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Argumentative About Homeschooling

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Published: Mar 19, 2024

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Tailoring education to individual needs, flexible schedule for experiential learning, a nurturing and supportive environment, socialization and social skills, academic rigor and accountability, mitigating drawbacks and finding solutions.

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Homeschooling: Pros and Cons Words: 777
Homeschooling: Argumentation For and Against Words: 1595
Bullying in Schools: Essay Example Words: 904
Homeschooling Disadvantages for Students and Parents Words: 1104

Argumentation For and Against Homeschooling: Essay Example

Homeschooling: essay introduction, why homeschooling is bad: essay body paragraph, why homeschooling is good: body paragraph, home schooling: essay conclusion, works cited.

The popularity of homeschooling seems to increase, although some people are convinced that homeschoolers are not going to amount to anything valuable in the long run. In this speech, I am going to outline the strong points and drawbacks of homeschooling.

It is believed that homeschooled children lack social skills, and their parents bear huge expenses and have no time for themselves; on the other hand, homeschooling perfectly fits the child’s needs, is valued no less than public schooling, and creates closer family bonds; additionally, in contrast to public schools, homeschooling de-stresses children rather than distresses them.

As their strongest argument, skeptics generally maintain that homeschooled children do not receive the social interaction they need. At earlier stages of development, it is critical for children to socialize and advance their communication skills.

Children studying at home do not get this opportunity and are likely to have problems socializing and making friends later in life. An unsociable child is also prone to have troubles with peer acceptance – not least because homeschooling is still regarded as an oddity and deviation.

Another argument is concerned with the cost of home education. At that, it does not matter if the parents choose to educate the child themselves or hire a tutor –in both instances, their budget is likely to be shattered.

A serious point to consider is that, on average, a tutor’s services will cost $30-40 per hour (“The Tutor Guide” par. 1). A parent tutor will probably have to quit their job to get all the time they need. One way or the other, homeschooling is a costly affair.

Apart from the money it takes to homeschool children, parents are likely to devote most of their time to it. Eventually, they might find themselves spending 24 hours a day with their children with not a moment of solitude and privacy left. Although such parental participation does not seem alarming short term, it can be stressful in the long run – which is the reason some parents find they are not quite ready to homeschool.

These arguments are logical and true to life – but let us look on the brighter side.

Those who stand for homeschooling insist that it provides tailor-fit education. The child has a chance to learn at their own pace, which can be slower or faster than that of public school students. It is true that every child is special, and every child’s needs matter.

Still, in cases when children cannot cope with the public school environment, homeschooling can be the only way out (Kirk et al. 2). The parents (or tutor) can fit the education process to their child’s needs – presumably, for the children’s own good.

To counter the parental stress argument, it does not make much logical reasoning to admit homeschoolers are likely to have better relationships with their families. Provided that the parents are not overly authoritative when it comes to educational activities, familial bonds are formed and preserved lifelong.

By educating their children and tracking their progress, parents have a chance to know their children better, which is the cornerstone of good parenting. Additionally, parental involvement can prevent aggressive and destructive behaviors in teens and pre-teens, which is another solid point to consider.

Speaking about aggression, one cannot deny that bullying issues are pressing as ever. Despite public schools’ best efforts, peer pressure is persistent. Homeschoolers, in their turn, are free from the agony and negativity bullying brings.

Consider a harassed school student trying to concentrate – and failing at that. Now consider education in a comfortable homely atmosphere where a child feels loved and valued. In this respect, a homeschooler not only has a chance to focus but also develops an emotionally stable personality.

Finally – and this is good news – there is an extensive list of colleges that accept homeschoolers (Bunday n.pag.). Each year homeschooled students are admitted to study in selected colleges and universities across the U.S. Such institutions like Harvard College, Yale University, University of Chicago, Trinity University, and many others are known to have admitted homeschooled students – that is, without high school diplomas. Many institutions believe homeschoolers are more fit for the scholarly atmosphere. Based on some general tests, portfolios, and application essays, homeschoolers have equal admission chances.

To conclude, it would be wrong to say homeschooling does not have its weak points. Still, the strong points can seem more relevant for some and, eventually, determine their choice of educating children. Whether you think that the strengths of homeschooling outweigh the weaknesses or not, you have to admit the practice is viable and is quite likely to bring positive results.

Bunday, Karl M. “ Colleges That Admit Homeschoolers .” Learn in Freedom. Learn in Freedom, 2013.

Kirk, Samuel, James J. Gallagher, Mary Ruth Coleman, and Nicholas J. Anastasiow.

Educating Exceptional Children. 13th ed. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning, 2011. Print.

“ The Tutor Guide: Tutoring Fees .” Care.com . Care.com, 2016.

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Homeschooling vs Traditional Schooling: pros and cons

As a vast majority of the world went remote in early 2020 at the dawn of the COVID-19 pandemic, students had to quickly adapt to remote learning from home. Due to this, many parents began to consider homeschooling for their child rather than return children to their traditional schooling methods. But what are the pros and cons of homeschooling versus traditional schooling?

Homeschooling: the pros

No commute: Very often, students can only attend certain public schools if they reside in the right district. Alternatively, if they attend a private school further from home, the commute can be long during peak school run hours. As such, homeschooling saves time which can be spent doing further coursework, exploring personal interests, or spending more time with friends and family.
Tailor-made Curriculum: Although certain states/countries may have specific requirements on what it takes to graduate from high school if homeschooled, the option does give students and their parents the luxury of exploring personal interests, going at their own pace, and taking advanced courses where the student is able to.
Custom Schedule: The typical 8am-3pm does not have to hold true with homeschooling! While some legal requirements for a minimum number of hours may be present, students are able to have flexibility to pursue other goals such as competitive gymnastics, travel the world with their families, etc.
Higher performance: According to ThinkImpact, public school students received an average score of 21 out of 36 on the ACT, whereas homeschooled students received an average of 22.8. As for the SATs, homeschoolers scored a nationwide average of 72 points more than their traditional schooled counterparts in the United States in 2020.
Safety: The risks of COVID-19, school shootings, and other unfortunate situations are minimized at home. The extent of safety will also vary upon the neighborhood the school and home are located in.

Homeschooling: the cons

Social life restrictions: Students who are homeschooled do not have classmates with them daily. As such, they can be lonely unless a solid effort is made to interact with peers their age through other activities such as attending a church or place of worship, sports teams, community events, etc.
Pressure on parent’s time: Working a job and raising a child is already a huge time commitment for most adults. As such, being the child’s teacher is an additional burden on parents which not all are able to undertake. Furthermore, a parent will have to ensure that healthy boundaries are set between the parent and child now that the “teacher and student” dynamic is also present.
Cost: The cost of a homeschool curriculum can be a few thousand dollars, whereas public school is free. However, it should be noted that homeschool can be cheaper than private school, so it is up to a family to decide how to best use their educational budget here.

Traditional Schooling: the pros

Social life and development: At school, teens get to spend dozens of hours each week with peers their age, thus giving them a platform to develop their social skills.
Professional instruction: Teachers at schools are qualified, trained professionals who have mastered their craft and in the later grades specialize in their area of instruction.
Structure: Many children thrive on having a set routine and structure in their daily schedules, and schools are the greatest source of structure in a youngster’s life.
Extracurriculars: Schools, especially those with a larger student population, tend to offer extracurriculars which a student is not able to acquire at home. Be it being a part of the chess club, trying out for the football team, or running for student government, certain activities cannot be done in a home setting.
School spirit: Being a member of a school helps develop a youngster’s identity, and students are able to obtain a sense of belonging (provided the school is a good fit for them, of course!).
Fostering independence: From keeping track of their own timetable (deadlines, bus schedules, etc), purchasing/bringing their lunch, and finding their way from classes, traditional schooling helps build valuable life skills which shall help students once they graduate.

Traditional Schooling: the cons

More traditional curriculum: Instead of exploring their own interests, students are forced to study subjects at the same pace as their classmates and course selection is more limited.
Peer pressure: Be it wearing the latest Nike shoes, fitting in with the cool crowd, or dealing with bullies, peer pressure plays a big part of a teenager’s life and is more present in traditional schooling environments.
Overwhelmed teachers: Many teachers have dozens of students on their roster and getting each student’s individual needs met is not often accomplished.
Fitting in: Perhaps the school is simply not a good fit for who your child is – be it the type of curriculum offered, the crowd present, or the overall management of the school.

