Benefits of Homeschooling – LEAD

Homeschooling is a form of education carried out primarily at the child’s home using standard or open-source study materials. It is usually conducted by parents, though other tutors may also be involved for a few subjects or activities. However, it is in contrast to the conventional schooling system where children of the same age group gather together to get lessons from common teachers. It is run on the belief that parents are primarily responsible for educating their children. Since schooling is carried out at home, emphasis is also put on family relationships, real-life experiences, and other learnings that do not get much attention in regular schools. Though homeschooling is pretty common in the western world today, home schools in India are also increasingly getting recognized.

Here are the top 5 benefits of homeschooling as compared to traditional schooling:

• Improved scope of customization

We all know that schools follow a standard curriculum. Though many schools these days do try to add some extra elements in the form of curriculum or other activities, the scope is more or less well-defined, and parents or students have little say in what needs to be taught. Even if parents choose to follow certain standard books in the home-schooling environment, they can still design a customized curriculum for their children based on their interests and needs. They can also incorporate more project and activity-based learning than conventional schools. Homeschools also do not need to have a long continuous schedule like regular schools. Thus, parents can design a timetable that doesn’t exert their children and provide ample amounts of break times to their kids so that they don’t get bored and have fun while learning rather than feel burdened by schooling.

• Better personal attention

No matter how well funded a school is, they still are limited in terms of how much personal attention they can provide to your child. This is especially true in the case of highly crowded schools in India. In the case of homeschooling, in the majority of the cases, a child gets 1-1 attention which can help them work better on their strengths and weaknesses. Since the entire focus is on them, the parent or tutor can focus on exactly where it is needed and thus handhold in a more effective way. Thus if you want a more focussed preparation for your child, a home school in India can be a good option for you.

• Increased flexibility

If a child is sick and misses school classes, little can be done to help the child recover the lost syllabus. Even if they watch recorded classes or read books, most children find it challenging to cope, especially if they have to take an extended medical leave. In the home-schooling environment, there is greater flexibility. Also, in regular schools vacations are only at the end of term or academic years. So even if a child wants to have a break, it is not possible due to the pre-determined timetables of schools and boards. In the case of homeschooling, parents can introduce flexibility to ensure the learning is fun for their child and doesn’t feel like a punishment.

• Less academic pressure

In traditional classrooms, students are compared with each other most of the time. This includes not just the exam scores but also the pace of learning of each student. For example, rather than looking at exam scores to identify the strengths and weaknesses of students, they are looked at as a measure of someone’s intelligence. In a homeschooling environment, however, there is no scope of comparing marks with other students and hence a higher possibility that it will be looked at as a way to identify areas of improvement. Thus, homeschooling can reduce the overall academic pressure on children, thus enabling a happier learning environment. This is especially applicable in highly competitive Asian countries where children are forced to get good marks. So if you want your child to stay out of the high-pressure environment, a home school in India can be a good option for you.

• Improved safety

This is especially applicable for countries in the western world where there are multiple incidents where kids lives may be endangered. This includes shooting, drug abuse or even bullying incidents. Safety is one of the prominent reasons why parents choose homeschooling in such countries. Even in countries like India, some parents might be concerned about their child’s safety for various reasons and opt for a home school in India .

We hope this blog gave you a comprehensive overview of homeschooling. Whatever your decision is about going to a home school in India or sending them to a regular school, it is important to involve your child in the decision-making process.