Thinking About Home-Schooling?

Home-schooling, yes or no? If you’ve given this question any consideration, then you’ve certainly encountered a couple of roadblocks that prevent you from clearly separating the benefits and drawbacks of each. After all, you want what’s best for your child, you want them to reach their potential and become a little genius, so it’s not like this is an easy or an unimportant decision.

In fact, it’s one of the most important decisions of your life, and it’s all in your hands. Granted, you should base your decision on your child’s unique preferences, inclinations, and personality, but ultimately the decision will be yours. So, you need to be certain that you have made the best choice. Here’s what you need to know.

Balancing home-schooling and social life

A common drawback people tend to associate with home-schooling is the lack of socialization and interpersonal communication that comes naturally in a public school. What’s important to note, is that this statement is not false nor correct, because it’s all relative – it depends on how you structure your child’s social time, and how you guide them towards being a social person.

Remember, when you choose to home-school your child, you are taking on the responsibility to find alternative ways to ensure they get to socialize with other children in their age group. It is essential that they communicate with other kids, exchange ideas, learn how to behave in groups, and play fairly. This is not to say that your child will learn all of this in a public school, but they will be exposed to other children more frequently, for better or worse.

Making sure you’re up to the task

Before we tackle the problem of time and resource management, keep in mind that you can do this. There are a number of ways you can reorganize your time and devote it to home-schooling your children, but you need to have a plan, you need to seek advice from experienced professionals, and you need to keep a strict schedule.

Doing this will allow you to balance work and play, bond with your children quickly and easily, and turn this into an enjoyable process for all. Start by organizing your own time and weeding out all extraneous activities that might be cluttering your schedule. Talk with your significant other to work out a realistic timetable, and then double check your “strategy” with someone who has done this before.

Ensuring your child gets the necessary education

The most important consideration you need to keep in mind is the level and quality of structured education your child should get. This doesn’t mean that public schools have the best curriculum, or that the structure they use is optimized for a child’s development, but it does mean that all children undergo the same education processes. So, for the most part, they have their bases covered.

But you can do so much more. If you choose to home-school your child with the help of professionals and online tutoring, you have the unique opportunity to elevate the quality of education your child receives, and allow them to surpass their peers. Most importantly, you have the opportunity to unlock your child’s true potential and enable them to achieve great things in life. You could achieve the same if you supplemented their public education with private tutoring, but home-schooling does give you more control and flexibility.

Public schools do more than teach subjects

Another important thing to keep in mind about public education, is that public schools do more than just pass knowledge onto your children – they also play a big role in their upbringing. Again, for better or worse. Some public schools invest time and effort in creating a healthy culture within their halls, one founded in equality, compassion, empathy, honesty, and friendship.

Other schools, though, only care about attendance and exams, with little regard to how children behave or treat each other. You need to be very careful when sending your child off to a public school, because bullying can go unnoticed for years on end. In a home setting, this doesn’t happen, but then again, this will prevent your child from attaining the crucial social skills needed to deal with stressful situations later in life. So, if you’re going to home-school them, make sure you incorporate these values into the curriculum.

Final thoughts

In the grand battle between home-schooling and public schools, there is no definitive winner. As a responsible parent, it will be up to you to make the best decision for the future of your children, so be sure to use these tips in order to make all the right choices when it comes to their education and social development.