While these are just a few of the pros and cons seen in traditional schooling vs homeschooling, I would like to remind you that there is no direct answer as to which option is better. A family needs to consider their own needs to make this decision, including their time, teaching capabilities, educational budget, location, future goals, and resources. Here at Crimson we are always happy to discuss these options and also work together to advise a hybrid model if necessary – where students may take some courses outside of school in addition to the courses in their regular schooling. The pandemic has made more families consider homeschooling after seeing how their child has been handling remote learning – but before you jump the gun, make sure to consider all the pros and cons thoroughly!

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Homeschooling Vs Traditional Schooling

This essay will provide a comparative analysis of homeschooling and traditional schooling. It will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each educational approach, covering aspects such as academic outcomes, socialization, curriculum flexibility, and parental involvement. The piece will explore the growing trend of homeschooling, its legal and practical considerations, and how it compares to the traditional school experience in terms of preparing students for higher education and the workforce. You can also find more related free essay samples at PapersOwl about Family.

How it works

Education is of vital essence in our world today, with most focus directed to making sure all individuals get access to education. Many parents are putting a lot of effort in getting the best education for their kids, as long as they can afford so that they can be successful. One of the most controversial topics in education today is whether traditional schooling or homeschooling is better and if both are equals. Many people have argued against homeschooling because of variety of reasons.

For most parents, traditional schooling is the norm for the society, although some have different views and prefer homeschooling. They are the best way for the future as it provides student centered education, that is adaptive to the needs of the students. This paper seeks to discuss on traditional and homeschooling, and while both have a main goal of producing the best performances, they quite differ in terms of meeting the child’s needs, the learning environment, physical activities, and the aspect of socializing.

Traditional schooling is the oldest educational system that has preferences to homeschooling by some people. The traditional schooling is also termed as public schooling, and the cost for learning here are much less compared to homeschooling. This is because the government pays most of the tuition fees, and the parents are left with little responsibilities like buying uniform’s and maintaining their kids. This kind of education system favor’s all the children from humble and rich backgrounds. Besides that, in public schooling, the level of student socialization is high. The children meet with many kids from diverse background from all parts of the region. From this, they get to know and interact with each other, although their cultural and languages differ. In addition, public schooling sponsors most of extra-curricular activities like sporting, club, and participating in bands, that widens the experience of the kid, making them grow healthy and with enough confidence.

Every child learns, listens and watches different concepts differently (Lips, 2008). Not all of them learn at the same pace. Considering this, homeschooling can be the best as it has many benefits. One of the benefits is; there is a child-based curriculum, tailored to specific needs of the child. This curriculum captures the interest of the child, like for instance, if the child is interested in farming or engineering, they would only be thought specific subjects. In farming, mathematic subject can be thought since there are some calculations like determining the area of land and how much crop can be planted. Traditional schooling on the other hand has one curriculum per class, and the ratio of students to teachers can vary greatly. Some of the students in this curriculum can lose focus easily as they are not drawn to the system. Which if the students could have the curriculum designed specifically to them, they might have a better enjoyment and focus to their education leading to more academic achievements.

Another main factor in learning is the type of environment. The environmental settings can have a great influence to the education of the child and their academic achievements. In comparing the two educational systems, it is evident that pubic schooling could have much more distractions compared to homeschooling. For instance, social peers and popularity contests can bring many distractions to the full potential of the child. For this reason, there is a rise in homeschooling as the parents have increased concerns of their children’s welfare, like peer pressure, academic quality, and violence. Children in homeschooling on the other hand have a very comfortable environment that could lead the students to have a better concentration in academics. Evidence from research suggests the same, and looking at a study by Dr. Lawrence Rudner from Maryland University, the percentage of students achieving well in academics are high in homeschooling, and are about 70th to 80th percentile. (Snyder, 2011). From this study, it is evident that there is immense difference between traditional schooling and homeschooling. The environmental factors have their own benefits, but considering the children produced in homeschooling, they are brilliant and later on successful. Seemingly, not having social distractions like those in public schools’ benefits children who are homeschooling, and they have better odds of academic achievements.

Do the students achieve this much with just pen and paper? Of course not, as there has been a rise in technology that have played a bigger role in the education of the children. Currently, technology is advancing in our world, and homeschooling have become more popular approach in education. Although we cannot question the effectiveness of traditional education, as some are still effective, homeschooling has become the best approach in this case. (Andrade, 2008). It shows best results and its curriculum caters for the needs of the child. In technological advancement, this system can allow the children to access computers used for streaming important information and downloading study software. In some, the students can participate in virtual classrooms, where they meet at scheduled time to discuss ideas and concepts and in the process improving education. Although technological advancements are making approach to traditional schools, they are doing it slow and homeschooling has its claws in technology. It has been documented that it is effective and has shown great strides. With any problem, there can always be improvements and upgrades. We would still be patient to see the improvement of technology in our public schools.

Traditional schooling has many challenges, both to the teachers and to the parents. The parents would constantly worry about the safety of their children, while on the other hand, the teachers have a big work load as they are involved with a higher ratio of children. The high number of children makes it hard to ascertain if they effectively learn. The parents have no accountability to the actions of their kids. Some of the kids might get into fights or get an injury, but the only concern put by the parents are the whereabouts of the teacher. This is not that much effective compared to homeschooling where there is a great deal of advantages. In this setting, the parents have total dedication to their children’s activities. They would be committed in following the kid’s academic progress. Compared to traditional schooling, the performances and grades of the children would always be much ahead. This is because they give much attention to their subjects and they have immediate access to their ‘teachers.’

In meeting the child’s needs, public schools are no better than homeschooling. Most of the child’s necessities and needs can be comfortably met at a home setting compared to public school. Besides, there is family togetherness, where every child grows practicing family values and cultures, and in the process getting rooted to these practices of maintaining discipline, respect and many positive values in the society. In the family, most chores are done together, where one helps the other to achieve a purpose. This in essence is an essential part in the child’s learning. The child is given the opportunity to show his best roles and worth to the family, and in the process making the child feel part and parcel of the family.

Over the years, most of the parents have adopted homeschooling for their kids. There have been rise in controversial topics concerning the same, regarding the effectiveness of the approach to education. In evaluating the effectiveness, we find that that homeschooling is the way for the future. It offers student centered education adaptive to the needs of the individual. It allows the curriculum to be developed according to specific needs of the child and the parents, as well as providing the best environment for best academic achievements. The evolvement of technology has even made it easier as it is easy to track academic work of the child. (Andrade, 2008). Though both traditional schooling and homeschooling posses a lot of similarities and dissimilarities, their differences exceed their similarities. Looking at all the factors surrounding education, currently homeschooling might seem to be the best option for its results. (Isenberg, 2007). In the other hand, traditional schooling is still adored by the majority of the society, as some lack the resources and time to offer homeschooling. I think that when it comes to making the decision, it would be the individual choice to decides on what’s necessary, not forgetting the benefits and delimits of each choice. But as time unfolds, the question still remains, what’s best for our students?

In summing up the quality of education is essential for the country and for the type of developments the county would have. Therefore, much focus should be made towards attaining quality education, whether in traditional schools or home schools. Funds and resources should be directed towards attaining this. The quality off education homeschooling brags with makes it more advantageous to public schools. This implies that this educational system should be much preferred and adopted wherever possible. The greatest investment a parent can make is educating his child. Education comes with more returns and rewards than we can ever imagine. The aim is to produce competent and knowledgeable professionals who would provide solutions to most challenges in the society.

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Homeschooling, Its Advantages and Disadvantages Essay

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Nowadays, education is extremely important because it provides the representatives of the general public to receive the knowledge needed to live an independent life to the fullest. At school, children have an opportunity to learn how to communicate with different people, obtain basic skills and knowledge required for further education or work, and become real members of their communities. However, more and more parents today focus on the benefits of homeschooling.

They believe that such an approach provides their children with the possibility to learn better and base their decision on pedagogical and/or family-related reasons (Guterman & Neuman, 2017). However, even though homeschooling provides freedom, flexibility, and control over the activities aligned with the learning process, it prevents a child from socialization, requires many resources, and excessively increases togetherness.

