The Growing Popularity of Home-Schooling

[Srini]

The Growing Popularity of Home-Schooling

History of Home-Schooling

Much before the public schools came into existence knowledge was imparted to students by bringing in tutors to homes for different subjects. Sometimes the parent itself became a tutor for the child. The number of public schools has increased over the years, but the acceptance rate of home-schooling remains the same. Greater efficiency, effectiveness, pedagogical appropriateness, ideological reasons and more have become the reasons for many parents to choose home-schooling for their children. Homeschooling facilitates individual well over collective good.

It was in the late 19th century when the United States began to pass compulsory attendance laws that home-schooling began to lose its luster.  The families began to choose between public schools or private alternatives and later, it became a normal trend. Homeschooling at the beginning of the 1980s became an organized public movement. Twenty states legalized home-schooling during that time.  

Presently, all the 50 states of the United States of America have legalized home-schooling. Moreover, 28 states support home-schooled kids to take part in interscholastic sports.
There are several concerns that drive families to choose home-schooling. They include financial concerns, child-character concerns, health issues, religious beliefs and many more.
Successful home-school-ers such as Christina Aguilera, Jamie Anderson, Justin Bieber, Simone Biles, Misty Copeland, Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff, Dakota Fanning, Selena Gomez, Ryan Gosling, Blake Griffin, Bethany Hamilton, and many more are examples as products of successful home-schooling.

Success in a traditional school would mean winning a number of prizes, being recognized for talent, obtaining high grades and more. But when it comes to home-schooling, success cannot be calculated based on the percentages or percentile scores and this might disappoint some parents. For most home-schooled children the ability to read and write well, the motivation for life-long learning and research are the qualifier for success. Most often the best researchers and artists are home-school-ers.

Concerns that stand against Home-Schooling
There is a common fear about the isolation that the kids would face once home-schooled. Most parents would want their kids to have rich social experiences and hence learn the basic etiquette from the experiences that they have undergone. Some parents have doubts if the home-schooled kids can be sent to college. But the truth is that most home-schooled kids are more preferred in colleges such as Harvard, MIT, Duke, Yale and many more. If not there are several other online universities such as Strayer University that provide online degrees in a variety of subjects.

Most often homeschoolers are better prepared for college than their peers. Home-schooled students are exempted by colleges from submitting their GED, for financial aid. Participation and effective presentation are more than enough when you apply to the college.

In a home-schooling environment, students get more time and opportunities to make more friends and hence expanding their social circle. It is enough to get the students involved in more number of programs and services. The classroom is not just the only place of a social interaction that a student can associate with.

How to get the best out of your kids during Home-Schooling?
Find out if your state permits home-schooling. Also, check for legal formalities to be carried out to withdraw the student from the school system. Identify your kid’s learning patterns and to which subject he/she is more inclined to. Connect with other parents who are home-schooling their kids. Be patient to get on track with your kids in the initial years.
Never fall into over-scheduling or under-scheduling. Over-Scheduling can get you drained out of energy and compel your kids to wish for a school schedule. Planning the academic course is necessary because being humans we are prone to forgetting the goals and procrastination.
Create and organize the home-school room for yourself to ease the tasks of teaching and learning. Don’t be stingy on the number of breaks you take during the classes. Returning to work after some relaxation time is the best possible way to rejuvenate. Take suggestions from kids and also learn from them.