Homeschooling: benefits, organization, and legal considerations

Homeschooling -- What does it mean?

Homeschooling is a comfortable and flexible program through which children have the possibility to learn in their own house. The learning program can be organized by the families. Some families prefer to organize it in the same way as in school, and some families prefer to let their child to choose the schedule. Home schooling provides children with the option of choosing the classes that they are indentifying with. Homeschooling is a unique program of learning and teaching that offers children the possibility to choose what subjects they are interested to study.

Why do families choose to home school?

There different reasons for which some families choose homeschooling instead of public schools for their children. In the past the main reason was religion, but now families choose to home school because they are concerned about the school education. Other families choose home school for academic reasons, and because they think that the public schools practice much higher pressure than needed towards children. Other reasons which stay at the base of this choice are to spend more time as families and to develop the child's best qualities. However there are also health reasons that drive parents to choose home school for their children. Teens are also trying to convince their parents to choose home school, and they are looking on internet the best ways to do that. The number of families who choose to home school is increasing fast.

3. Getting organized in home school

Homeschooling can be a little messy sometimes and that is why a well organized space is important. Homeschooling means that the house is the place where the children are learning and the parents are teaching and sometimes even working. The parents who home school their children must concentrate on how to achieve their own and children's goals, must have a systematized plan in what concerns the chores. Parents must involve their children in the chores, because homeschooling offers them a lot of free time so they must learn how to take care of themselves and how to organize their own daily program. For a better organization, parents can set up a school area in which all the homeschooling activities take place.

4. Is home schooling legal?

In Canada and through all the United States, homeschooling is totally legal. Apart from these states, home schooling is starting to become popular also in Australia, New Zeeland and England. Although homeschooling is legal not all this states and provinces apply the same laws in what concerns the home schooling program. In same states the families who choose to home school their children may have to announce the local school district about this choice. In other states local school district do not require to families to announce if they choose the homeschooling instead of public school. State and local homes chool groups are the best places from which families can get information about the homeschooling laws.

5. Learning styles

Learning styles refers at the best way that children accumulate the information. The most common and known ways are: "learning by seeing (visual), learning by hearing (auditory), and learning by doing (kinesthetic)." (Lisa Rivero, page 107) Gardner presented eight other ways that parents can use in home schooling. Those eight ways that Gardner presented are showing the child intelligence. Examples and associations are simplifying the learning process. The eight ways of Gardner are: "through words (linguistic intelligence), through numbers and reasoning (logical -- mathematical intelligence), through music (musical intelligence), through pictures (spatial intelligence), through our bodies and movement (bodily -- kinesthetic intelligence), through our relationships with other people (interpersonal intelligence), through knowledge of and a relationship with ourselves (intrapersonal intelligence), and through nature (naturalist intelligence)." (Idem, page 108)

7. Disadvantages of home schooling

The biggest disadvantage is that one of the parents must stay at home at least half of the day. Due to this the family looses one income, so it may be difficult for them to handle the paying of taxes. The critics of the home school say that this choice is due to a lack of trust in the children's abilities to handle a public school. Another disadvantage is that the children do not interact with other children who have their ages, and do not have someone to compete with.

8. How much does home schooling cost?

The cost of homeschooling depends on families choices about materials and programs that they are electing. Usually the costs are higher than a public school, but lower than a private school. Of course, the home school can be also free, if the families use the sources from the internet, public libraries, museums etc. The costs are higher when they opting for a certain study program, instead of choosing an independent one which has lower costs. In 2001 "a complete fifth grade program costs $570 from Calvert School, $230 from Alpha Omega Publications, $550 from Clonlara, and $1,400 from Laurel Springs." (Rebecca Kochenderfer, Elizabeth Kanna, page 13) Homeschool for elementary students is lower than for teenagers. Because home school offers children a lot of free time, the parents must take in consideration and the costs of the activities which are taken in order to fill the free time.

Reference:

1. Rivero, Lisa, the Homeschooling Option -- How to decide when it's right for your, family, Palgrave Macmillan, 2008

2. Kochenderfer, Rebecca, Kanna Elizabeth, Homeschooling for Success -- How parents can create a superior education for their child, Warner Books -- an AOL Time Warner Company, 2002