Homeschooling is rather advantageous because it provides the representatives of the general public with an opportunity to experience freedom. This point includes both the freedom to decide what to do and when and the freedom from adverse situations. For instance, parents have the possibility to change the planned organization of lessons if they are under the pressure of particular circumstances or believe that a child needs to focus on something more.

In addition to that, receiving education at home, children have the possibility to avoid bullies and problems with peers, which influence their mental state negatively. It is also possible to consider religious freedom. In this way, parents are free to decide whether religion should be included in the curriculum or not.

A flexible schedule and an opportunity to change the pace of learning is another advantage of homeschooling. Parents can decide what information to discuss and how to do it. In this way, they can provide their children with “wonderful educational experiences” and ensure “a very stimulating learning environment” (Fedele, 2010, para. 62). Thus, kids are likely to have positive views on education.

Homeschooling provides a lot of control to parents. They are able to make decisions regarding children’s curriculum, diet, and extra-curriculum activities. As a result, parents can devote more hours to studying and ensure that their children eat healthy food (Guterman & Neuman, 2017, p. 303). Thus, homeschooling is the best option for children who have some health issues.

Nevertheless, it is more difficult for those who receive education at home to enter society. Socialization is critical for the future because people need to constantly interact with one another. The school allows children to learn coping mechanisms and understand how to approach various people.

Being educated by parents only, children fail to learn all the information they can receive at school. As a rule, people are good at a limited number of subjects, which means that parents tend to lack knowledge in various spheres. As one of the individuals who practiced homeschooling said, “I’m English, their dad is political science. There are some things we don’t know” (Martin, 2013, para. 24). Still, the situation can be improved if to involve the community but not only parents (Martin, 2013). In this way, practices similar to those maintained at school will be held.

Moreover, family relations can be worsened by excessive togetherness. Spending almost all the time with one another, parents and children may become tired and unwilling to communicate. Conflicts may occur without any significant reasons. This rationale may be appropriate only if a child is “not socially and emotionally ready for school” (Fedele, 2010, para. 7).

Thus, homeschooling is a great option to receive an education without attending school, but it is not its substitute. It seems to be better for children to follow the way of the majority to be aligned with them in the future. Parents are not able to teach everything, they need some time for themselves, and children should be socialized. Homeschooling is the best option if a family faces issues, but it is not the best for a general situation.

Guterman, O., & Neuman, A. (2017). Different reasons for one significant choice: Factors influencing homeschooling choice in Israel. International Review of Education, 63 (3), 303-318.

Fedele, R. (2010). When it comes to schooling, there’s no place like home . Web.

Martin, M. (2013). Parents on the pros and cons of homeschooling . Web.

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Homeschooling pros and cons - Is homeschool better than public school?

We discuss the benefits of homeschooling and the difficulties parents may face. Is homeschooling better or worse for children than standard education?

Is homeschooling better than public school?

The critically acclaimed American film Captain Fantastic , directed by Matt Ross, has made many families think about the problems and benefits of homeschooling . In the film Ben Cash (Viggo Mortensen) and his wife Leslie live with his six children in the wilderness in the Northwest. These children don't go to school but are educated directly by their parents into critical thinking, left-wing politics and living in harmony with nature . However, after the Leslie dies, they are forced to leave their small paradise and face the challenges of American society. As in Captain Fantastic , many parents today decide to opt out of the traditional public or private school and take full responsibility of the education of their kids. These families make some sacrifices and may encounter some problems, however, they are often very satisfied and proud of the results of homeschooling. We discuss here if homeschooling is better and worth the effort and potential risks.

What is homeschooling? Approaches

Homeschooling refers to the education of children at home rather than in a private or public school environment. An increasing numbers of parents have decided to educate their kids outside the formal education institutions. Often this is due to a lack of trust in the public education system or to strong beliefs concerning alternative methods of individualized learning which could hardly be offered in regular schools .

There are different approaches to homeschooling. The most common are:

Classic or Socratic method: it focuses on the Trivium, this is teaching based on the three stages of the child's cognitive development (concrete, analytical or abstract thinking).
The Charlotte Mason method: it is based on the belief that children can better learn from real-life experiences and situations and absorb things from the environment.
Unit studies: revolves around a specific area of interest or theme. Children get in-depth knowldege by analysing that topic from different disciplinary angles (maths, language, history , etc.)
Unschooling or natural learning: founded by John Holt, it is based on the belief that children better learn subjects like language, math, arts, etc. naturally, without following any formal lesson schedule or homework .
Relaxed or eclectic homeschooling: it is based on combining and alternating the different methods of homeschooling.

Watch these videos discussing the problems and benefits of homeschooling

Homeschooling pros and cons

Homeschooling is also a highly controversial issue and there are discrepancies on how different governments deal with this issue. Due to the different approaches to homeschooling some education authorities find very difficult to monitor if children outside schools comply with the expected standards. Homeschooling is only legal in some countries such as the UK, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the US. In America, homeschooling requirements vary across states. For instance, in New York, Philadelphia and Rhode Island homeschooling is highly regulated, while in other states, such as Texas, Michigan and Alaska parents have extreme freedom with homeschool and do not even need to give notice to the authorities. Click here to see what are homeschooling requirements in your state.

These are the most important benefits of homeschooling:

Homeschooling pros

It is an expression of educational freedom . Children usually experience fewer constraints than in formal education. Parents can choose what to prioritize.
Less pressure on children and capacity to adapt to the needs and abilities of children. They avoid competition and bullies and learn at their own rythm.
Some parents think that religious education is important and insufficiently covered in schools. Homeschool allows parents to devote more time and effort to faith and religious studies.
Flexibility : no need to go to school or follow school calendar and timetable. Families can also travel outside typical course breaks and holidays.
Strengthen family relationships . As parents spend much more time with their children, they get to know each other much better.
Some studies show that children educated home score as good or better than those attending schools.

On the other hand the critics of home education point at the following disadvantages:

Homeschool cons

Homeschooling can create problems of socialization because children do not interact very often with other children outside their family. In particular interactions with children of different ethnic or socio-cultural backgrounds are minimal.
Likelihood of inadequate standards of academic quality and comprehensiveness. Not all parents have a thorough understanding of the education system and therefore they may miss the mark when delivering content and helping their children develop useful skills.
Formal pedagogical training . Not all parents can facilitate education as teachers do. Teachers undergo formal education on how to lead classes and deal with challenges.
Children may develop extremist views (religious or political) or values that are inconsistent with the country's standards of citizenship and community. As parents control homeschool and children interact less with other adults and kids, if parents hold radical beliefs and attitudes, they will be likely transmitted through homeschooling.
Capacity of the homeschool children to adapt to secondary and higher education institutions may be undermined. Some children educated home may experience a cultural shock when enter a much more rigid and formalized education system.

Homeschool vs public school, do you think society and governments should play a role in childrens' education? Is better than children adapt to school or should school be adapted to individual children? Is homeschooling a sort of gamble or experiment for some children?

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Raising Kids

All the Pros and Cons to Consider Before Homeschooling Your Kids

Going from traditional schooling to homeschooling is a big step. Weigh the pros and cons of homeschooling before making the decision.

Pros of Homeschooling

Cons of Homeschooling

Choosing to homeschool your kids is not a new concept, but no matter the era or time period, parents have considered homeschooling their children rather than enrolling them in the traditional school system . And right in now, homeschooling is a growing trend: National Center for Education Statistics reports that between 1999 and 2012, the number of homeschooled kids doubled.

There is a wide range of reasons why a family might consider homeschooling in this modern era. Knowing the pros and cons of homeschooling will help you decide what is best for your kids and for the family as a whole. Plus you might also need to know how much homeschooling costs and if you're interested in joining a homeschooling co-op .

We’ve rounded up a list of common advantages and pitfalls you may encounter—with input from real-world homeschooling parents. As you weigh your decision, give some thought to how each of these might impact your own circumstance and trust that whatever decision you make will be the right one for your family.


Freedom	Workload
Flexibility	Less time for yourself
Individualized education	Inability to work
Strong relationships	Too much togetherness
Avoid school stress	Missing out on certain opportunities
	Facing judgment and bias

Fabio Principe / iStock / Getty Images Plus

Whether you call it self-determination, freedom, or control, one clear advantage of homeschooling is the ability to make your own choices. As a homeschooler, you’ll be able to freely travel or move, include religious teaching in day-to-day learning, and not worry about social pressures or bullying your child may encounter at school.

