Introduction
It is hard to disagree that education is an integral factor critical to shaping children’s intellectual abilities. As children are exposed to the relevant curriculum, they acquire new knowledge and become more creative, responsible, and determined.
Additionally, with the obtained intellectual skills, they can secure employment and sustain their daily needs. Despite the efficiency of usual schools, many parents are presently turning to home tutoring as children have several benefits when they undertake their education programs at home. While public schooling assures a child’s intellectual and physical well-being, homeschooling is still the best option for K-12 education because of the youngsters’ physical, emotional, and psychological well-being. To that end, the paper will address the benefits of homeschooling such as safety, personalization, the ability to develop creative talents, and opportunities for children with special needs.
Main body
Today, homeschooling is becoming increasingly popular. It can be defined as the process of exposing children to education while at their homes without necessarily having to take them to public or private schools. Many parents choose this way of teaching their children because of its convenience. Besides, this is due to the development of technology and the legal framework, as well as, the restrictions caused by the pandemic. According to Gavin, this method is proven to be vivid in enabling a child to learn comfortably and obtain the relevant knowledge without traveling to the learning institutions due to the face time sessions they engage with their instructors (92).
So, the pupil has the opportunity to study at a pace that is comfortable for himself or herself. It is necessary to mention that there have been some concerns regarding the best choice of the educational curriculum for K-12 education. This is because homeschooling is a serious step that needs to be considered. Gavin asserts that many parents used to prefer letting teachers take control of their children’s intellectual ability (92). Nevertheless, a considerable portion of the guardians have foregone the system and opted for homeschooling as the best educational method for youngsters. Thus, despite fears, many families choose this way of studying.
One of the main benefits of homeschooling is the elimination of child abuse. To begin with, the safety concerns of youngsters being exposed to a home-based curriculum of education produce excellent children’s results. In public schools, bullying is vivid due to the youngsters being combined from multiple diversities. Consequently, intimidation instills fear, which depreciates the cognitive ability of a youngster being bullied. Besides, In addition, the relationship between teacher and student implies a certain hierarchy, one of the critical aspects of which is physical contact. Walsh notes that in some circumstances, there have been cases of children being sexually harassed by their instructors or teachers (14).
It is easy for a teacher who has some kind of authority over pupils to scare a child and use physical force against him, including sexually harass. Therefore, home lessons assure the safety of a child from a vast number of adverse environmental factors, comprising bullying from classmates and teachers.
Further, homeschooling provides a better process of having alternative educational approaches. In traditional schools, children must attend all classes and comply with the set curriculum until they finish their semesters. According to Walsh, “teaching at home provides a parent with a flexible means of changing the teaching model to their youngsters’ advantage” (14). Furthermore, homeschooling is more flexible and personal than school. So, the child can study at a convenient time and from any place, according to his or her schedule; and homeschooling allows him to concentrate on the essentials. Thus, due to the use of alternative educational approaches, home education is distinguished by a convenient organization of the process.
Next, home lessons never run counter to family values. The family chooses what, when, and how much to teach the children. According to Ray (2002), all through a youngster’s home experience, the kid can be monitored according to the family’s culture instead of a government-controlled system (50). Thus, parents have the opportunity to control the moral, ethical, and religious views of the child. Therefore, home teaching remains to be a positive approach toward building the foundation of family beliefs concerning the intellectual understanding that a child incorporates.
What is more, children exposed to homeschooling methods, have a good academic performance. While studying at home, children concentrate maximum attention on the chosen subjects and do not spend time-solving disciplinary issues or analyzing other pupils’ mistakes. It is this aspect that contributes to improving academic performance. Ray notes, that “statistics show that such children score fifteen to thirty percent higher when compared to youngsters attending public teaching” (50).
Thus, children achieve success in learning, which is also associated with the efforts of their parents. Gavin notes that the students’ high performance can be linked to the full attention that their guardians give to a child (92). At the same time, parents do not experience difficulties in explaining the material. Interestingly, numerous parents have been asserted to have superb teaching skills and intellectual knowledge that show a child excelling in education (“Homeschooling”). Therefore, homeschooling contributes to the child’s academic performance.
Next, home tutoring provides a natural environment in which capabilities can be customized. The abilities can be reflected in talents such as acting, singing, and swimming, and parents noticing these skills and penchants may contribute to their development. This fact is confirmed by Ray, who claims that homeschooling provides a better environment to customize the talents with the relevant curriculum (51). Thus, homeschooling contributes to the development of children’s talents. So, this method offers a better approach to shaping a child’s educational experiences with their abilities.
Finally, parents can better attend to students with special needs. First of all, this is due to the lack of understanding of such children by their classmates. According to Ray, when such children are exposed to public tutoring, their self-esteem levels tend to be low due to the peers not interacting often with students in need of special education (50). Low self-esteem has the limitation of leading to a negative output reflected in poor grades. The close bond between parents and children with special needs strengthens family relationships. Parents are granted more time to spend with their kids (“Family Life: A Family on Homeschooling”). For most mothers and fathers, seeing their children experiencing life and learning something new is a gift. Thus, homeschooling is a glorious option for educating pupils with special needs.
Nevertheless, some people argue that public and private schools are the only proper way to teach modern children. Not every parent can teach a child scientific knowledge, and systems thinking. Some parents believe that they do not have individual skills to teach their kids (“Homeschooling”). However, no one can take care of students’ wellness and knowledge better than their parents. Besides, there is a problem of domestic violence.
According to Clemmitt (2014), “researchers believe that homeschooling is a way for some guardians to hide the fact that they abuse their children” (223). Nonetheless, bullying in school is much more common than domestic violence. Clemmitt continues to say, that there are many more bullying cases at schools than harassment during home tutoring (222). Therefore, these points against homeschooling are not strong enough to prove that this method is worse than ordinary schooling.
Conclusion
To conclude, one may say that homeschooling is indeed a better method for K-12 education. Homeschooling has numerous benefits for a child’s growth and development. The depicted advantages have been oriented to aid the child to succeed in their education. Equally important, is that homeschooling is more flexible and personal than school, and the child’s parents have the opportunity to control the child’s moral, ethical and religious beliefs.
Besides, studying at home focuses on activities that are pleasing and suitable for the child. Finally, homeschooling is a great education option for children with special needs. Even though there are some negative and controversial opinions about home teaching, they are not able to erase all the advantages of this type of education. Therefore, taking into account all factors, the child will receive the necessary knowledge in pleasant conditions for himself, and parents will use the homeschooling benefits not only for the child but for the whole family.
Works Cited
Clemmitt, Marcia. “Homeschooling.” CQ Researcher, vol. 24, no. 10, 2014, pp. 217-240.
“Family Life: A Family on Homeschooling.” Mindanao Times. 2020. Web.
Gavin, Larsen. “Should You Try Home Schooling?” Dance Spirit, vol. 18, no. 7, 2014, pp. 92-93.
“Homeschooling.” Gale, 2019. Web.
Ray, Brian D. “Customization Through Homeschooling.” Educational Leadership, vol. 59, no. 7, 2002, pp. 50–54.
Walsh, Mary. “Homeschooling and the Price of Freedom.” Human Events, vol. 57, 2001, p. 14.