Name:
Tutor:
Course:
Date:
Homeschooling
IntroductionIn 2012, more than three million students around the world were home-schooled, and the number continues to increase at a rapid rate even to this day. In just a ten-year time span from 2002 to 2012, there was eighty-three percent increase of homeschooled children around the world with United States scoring more than ¼ of the number (Kunzman 20). This information or data corresponds with the rise of Americans who think that parents ought to have the right to home-school their children. The rate of homeschooling moved from fifty percent in 2002 to eighty percent in 2012 (Ray 30). Despite the fact that critics state that many parents do not have teaching requirements or credentials and lack of socialization from the home schooled students can lead to poor social skills and isolation. In addition, other scholars have noted that there are many positive effects for students to consider home schooling as compared to the negative effects.Homeschooling is the best option of student’s education since it allows them to have one on one tutoring; the ability to choose the curriculum that fits well with the family customs and beliefs as well a more flexible schedule, and student’s natural ability are some of the advantages of home schooling (Taylor-Hough 11). Home- schooling; which is a type of education that takes place at home has been a contentious choice for education hence opposed by many people and professionals in the past since the early 19th century as it was prohibited in most countries or states up to 1990. Before, then attending public school was the only choice of education because attending public school was compulsory up to 1990.Despite the controversy surrounding home- schooling because of lack of teacher qualification for parents as well as the lack of socialization, homeschooling is a viable option for education since students can have an outstanding education at home and for several other reasons, one of which is the chance to offer students one on one tutoring. Parents have the chance of giving his/her child 100 percent attention whereas a public school teacher must supervise more than 40 children (Taylor-Hough 13). By using one on one method of schooling, students have a chance of asking the parents a question and receive and immediate answer as compared to classroom education whereby the students has to wait for the teacher to have time for questions. Home schooling allows a student to get stronger and well-rounded accessibility and learn at a faster pace as compared to classroom education. As a result, home-schooled students have higher national tests scores and grades. For example, standardized testing in the United States and United Arab emirates as well as the United Kingdom have shown that home-schooled children or students have scored higher than the average students in their countries. Home-schooled children score approximately 1.8 points higher in the ACT and 69 points higher on the SAT.Home schooling permits students to have a more flexible schedule for the homework as compared to students who attend private or public schools which must be in school for more than seven hours a day. If students are faced with inflexible or tough schedules due to disability, illness and sports or even due to family lifestyles, the students may not have the chance to attend on schooling days a week hence causing education disruptions that lead to lower or poor grades in the future. In addition, a student may be limited to studying at the same pace of an average school; brilliant student may feel like he/she is held back while a struggling student may feel pushed or rushed (Kunzman 22). With the availability of homeschooling a brilliant or sharp student can ease or quicken his/her pace and choose or select a challenging curriculum that is not offered at public schools; a student struggling can work at his/her own pace to understand the curriculum fully. In addition, home-schooled students have the option of choosing the number of classes to take at a go; they may opt to choose one subject at a time or even six or seven classes at a time. This kind of flexibility permits home-schooled students to strengthen their education by allowing them to choose how to study for their personal benefits.However, several critics have noted that many parents or guardians lack the required qualifications to tutor their kids complex subjects such as mathematics and physics. It is true that many parents are not able to teach their children difficult subjects because there are not experts in them. Students and parents can choose a correspondence or online courses if they pose excellent computer skills in addition to writing and reading skills, where they can get full attention to a tutor (Kunzman 21). This is a challenge to many home-schooled students who have limited access to internet and computer. In addition, such students are disadvantaged due to low-internet speeds. On tutoring also depends on the availability of the tutor. For example, in a case that the tutor is sick or attending family responsibilities he/she may not be able to teach the home-schooling student.The other negative side of homeschooling is the lack of socialization that can lead to inability to work with others in the future and anti-social personality. Even with the best home-schooling education, you cannot add the social part (Ray 33). Scholars have noted that since home-schooled students do not go out of their houses for school, they may be faced with social problems when they get jobs. However, what critics have not realized is that home-schooled students have a chance of socializing in various other ways including part-time jobs, church activities, and via sports.ConclusionDespite all the advantages of home schooling, parents or guardians should understand that homeschooling is not the only available option for education. Private and public schools are the other possibilities for students who are seeking best education. However, students and parents should comprehend the best alternatives since each option has it positive and negative sides. Home schooling allows students to study at their own speed and to have suppleness with their academic schedules. Parents are also given chance to help their kids with their education. Socialization may be hard to incorporate in a public school education, but it is easy to add into homeschooler’s schedule. Public schools are the best choice of education to many, but one should understand that there are other choices for education. Ultimately, homeschoolers have higher test grades and scores and have a chance to use one on one tutoring. Parents and students should ensure they use the best option since twelve grades where a child is in school is the most significant time for education growth.
Works cited
Kunzman, Robert. “Homeschooling and religious fundamentalism.” International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education 3.1 (2010): 17-28.
Ray, Brian D. “2.04 million homeschool students in the United States in 2010.” National Home Education Research Institute. Retrieved from nheri. org (2011).
Taylor-Hough, Deborah. “Are All Homeschooling Methods Created Equal?.” Online Submission (2010).
