When we opt to educate our school-going children at home or a place other than a formal school setting is called homeschooling.
Homeschooling is generally conducted by a parent, tutor, or online tutor in a less formal, more personalized environment. This method of schooling is legal in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, North America, South Africa and is becoming popular in Canada, France, UK, the USA, and India.
There could be various reasons why parents choose homeschooling. Some want to protect their children from the negative school environment or the child may require special education which may not be possible in a regular school etc. Homeschooling is not dependent on any school methodology and pedagogy. Schooling happens through self-motivation and is student-driven requiring lots of inputs and support from parents, co-homeschoolers, and teachers.
Whether one should go in for homeschooling or not, is a completely debatable question. Like any other teaching process, this too has its pros and cons.
Pros-
One decides the curriculum to be taught to the child and how and when. You are not bound to follow any designated LMS for schools. The child learns at his pace. There is no peer pressure. Children are sheltered from school violence, drugs, and other abuses. The child will get one on one attention. With the freedom to teach per your schedule, vacation planning is not dependent on school breaks.
Cons-
Keeping pace with school instruction could be taxing. It will take a lot of effort and hard work to constantly keep adapting to an effective tutor. Finding co-minded people to build a homeschooler community to exchange ideas and solve problems. Review various curriculums and choose the best for your child’s learning requirements. One needs to do thorough research and make an informed decision.
Source: EdTechReview