Plus, in home-based education, all subjects are fair game, from sailing to sewing to science. Practical skills, volunteering , artistic pursuits, and traditional trades can all fall under the broad umbrella of homeschooling. According to some homeschoolers, teachable moments are always happening and learning isn't limited to school hours.

Flexibility

Who doesn’t like to set their own schedule? By educating at home, you determine the structure of your day. If your child struggles to wake up by 7 a.m., for example, you can start school later. And, since homeschool timing is fluid, you can go ahead and make your child's dentist appointment on a Tuesday at noon. There are many different homeschool schedules to try out.

Individualized education

Every child is different. Unfortunately, in the larger group setting of regular school, teachers can’t always tailor lessons to your child’s unique needs. At home, on the other hand, you can meet your child right where they are, customizing lessons to their particular interests.

Does your younger child need a little extra help with math ? Take an extra 15 minutes to help them understand fractions. Is your older kid into outer space? Start an astronomy unit!

Homeschooling also lets you vary your approach from child to child if you have more than one—in terms of learning styles and grade levels. Plus, you get to celebrate any success or achievement together in real time.

Strong relationships

The more time you spend with your kids, the more opportunities arise for bonding. If you’ve always wished for more hours in the day as a family, perhaps homeschooling is the boon you’ve been craving.

Positive experiences like fun field trips , a-ha moments in learning, and “recess” at the park can all build closer parent-child and sibling-to-sibling relationships.

In some cases, homeschooling’s flexible schedule can even allow for more time with both parents—if work schedules usually limit time together on weekends or holidays.

Avoid school stress

For some kids, the anxiety from stepping into the school doors lasts long past the first few days of school. Having a nervous stomach or a few tears is normal when a new school year begins, but when it doesn't go away, you may be dealing with school anxiety.

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 2% to 5% of school-age children are impacted with school anxiety. For some kids, this may be part of separation anxiety or general anxiety, but for others, it's a symptom of bullying or learning difficulties.

If school stress and anxiety is debilitating and persistent, homeschooling may be an answer. Many parents who homeschool report that one of their primary reasons for choosing this route is because it also limits their exposure to violence, drugs, and alcohol.

Cons of Homeschooling

In addition to the domestic responsibilities of your role as a parent, you’re now a teacher, tutor, curriculum researcher, and principal.

It’s quite possibly the biggest reason of all not to homeschool: Teaching your kids at home is simply a lot of work, on top of all the other errands and chores that parents are usually saddled with.

Creating, teaching, and grading a day’s or week’s worth of learning on multiple subjects takes serious time and effort. (However, many prepared curriculum packages do exist.) Plus, as delightful as it can be to tailor education to each child’s learning style, this can add to your workload, too.

And if you have younger children at home who aren’t school age, you may also struggle to keep them occupied while you sit down to teach older kids.

Less time for yourself

Not surprisingly, the workload of homeschooling—and kids home all day—is likely to leave you with less time for yourself. Some homeschooling parents say they don’t have time to shower, let alone exercise or take care of their own needs .

For parents who are used to a quiet, kid-free environment during the day, this aspect of homeschooling can be a major adjustment.

Inability to work

All the work of homeschooling is guaranteed to take up hours of your day. Therefore, as a homeschooling parent, you may not be able to work outside the home, or you may have to cut your hours significantly. For some households, this may be a financial deal-breaker .

Too much togetherness

While many families find that homeschooling boosts good vibes between siblings and parents, there is such a thing as too much togetherness.

You may find that spending all day, every day, with your kiddos (and they with each other) leads to feelings of frustration or confinement. You may also go through an adjustment period as your kids learn how to view (and respect) you as their teacher.

It’s important to work in breaks, both for yourself and your kids. Or, depending on the resources in your area, you might try a homeschooling co-op or enrichment program one day a week to provide your kids socialization with others outside the family.

Missing out on certain opportunities

Despite the enormous flexibility of homeschooling, in some ways, it can limit opportunities for your child. For high schoolers , for example, a homeschool curriculum may not be able to provide the same variety of electives as a large public school. (After all, most of us don’t have a metal shop in the backyard.)

If your child wants to pursue subjects you can’t easily teach at home, you’ll have to be diligent about seeking alternatives and potentially signing up for extra curricular activities outside, like dance classes or sports teams, as your child's interests grows or they decide they want to socialize with a wider range of their peers.

The same holds for social opportunities. As a homeschooler, it’s up to you to provide social interaction your child won’t get from school dances, assemblies, and everyday classroom partner work.

Facing judgments and biases

Let's be honest: Homeschooling doesn’t necessarily have a reputation for being cool and modern. Unfortunately, plenty of biases and stereotypes exist around homeschooling and the folks who choose it.

You may need to develop a thick skin toward other people’s judgments of your decision to educate at home.

Consider Your Options

When more and more parents are exploring the wide world of homeschooling, it’s wise to look at the many advantages and disadvantages of this type of education.

Do some soul searching and have a serious discussion with your partner about whether this could be the right choice for your child's and family's needs. And don’t forget to find out how your kids feel about the subject! With everyone’s thoughts and feelings on the table, you can determine if homeschooling is best for you and your family.

Digest of Education Statistics 2017: 53rd Edition. US Department of Education. 2019.

Homeschooling and Educational Freedom: Why School Choice Is Good for Homeschoolers . Cato Institute. 2019.

School Refusal . Anxiety & Depression Association of America . 2019.

Research Facts on Homeschooling . National Home Education Research Institute. 2024.

argumentative essay about home schooling beneficial or not

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School Education /

Essay on Home Schooling in 150, 250 and 400 words

Updated on
Jan 8, 2024

Homeschooling refers to the practice of education at home or any other place outside the school premises. Over the years, the popularity of homeschooling has increased quite a bit. It is much more convenient for both students as well as parents. It saves time, is efficient, and de-stresses children, unlike normal schools that distress children. But just like everything else, along with the pros, homeschooling too has some cons.

A lot of people believe that education in homeschooling is confined to home boundaries only. These students are not able to develop social skills and find it hard to socialise with others. Some of them become introverts too. These are just misconceptions. We have provided below samples of essays on homeschooling. Let’s have a look at them.

Table of Contents

1 Essay on Home Schooling in 150 words
2 Essay on Home Schooling in 250 words
3 Essay on Home Schooling in 400 words

Essay on Home Schooling in 150 words

Homeschooling is a concept that has been becoming quite popular over the years. Especially in times of natural calamities and pandemics such as COVID-19, it has gained quite a reputation for being an alternative to traditional schooling. Some of the benefits of homeschooling include convenience for both, children as well as parents. It provides tailor-fit learning education to children as every child has his/her own learning pace.

Homeschooling de-stresses children, unlike schools that distress them. But just like any other thing, homeschooling too has some drawbacks. One of the drawbacks that most concern parents is that their child would not be able to have social interaction. Children need to have social interaction in the early stages of childhood to develop their minds. Hence, it’s up to each child and parent whether to take up homeschooling or not.

Essay on Home Schooling in 250 words

One of the aspects that has been gaining quite a lot of attention and popularity is homeschooling. Over the years, it has been gaining quite a reputation of becoming an alternative to traditional schooling. Homeschooling is a good way to deliver tailor-fit education to children as every child has his/her own pace of learning.

So for children who are unable to cope with the pace of school education, homeschooling is a great option for them. Homeschooling is extremely convenient for both, children as well as parents. It saves time and money as well. The children who are homeschooled have to deal with less stress as traditional schooling gives them a lot of stress. By tracking the progress of their child on their own, parents get to understand their child better and hence make necessary adjustments for them.

But just like any other thing, homeschooling too has some drawbacks. One of the major drawbacks is that children who are homeschooled lack social skills. Having social international for children in their early stages of childhood is essential for developing their minds. Children who are homeschooled may even become introverts. Parents might find it stressful for them in the long run to have to homeschool their child if they do it on their own.

They might also not be able to have any time for themselves. Homeschooling is a choice that requires assessing the situation. It might be suitable for some, while others may not find it fit for them. Hence, the decision to homeschool should be made judiciously.

