A concept that is catching on fast, wherein one or both the parents are taking the ownership of imparting education to the child at home. Will this ever become a serious threat to institutions such as pre-school, schools or a preferred mode of imparting education to kids
I doubt it!
I am not an educationist so would not know the science and logic behind this methodology.
I however strongly believe in the need to expose our children to the numerous learning’s which are imparted when they begin their journey in play school besides academics.
How home study can match up to non-academic experiences such as socializing, team work, understanding the concepts of a larger society then just immediate family, discipline, routine, etc? What about numerous new experiences such as the school bus, cafeteria, school outings the list could be endless; I am not sure of the advantages this methodology brings to the kids?
The grammar and sentence construction in this post is reason enough to send my kid to a physical school.
Homeschooling is an issue that I am pretty close to and have thought about a great deal. My two brothers and were homeschooled by our mother until 7th or 8th grade. My father taught public school for several years before returning to his previous work as a carpenter. My wife teaches primary school. I am finishing up a PhD in neuroscience. Our son is 2 years old and we talk about what we will do for his education. I mention this to show that I have seen this issue from a variety of prospective.
First teaching is great deal of work. This is true for public school teachers and true of homeschool teachers. I won’t venture to say which is more work, but it is very intensive. My mother though not formally trained as an educator was constantly researching methods, material and techniques for teaching and preparing lessons. My wife spent untold hour preparing for her students. Teaching, public or home is not for the faint of heart. A parent who is unwilling to do the work would be wise to enroll their kids in school.
In my opinion and in my experience public schools are deeply flawed. From my prospective as a former student a large amount of school time and effort is wasted with maintaining classroom order, testing, and busywork. Bullying is luckily not something I experienced when I did start public school, I was tall and strong for my age and not an appealing target. I know many people that were not so lucky. Teaching in schools goes a pace to drag along those not bright enough, that doesn’t care, or are too busy dealing with the realities of violence and poverty to focus or place real importance on school. This creates a risk boring any that don’t fit these groups and making school into a slog of work with very little learning going on. In contrast while homeschool formal schoolwork was finished in three or four hours a day leaving delicious hours free for reading for pleasure and curiosity, independent projects, exploring nature, and play( a thing that has been seriously undervalued for a long time).
The primary advantage of public school is you receive education from a variety of people with different perspectives and things that they are excited about. The opposite is I believe the primary drawback of homeschooling, that the education is coming from a singular place. Ironically this is seen by many homeschooling parents as a principle advantage, as is the case of those who choose to homeschool for religious or similar ideological reasons, and seek to shelter their children from opposing viewpoints. This is homeschooling at its ugly worst. With effort and mindfulness this drawback can be ameliorated by incorporating enrichment activities with other instructors, and I believe with particular effect by incorporating community service activities in the child’s education. Service not only shows how different people’s lives can be but does so in a way that fosters compassion and empowers the child to work in ways for society’s betterment.
Homeschooling is not without tradeoffs. To say one is unquestionably better than the other is to give up responsibility on the issue. The individual choice of a family regarding homeschooling is a tricky one. Homeschooling can and has been a great disservice to many children when parents are poorly prepared or motivated, but it can be a far superior experience.