Nowadays, homeschooling has become quite popular in the United States, especially because of the most recent chain of events.
More and more families are now trying to home-school their children rather than send them to public or private schools, you may also be thinking about homeschooling your children too.
However, you need to consider the fact that although homeschooling has its advantages, there are also several drawbacks that you need to consider.
Homeschooling is not for everyone.
Although homeschooling is legal in the country, you must consider that it is still being debated whether it can be as beneficial as in-class learning for children.
There are still a lot of controversies that surround homeschooling.
So, here are some Pros and Cons to help you decide whether to choose to homeschool or enroll them in a public or private school.
Pro 1: Allows Parents to Keep Tabs on Their Children
The first benefit is that you, as a parent, will be able to always keep your eyes on your children.
When they attend public schools, you won't really know what's happening to your children there.
It’s natural to worry about things such as whether are they learning the material, are being bullied, or are behaving.
Pro 2: Safe Haven for Kids with Disabilities
Homeschooling can also work for the benefit of children who are mentally or physically challenged.
Having a child who is mentally or physically challenged could make attending a normal public school difficult.
And some parents don’t want to enroll them into schools designed specifically for children with disabilities for fear this will cause them to feel even more different than others and destroy their self-esteem.
Related Guide: Beginners Guide To Homeschooling
Pro 3: Allows Parents to Set the Learning Pace
Since you know best how your children learn things, you are more than qualified to set the pace of study that will benefit them the most.
This means that there will be little pressure on how fast they should learn.
This allows you to spend more time with your children.
Thus, creating a much stronger bond between you and your kids.
These are only a few of the many advantages of homeschooling.
While homeschooling has its benefits, you must consider the fact that there are also disadvantages.
Here are some of those disadvantages that could help you decide whether homeschooling is right for your children or not…
Con 1: Parents Tend to Be Too Strict or Lenient
First, because the parents themselves will be the ones to take over the teacher's role, they may become too strict or too lenient with their kids.
This is a recipe for disaster that could create a very toxic environment, and cause both the parents and children to feel resentful.
This type of environment will not foster learning and will most likely hinder growth.
Con 2: Social Skills May Go Undeveloped
Another disadvantage is that the child may be unable to socialize with other kids.
Today, this is a very serious issue as children may grow up being shy and socially awkward around other people.
One defense you have against social awkwardness is to let your kids play with other children their age.
This will compensate for the lack of being around other kids on a regular basis.
If you approach it from this angle, homeschooling could work for them.
Con 3: Parent's Academic Knowledge May Be Inadequate
Lastly, the academic knowledge of parents could also come into question as well as their teaching skills.
Some teaching methods have changed over the years and most parents aren’t familiar with them.
For example, over 40 states in the U.S. have adopted the Common Core State Standards, which most parents aren't familiar with enough to teach to their children.
This creates frustration for both the parent and child.
Conclusion
As you can see, it is no wonder why homeschooling is still being widely debated if it should be accepted or not.
All in all, you must remember that before you decide to home-school your children, always determine if you can compensate for the disadvantages that come with it.
If you can't, then you may want to give up on the idea.
However, homeschooling is still a great way for children to learn and there are many online programs to help assist you.
I recommend that you do what’s best for your children to set them up for success in our hyper-competitive world.
Regardless of what choice you make, be certain to weigh the pros and cons beyond the six that I provided to you in this article.
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