Essay on Home Schooling in 400 words

Over these past few years, the concept of homeschooling has gained quite a lot of attention. Especially in a time like the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become an alternative to traditional schooling for many parents. Parents can hire a tutor for the same or can even teach their children themselves. Homeschooling has a lot of pros for both, parents as well as children.

Pros of Home Schooling

Also for many students, the school environment can become quite stressful making it difficult for them to get comfortable and hence causing them stress. Homeschooling, on the other, de-stresses children. They are safe from even getting bullied and have the comfort of their own home. Parents get a chance to track their child’s progress and hence, get to know them better. Such a thing generates positivity all around.

Cons of Home Schooling

But just like any other thing, homeschooling too has some drawbacks. One of the major drawbacks that concern parents the most is that their children would not be able to have proper social interactions. Social interactions are very important in the early stages of childhood to develop a child’s mind properly.

Failure in that can even lead to a child becoming introverted. Some of the homeschooled children also face problems in mixing with others. For parents, depending on the situation, homeschooling can turn out to be costly as the tutors they hire may charge high fees from them. Parents may also find that they are not able to have time for themselves, which, in the long, can become quite stressful for them.

The decision of homeschooling shouldn’t be just opted for the convenience of it. Parents should take into account every scenario of their current as well as to some extent, their near future situations to make a correct decision. Hence, it would be fitting to say that the decision to homeschool should be made judiciously.

Deepansh Gautam

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Home Schooling: Pros, Cons, What You Need to Know

Just a few weeks into COVID-related distance learning, Lauren Pelissier’s 11-year-old son, Jack, started really struggling. “Being on a screen with 20 to 30 kids and not being able to connect with another student or the teacher was really hard on him,” says the Georgia mom and event planner. “There was a lot of confusion, tears, and sadness.”

They stuck it out for the rest of the year. But in the spring, when their school district was waffling on a return to in-person learning for fall, Pelissier took action. She wanted to find an option that was “solid and consistent.” But she also knew she wasn’t prepared, or even able, to home-school Jack herself. So she did what any desperate parent does: She went to Google.

Pelissier “typed in ‘private homeschool instruction’” and quickly found her way to a small home school created by two local parents. And with that, she joined a national trend of families struggling with virtual school who are looking to home-school for the first time.

Jamie Heston, a home-school consultant in the Bay Area of California and a former board member of the Homeschool Association of California, has been hosting “Homeschool 101” a few times a year to an audience of 20 to 30 people. Since last April, she’s “been doing them weekly and getting 100 people every time.”

We put together a Homeschool 101 to answer common questions for any family that’s home-school-curious.

What Is Home Schooling?

“Home schooling is a broad umbrella,” says Blair Lee, founder of SEA Homeschoolers, the nation’s largest secular home-school organization. What started as a grassroots movement among Christian and “hippie” families has become a booming industry.

“More families are drawn to home schooling because they feel the public education system is not a good fit for their child,” Heston says.

“At its heart,” Lee says, “home schooling is education with a focus on the individual.”

Why Home Schooling?

“The most profound benefit of home schooling is there is no timeline for learning anymore,” Lee says. That means if, for any reason, the pace of traditional school doesn’t work for your child, you can create a pace tailored to them. This might mean moving faster through material and getting to additional areas of study or having focused time in challenging areas.

Pelissier says Jack is doing really well in an environment that lets him tap into his creativity. “The public school system kind of put him in a box,” she says. “Looking back, he was really stifled; there was no room for his brain to expand beyond what was being provided to him.”

In his new “school,” Pelissier says, there’s room for him to grow in relation to his interests.

Who’s a Good Candidate for Home Schooling?

“Anyone can benefit from this approach,” says Blair. But home schooling could really be a good fit if your child:

Is gifted or has a learning challenge and would benefit from more individual teaching
Has sensory issues and finds the school environment overwhelming
Is an actor or athlete who needs a more flexible schedule
Is being bullied at school
Learns better at their own pace
Has behavioral issues in school. These are often related to movement and behavior. They disappear in a home-school setting.

It can also help if someone in your family has a medical condition that requires limiting germs in the home ( pandemic or no pandemic).

Where Do I Start?

Home schooling is regulated by states, so there isn’t any one-stop shopping. Getting set up can be confusing.

Search for your state’s home-schooling organization to find out what it looks like where you live, Lee says.

“Every state is different,” Heston says. “Some you have to file a letter of intent. Some states have charter programs that are still under the public school system.”

They also vary in what they expect your kids to learn. “Some are completely hands-off, and you have a lot of autonomy,” Heston says. Others require you to submit a plan that the superintendent has to review. California, for example, says you need to provide an equivalent education to public school and cover the main topics. But, Heston says, you have complete flexibility in how you do that.

Once you know what your state requires, reach out to home-school groups (most of which are on Facebook) to find out what people are doing in your area. “Find two or three groups with descriptions that seem like they would be a good fit for your child or family, and join them, and ask questions,” Heston says. You’ll likely find like-minded folks who can serve as mentors, sharing resources for curriculum, local programs, and more.

How Do I Know What and How My Kid Should Learn?

You can buy an all-in-one curriculum and just “open the box and do it,” Heston says. But she encourages families to experiment before they spend money on anything. “It takes some time to find out what works for your kid and your home and your schedule -- and you can get overwhelmed with all the choices out there.”

“I usually see home school fail when people try to duplicate school at home -- when I see people making out long, specific schedules,” says Richmond, VA., home-schooler Alycia Wright. “For most people, that’s not real life, and that’s exactly what you’re trying to get rid of. You don’t need a classroom. A kitchen table will be fine.”

“Just start somewhere covering your major topics and then fine-tune it,” Heston says.

“Embrace the freedom and try it,” says Wright. “If it doesn’t work, you can change it up.”

Don’t Home-Schoolers Get Left Behind?

When parents are worried about keeping their kids “on track,” Heston tells them, “topics like math, reading, and writing are linear, so any program you use is going to keep you ‘on track.’”

For subjects like science and history, which aren’t necessarily covered every day in school, “there are a million and one websites out there that will tell you what the typical topics are and what kinds of experiments you can do.”

History was one of the main reasons Wright, a mom of three and former public school teacher, began home schooling. “In school, they start talking about African Americans in 1619 with slavery,” she says. “So, your whole lens starts with these traumatic events.”

Wright, who is Black, wanted to give her kids a fuller view of history that reflects her culture and community. She’s part of a movement among African Americans who are finding freedom in home schooling where they “can research and find all the stories that we wish we had when we were children, all the stories that are missing from the books.”

Can Home-Schooled Kids Get Into College?

“You can go to college as a home-schooler, no problem,” Heston says. “Most colleges now have special admissions officers just for the home-schooling set, and they covet home-schoolers because they know they are more autonomous.”

“Colleges have become very home school friendly,” says Lee, whose son got scholarship offers from all but one of the colleges he wanted to go to. And Wright says home schooling helped her oldest daughter enter college at 15. “Even though she didn’t get a traditional education, she was able to move at her own pace, which is what enabled her to get to such an advanced place,” she says.

What if I Don’t Want to -- or Can’t -- Teach My Kids?

You aren’t alone. But there are many small programs such as the one Pelissier found. It’s more like a mini-school, she says. “There’s been real growth in that area,” Lee adds.

Pelissier researched home schools with an outside teaching component. She found a hybrid home school, “which is 2 days a week in person, taught by teachers, and 3 days a week independent work, at home with little to no screens.”

Or you can look into a co-op like the one Wright founded. When she started home schooling, she says, she did a lot of networking to find other home-schooling families of color. As a result of her efforts, she launched the Cultural Roots Homeschool Co-Op. Her goal was to create a broad network of home-schoolers that can help culturally diverse kids learn more about their own backgrounds.

Co-op members can share teaching responsibilities or pool resources to hire a teacher for some or all of the subjects.

Other options include:

Using outside “vendors” that offer math, science, nature, and other programs, much like an afterschool program. Your child attends those for a portion of the day or the week.
Looking for public school programs that offer 2 days a week in a more typical school environment, and the other days you home-school

The bottom line, Heston says, is that “there are all kinds of different programs out there.”

Will Home Schooling Isolate My Kids?

Home-schooling folks hear lots of concerns about kids not interacting with others their age.

