaction during study time means fewer social skills

In a public school system, a child constantly has social issues with other children in their classroom, school, playground, and library. However, in homeschooling, the child has no access to this socialisation. This means that homeschooling tutors and parents must make time and effort to add socialisation to the child's everyday activities. Often this means putting in additional effort and making children attend extracurricular activities like the gym, sports coaching centres, art classes, and swimming classes. Homeschoolers must contact their neighbourhood parents and children and then encourage them to socialise with their children. This can put additional hours and effort on homeschoolers' plates.

4. Lack of formal education recognition makes it harder to get into educational institutions in some regions

Homeschooling is not recognised by formal education institutions in some countries due to the lack of standardisation and regulation in the curriculum and assessment methods used. Additionally, homeschooling may not meet the local education laws and requirements, such as mandatory subjects, minimum hours of instruction, and standardised testing, that public schools must follow. Some institutions also have concerns about the socialisation and academic preparation of homeschooled students compared to those who attend traditional schools. However, homeschooling recognition is gradually improving in some countries with the growth of homeschooling and the increasing recognition of alternative forms of education, especially after the pandemic.

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Conclusion

There are pros and cons to homeschooling. If you are a parent, you need to consider the needs of your child and weigh up whether or not you can commit, both financially and emotionally. Homeschooling offers a personalised education and a flexible schedule, allowing students to work at their own pace. This close supervision and guidance from parents can lead to stronger parent-child relationships. However, homeschooled students may have limited socialisation opportunities, and parents face added responsibilities for teaching and assessment. Homeschooling may also lack access to specialised resources and facilities, and homeschooled students may have difficulty obtaining a recognised diploma. It is important to weigh the advantages and disadvantages before deciding on homeschooling.

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