And while that’s true to some extent, they say home-schoolers still have plenty of opportunities to connect with other kids. It just takes some work.

“Everything that schools have, we have as well, just in smaller groups,” says Heston, who helps organize teen parties, moms’ nights out, Nerf battles, park days, field trips, and team day competitions.

With the home-school population growing during the pandemic, Heston says, “there’s going to be an even larger contingency of people clamoring for connection.”

And one of them will be Jack Pelissier. “This has worked out significantly better than I could have ever imagined,” his mom says. “I was exposed to it as a byproduct of COVID, but he will probably stay there, because the format works better for him as a person.”

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Health & Safety

The Homeschooling Debate: Advantages & Disadvantages

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, interest in homeschooling has been increasing. The exact number of children that are currently homeschooled is unknown, however it is estimated that there are over 80,000 children being homeschooled in the UK.

Choosing to homeschool is not a decision to be made lightly. Permanent homeschooling may not be what you expect and the education provided for children that are homeschooled must be efficient, full-time and suitable. To help you make an informed decision, we will look at the debate around homeschooling, thinking about the potential positive and negative effects, and how to tell if it is right for your child.

What Does Homeschooling Mean?

Legally, every child in the UK needs to have an education. However, they don’t have to attend school to get this education; they could also be educated somewhere else, such as at home.

‘Homeschooling’ is also known as ‘home educating’ or ‘elective home education’ (EHE). Some people distinguish between EHE and homeschooling, defining EHE as permanent home education, and homeschooling as temporary with continued support from their previous school (like the situation during the COVID-19 pandemic). However, the UK government uses the terms interchangeably to mean permanent home education, and this article will follow their lead.

Parents that decide to homeschool their children must ensure that the education provided is efficient, full-time and suitable for the child’s needs. However, the education provided does not have to follow the National Curriculum .

Being homeschooled means that the child’s parents or carers have to take sole responsibility for their child’s education . This doesn’t mean that you have to teach your child yourself – for example, you could hire tutors, or use online tuition – but rather if their education is found to be inadequate, you are accountable for this. The Local Authority monitors the quality of education being provided at home, including annual assessments and visits to your home. They have the power to issue a School Attendance Order or an Education Supervision Order, if necessary.

You are also responsible for covering the costs of the education, including public exam fees. Schools and Local Authorities are not required to give homeschooling parents any support, even special educational needs support. Additionally, when you withdraw your child from their school roll, their place will not stay open. If homeschooling doesn’t work, you may not be able to send your child back to the same establishment.

Flexi-Schooling

There is sometimes the option for a child to do flexi-schooling. This is where you arrange for your child to receive part of their education at a school, college or other education provider, so that they can take subjects that are difficult to teach from home. Schools and education providers don’t have to agree to doing this, but some are happy to do so; you might find a list of these particular establishments on your Local Authority’s website.

Why Do People Choose to Homeschool?

The most common reasons for parents and carers choosing to homeschool a child are:

The child’s health issues, particularly mental health issues – for example, anxiety, school phobia, separation anxiety or depression.
Special educational needs and/or disabilities not being met within the school system – for example, dyslexia, autism or gifted and talented needs.
The child being bullied.
The child’s unwillingness or inability to go to school.
As a short-term intervention for a particular reason.
The parent’s ideological or philosophical views – for example, they might support the concept of ‘unlearning’.
Dissatisfaction with the school system – for example, disliking the National Curriculum, believing that children start school too early or that the school system does not suit their child.
Distance to a local school.

Some parents also choose to homeschool as a way of avoiding their child being excluded. However, this is often more harmful than helpful, and the government advises against it.

What are the Advantages of Homeschooling?

There are a number of benefits that homeschooling has for children and their parents, including:

Individualised Learning

One key benefit is the fact that, if you homeschool, you can personalise the education that your child receives according to their interests, needs and ability. This might include spending more time outside doing physical exercise or letting them learn more about a subject that has piqued their interest. When education is personalised, children are more engaged.

Additionally, subjects that they are less confident with can take up more of the day, when necessary. In schools, whilst teachers are required to adapt their practice to meet the needs of each pupil, they have to balance the needs of the whole class. Teaching one-to-one gives the child much more attention, and leads to less wasted time. In fact, some parents report getting a day’s worth of learning completed in two hours.

The efficiency of homeschooling – and the fact that you don’t have to follow the National Curriculum or the typical timings of a school day – leaves you with time to spend broadening your child’s learning. You can make more time for play, projects, experiments and the arts. Real-life skill building – including cooking, cleaning, volunteering and learning to budget – could form a part of your school day. You could also choose to learn in different places, like museums, parks and science centres.

Achievement Without Stress

Even if you are following the curriculum – which you will need to do if you intend to enter your child in GCSE or A-Level exams – you don’t purely need to teach to the tests. Your child won’t have continuous mock exams and assessments. They will have time to learn things that they want to learn on top of what they have to learn. As a result, they could be less stressed, and less likely to experience burnout.

A lack of stress could be the reason behind the success that homeschooled children seem to achieve. Research from the National Home Education Research Institute found that, on average, children that are homeschooled scored 30% higher than public school students on their public exams.

Children who are homeschooled often have much more well-developed CVs than other children’s, due to the extra time available to them. Although some universities and employers might not understand homeschooling, many (including Oxford and Cambridge) are happy to accept homeschooled children, as long as they meet their grade requirements.

Flexibility for Your Whole Family

Being able to homeschool from anywhere, at any time, means that you could move as much as you wanted (or needed) to. For this reason, it often suits Armed Forces families, or those that need to travel.

You can schedule schooling around work shifts and appointments and go on holiday out of peak seasons. If your child or someone in your family is ill, homeschooling gives them a way to spend more time together.

There’s also the advantage of no school run – you and your children are able to get up at the time that suits you. This is a particular advantage for teenagers, since their biological clocks shift during this period of life.

Social Development

If you homeschool, your children have the ability to socially develop in a different way. For example, you might have close family relationships with strong shared values. Rather than feeling the pressure to change to fit in, they can be themselves – whatever that might look like.

Moreover, your child can be involved in the local community, and meet people of all ages and backgrounds to develop their social skills. You might join local homeschooling groups, where you can socialise with families in the same situation. Parents sometimes share their skills within these groups so that the children are taught most effectively. Your child could also join local activities, such as Scouts, sports clubs or volunteer at community events.

Continuing Education for Parents

Homeschooling is not just about your child’s education – it also helps your own. By teaching your child, you might learn things that you never knew before, whether that is a foreign language, algebra or history. You can share your interests and areas of skill with your child in a meaningful way, too. You might choose to go on trips that you both enjoy, or work together on a project, this leads to personal growth and fulfilment.

In the next section, we will explain some of the challenges that you may be faced with if you are homeschooling.

What are the Challenges of Homeschooling?

In order for you to make a balanced decision, the challenges of homeschooling need to be taken into account alongside the benefits.

By homeschooling, you are making it your responsibility to meet all your child’s educational needs. You have to be able to deliver the depth and breadth of learning that they require in order to meet their potential. This takes time and energy, even if you’re hiring tutors for some lessons; you will still need to ensure that they’re teaching effectively, and that they are suitable to have access to children. Homeschooling also involves preparing the child for any exams that they will sit and taking them to external examination centres to sit them.

In effect, you are adding two more jobs to your role as parent: you are also becoming a teacher and an administrator. As well as doing everything you do already, you have to plan and implement lessons, organise trips, coordinate activities with other parents and make sure that you meet the Local Authority’s requirements. You will be spending a lot of time with your child – perhaps the whole day, every day – and you might not be able to do things that you normally do whilst they are at school. This can lead to stress and fatigue on your part.

Additionally, there is not much help available for homeschooling parents. Some Local Authorities operate support groups or forums, or are willing to give advice, but this is discretionary. There are plenty of internet resources but, unfortunately, the quantity of information does not guarantee quality, and they may not be as helpful as you hoped.

The greatest cost of homeschooling is that you will have to give up your full-time job in order to do so. This has implications for your lifestyle – you will need to be able to budget more than you already do. Your energy bill will also likely increase, because of spending so much more time at home.

Aside from this, you will have to buy textbooks, stationery and a computer. If your child participates in sports activities, or if you go on educational visits, you will likely have to pay for these things too. Exams are a particularly notable expense: rather than the school paying for your child to enter them, you will be responsible for doing so. Each GCSE costs around £36 or more if you’re paying the exam board directly, and each A-Level is at least £50 (or much more, if they choose an unusual subject). You also have to pay the exam centre for letting your child sit the exam there – this costs around £40 per exam, but could be as much as £100, depending on the centre.

Some Local Authorities might provide financial assistance to home-educating families, but this is discretionary. You cannot rely on any outside source of help being provided to you.

Loss of Experiences

Although we acknowledge in the ‘advantages’ section that homeschooled children do still develop socially, they naturally lose some interaction by spending more time at home. They may be out of touch with their peers, have fewer friends and have less experience interacting with people from different backgrounds. Their view of the world could be very narrow and biassed. In the worst cases, they could be brought up to be intolerant and misinformed, with little knowledge of general societal values. This could disadvantage them in the future.

There are also other experiences that homeschooled children miss out on. Schools offer work experience opportunities, the ability to participate in sports leagues and opportunities for recognition and reward (for example, during assemblies). Those who are taught at home do not experience these things, and might feel as though they have missed out.

School-Home Imbalance

A natural disadvantage of homeschooling is that you cannot truly separate home from school. Attempting to maintain structure and balance requires intense self-discipline, focus and planning. It is extremely easy for everyday distractions to get in the way of schoolwork. You might also get into an unhealthy, ineffective routine. As a result, you might not fulfil your duty of providing a good education for your child. You will need to think of strategies to prevent this: for example, you could do schoolwork in a purpose-made room. You could also have regular ‘school’ hours and rules against interruptions. However, you can’t always stop distractions from occurring, and these strategies might not work, depending on your home environment.

Further Education Difficulties

Homeschooled children may well have the ability to get into university, but the application process can be hindered by parents’ lack of knowledge about it. School staff know how to fill in the forms, and have the ability to give you references for UCAS. Parents, on the other hand, are often inexperienced and unsure who to turn to for support. Specialist admissions tutors could be hired to help, but this means further costs for you.

Additionally, homeschooling might be straightforward during the early years, but at A-Level, parents sometimes struggle providing the support and resources that students need to achieve high grades. Subjects that require practical assessments might be particularly tricky to plan for – especially if you have little to no knowledge of the subject that your child is taking. In fact, homeschooling might limit your child’s choice of A-Levels, and thus impact their future career. This is because many courses are not developed with homeschooled children in mind.

Stretched Capacity of Local Authorities

Local Authorities are obliged to check on everyone who is homeschooling. The inspections and assessments might be a stressful experience for you, but they are also a struggle for the authorities themselves: the increase in the number of children being home-educated has severely stretched their capacity to maintain contact with them. This has led to less available support for parents and carers, and less ability for children to be safeguarded – any potential harm to a child might be missed without the presence of trained school staff to pick up on warning signs.

If a child is taken out of school for homeschooling, the school is obliged to tell the local council. However, parents are not obliged to tell the Local Authority. Due to the soaring number of children being homeschooled, local authorities now struggle to attend the home of, and keep track of, all homeschooled children.

Is Homeschooling Right for My Child?

Considering whether homeschooling is right for your child or not is difficult. You need to think about:

Why you want to educate them at home . Is it because doing so would be in their best interests?
What your child thinks about the idea. They should be agreeable to it, because they are the person that it will impact most.
If you have the time, resources and ability to teach your child properly. Think honestly about this.
If your home is suitable in terms of noise, space and the general environment . Do you have the right set-up to sit comfortably – with no distractions – and work for hours?
What support you, as a parent, have from others. There will be times when homeschooling will be difficult and you need some sort of help. Is there anywhere that you could guarantee this support from?
What would happen if you couldn’t teach your child for a period of time (for example, if you were ill). Before you start, you need a back-up plan. If you were ill for a long period of time, you couldn’t just stop all lessons – this would mean that your child would be illegally out of education. Who would replace you as a teacher if anything happened?
Whether you can provide the social, physical and cultural experiences to help your child develop. You need to think outside the box, and actively take your child out into the community. These opportunities won’t just come to you if you homeschool – you have to make it happen.
Your long-term intentions for your child’s education . Will they be home-schooled forever or only for a few years? Thinking about these things could influence what you teach your child, so that they are prepared for the future.

You should also consider the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling that we have outlined in this article, and weigh up which is greater for your child. Homeschooling can be a great decision for some, but disadvantage others – it all depends on the case, and only you know whether it will work for your family.

If you decide that it is right for you, you will need to take a number of steps to start homeschooling, such as removing your child from the school roll. You can find a list of everything you will need to do in our article ‘ How to Begin Homeschooling: Guidance & Requirements ’.

Choosing to homeschool your child is a big decision, and you should be aware of the reasons for and against doing so before you take action. Research has shown that being homeschooled does not impact a child’s social, emotional and psychological development, or their achievement levels – in fact, they often achieve more – but it is a huge, expensive commitment to make. Homeschooling is not right for every family, but if you have the time, money, effort, and home set-up to make it work, your family might thrive in this environment.

Further Resources:

Safeguarding Children Courses
Why is Reading so Important for Children?
The Importance of Routine for Children: Free Weekly Planner
How to Begin Homeschooling: Guidance and Requirements
How to Become a Private Tutor: Information & Safety Guidance

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Her favourite article is How to Talk About Mental Health

Homeschooling vs Public School (Argumentative Essay)

We have a huge base of essay samples. They make our professional service an outstanding place to pay for essays and papers .

Public Schooling versus Homeschooling

Education is viewed as an essential commodity to the future of every child. Parents’ desire is to give their children the best education in a favorable environment. In an attempt to give their children the best education, parents have to choose the best schooling system they feel best considering the abilities of their children. Amongst the choices available are the public education and homeschooling. Homeschool are led and managed by the parents while public schools are governed by the government. Parents make their decisions depending on their social and economic beliefs and other factors depending on the experience they have had with schools. Some parents believe that homeschooling is better than public schooling and reverse is also true to some parents.

Public schooling is the oldest education system in the educational system. It has preferences to homeschooling by some parents. In public school apart from uniforms and other requirements the government pays most of the tuition fees. Payment of tuition fees by the government guarantees most children education, whether from rich or humble backgrounds. This is not the case with homeschooling as parents are forced to buy everything from books to teaching services in homeschooling.

In public school the level of socialization is high. Children meet and interact with other kids from different parts of the country. Children get to know how to communicate to various groups of people from different parts.

Public schools have enough funds to enable students to participate in extra-curricular activities like clubs, bands, and sports. These events make the child grow up physically healthy and with confidence.

Homeschools are gaining popularity due to their advantages over public schools. Many parents see the expenses of homeschool as less than that of public schools. In a homeschool, there are no uniform requirements, and this reduces its expenditures. Also, there are no mandatory fees in homeschooling.

In a homeschool, there is family togetherness. Every child grows up knowing their family values and cultural practices. The family does most of the chores together, which is viewed as an essential part of learning. Each child is given a chance to show his worth and role in the family; this makes children feel part of the household.

Academically, the quality is enhanced in homeschools. The parents choose what curriculum best fit their children depending on children’s ability. Most parents have had education in public schools, and they have their good and bad experience about the quality of academics in public schools. Also, in a homeschool teacher-student ratio is reduced and every student can be attended by a teacher at persona levels, unlike public schools.

In a homeschool the environment is safe, and parents feel their children are secured. The children are free from the danger of drugs, unwanted religion by the parents, bullying, etc., which might not be the case in a public school. With such threats out of mind, the students are safe.

Education quality is essential to the future of each country. Therefore, all efforts and funds should be directed towards quality education. The high quality of teaching in homeschooling makes it have an advantage over the public schools. This implies that the homeschooling should be encouraged and where possible its expenses subsidized by the government. Funding the costs alone may not be enough, but a combination of it and other activities like inter school sports will see homeschooling a great success and a better option.

Peabody Scholars share guidance to inform school voucher policy

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Aug 20, 2024, 1:59 PM

By Jenna Somers

During the 2024 legislative session, the Tennessee General Assembly and Governor Bill Lee attempted to pass a statewide education scholarship account (ESA) program . ESAs—also called education savings accounts—are a type of voucher program that support not only private school tuition but other education-related expenses for families who opt-out of public education. Tennessee policymakers could not find agreement between competing bills proposed by Governor Lee , the Senate and the House , but Governor Lee has vowed to take up the debate again during the next legislative session.

Tennessee’s ESA bill proposals follow a trend of states passing a range of voucher policies in recent years. As Governor Lee and legislators across the country express commitments to pursuing these policies, the expertise of school choice scholars at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development may help to inform the decisions of policymakers, schools, and families. Peabody scholars study a broad spectrum of school choice policies and practices in the U.S. and other countries. Their work seeks to answer many questions concerning the economics of education, education equity, cultural impacts to education policy, and much more. At the heart of their scholarship is a simple, yet complex question: how should a pluralistic democracy educate its citizenry?

Why school choice?

The original argument for school choice in the U.S. was based in economics. In a 1955 essay , economist Milton Friedman argued that public education was a monopoly that needed to be broken up. While he recognized the importance of education to the vitality of a democracy, he argued that government need not and should not operate as the sole provider of schooling in the U.S. Rather, government could provide the funds for families to choose from schools in an open market, where competition would increase education quality. With this philosophy in mind and with an interest in innovating new pedagogy, school choice proponents began the modern school choice movement in the early 1990s with charter schools and small, targeted voucher programs.

“Another rationale for school choice, especially in the public school sector with charters and magnets, is to disentangle the relationship between school quality and neighborhoods because middle- and upper-middle-class parents can, in fact, choose their school by virtue of the neighborhood where they can afford to buy a house; whereas school choice allows parents to have access to schools, including private schools, that are outside their neighborhood if the schools in their neighborhood are not effective or of high quality,” said Ellen Goldring , Patricia and Rodes Hart Professor of Education and Leadership and vice dean.

To appeal to middle-income families, states have gradually raised the income caps to receive vouchers, according to Claire Smrekar , associate professor of public policy and education. She says this shift has given way to current political arguments for school choice on the basis that the freedom to choose is a basic right in a democracy.

“The language has shifted from ‘vouchers’ to ‘education scholarship accounts,’ with public polling verifying that the latter term is more politically palatable and popular,” Smrekar said. “The names of these policies—‘Empowering Parents Act,’ ‘Family Empowerment Act,’ ‘Freedom Accounts,’—suggest an emphasis on parent liberty and a shift away from earlier free-market arguments to political arguments.

“Historically, U.S. public schools have managed tensions inherent between liberty and civility. This new phase of parent empowerment in education policy is dominated by political and social tensions, and schools are now contested terrain over curriculum, access, and public discourse,” Smrekar said.

While these new policies seek to empower parents, Peabody school choice scholars agree that the policies often lack robust information dissemination plans and transparency on school quality, leaving many parents with little information to help answer their questions or to understand a school’s level of quality when considering their options. Moreover, access to information typically depends on socio-economic status. Upper- and middle-income families benefit from resource-sharing at workplaces with highly educated colleagues and through well-connected social networks. So, when parents make schooling choices, they are not just choosing between inequitable schools; their decisions are informed by—and for lower-income families, often limited by—societal inequities.

Furthermore, a review of 15 years of school choice literature by Joanne Golann , associate professor of public policy and education, reveals little evidence exists to support prevailing school choice theories. The review is forthcoming in the American Education Research Association Handbook of Education Policy Research , Volume 2 . “Early voucher programs that were small and targeted showed some positive academic effects, but many of the arguments and theories for supporting school choice do not pan out in the research literature,” Golann said. “That’s important to keep in mind since these theories are guiding school choice policies across the country, including in Tennessee.”

Voucher access and outcomes

According to Smrekar, in early 2023 14 states and 3 cities had school voucher laws, and by mid-2023, 11 more states adopted ESA laws, with others expanding existing programs. While these programs provide families with the choice to attend private school, in many states, the purchasing power of low- to middle-income families limits their choices to schools whose tuition rates do not exceed the cost of a voucher, which is typically around $7,000 to $9,000. However, research has shown that parents are usually satisfied with schools of choice in voucher programs, but satisfaction may not reflect academic quality.

Some research shows that voucher programs, particularly when scaled up, negatively impact student academic achievement. For example, researchers at Indiana University found that as voucher programs grew in size, results in math achievement dropped significantly. A study on Louisiana’s voucher program revealed low math, reading, science, and social studies scores , attributing these effects, in part, to low-quality private schools. Another Louisiana study found negative effects on math and English language arts , with some improvement to scores in the program’s second year. In the 2022-2023 academic year, students attending private schools in Tennessee’s ESA pilot program significantly underperformed in math (-22.40 percent) and ELA (-15.20 percent) compared to their public-school peers.

Universal school voucher programs are open to all families, regardless of income, which may increase costs for taxpayers. For example, the Grand Canyon Institute estimates the net cost of Arizona’s universal ESA program in FY2024 was $332 million, more than half of the projected state budget shortfall. According to the report, “Failure to rein in these costs means critical areas of state government expenditures will be cut to balance the budget.”

“We should be looking at the outcomes in states like Arizona that have scaled up voucher programs,” said Sean Corcoran , associate professor of public policy and education. “In Arizona, we’re seeing a lot of wealthy families , who were already paying for private school, use the vouchers to offset the cost of more expensive private schools. We’re also seeing many of these schools raise their tuition to whatever they think the market can bear.

“Public resources are limited, so there’s the question of whether increased funding for private school vouchers over time will eventually erode spending on public schools,” Corcoran said. “I am concerned about the macro-level effects of policy on funding and sustaining public education, as well as the potential consequences for students served by public education.”

In addition to concerns over the quality of voucher-receiving schools and the impacts of voucher programs on public school funding, tensions arise over government funding of religious schools. As the Washington Post reported , the vast majority of vouchers, to the tune of billions in taxpayer dollars, are directed towards religious schools.

Given the evidence for these concerns, Peabody scholars note that voucher-receiving schools’ academic performance, financial stability, enrollment demographics, and school leadership warrant scrutiny from policymakers interested in education equity and prospective families interested in quality education for their children.

Felipe Barrera-Osorio, associate professor of public policy, education and economics

“When you have massive voucher programs, the issue of stratification is very clear and any gains in learning are very small,” said Felipe Barrera-Osorio , associate professor of public policy, education, and economics. “There are private schools of good quality and private schools of low quality, so the assumption of private school being an advantage is unclear, and if parents do not have the information on school quality, they are further disadvantaged.” Barrera-Osorio studies the effects of large-scale experiments with school choice in Colombia, specifically charter schools with a high degree of accountability to the government.

Smrekar also stresses that ability to attend choice schools depends on a “geography of opportunity.” Families without reliable transportation or flexibility in their schedules may not be able to drive to a school of choice. Rural families have less access since private, religiously affiliated, and independent schools are often in urban settings.

That said, many voucher laws now allow homeschooling families to participate in ESAs, which appeals to rural families who want more control over their children’s instructional materials but lack access to private schools. Homeschooling networks, which are often religiously affiliated, are growing in popularity within rural communities. They provide homeschooling families with instructional materials and a likeminded educational community.

Black families, in particular, are increasingly turning to homeschooling. Carla Wellborn , a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, who studies homeschooling among Black families, says that policymakers should consider the unique concerns of these families when crafting policy. “Many Black families turn to homeschooling to protect their children from perceived racial harm in traditional schooling environments,” Wellborn said. “Policymakers should call together a collective, diverse group of homeschooling families to share their perspectives on accountability, reporting, and what those might look like as policy.”

Considerations for students with disabilities

Students with disabilities may face unique hurdles accessing services under voucher policies. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires that students with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. To receive voucher funds under Tennessee’s Individualized Education Account Program—a voucher program focused on students with disabilities—parents must consent to refuse special education services under IDEA.

“There are concerns with limited parental knowledge impacting whether a parent could provide informed consent about relinquishing their right to a free, appropriate public education by using the IEA program,” said Meghan Burke , professor of special education. “This may be especially true among families who are marginalized, such as families with limited English proficiency, families who struggle to read, and families with limited internet access. Further, the IEA program handbook and similar special education resources are written at a college reading level. Given the inaccessibility of these documents, families may not be fully informed about the decision to use the IEA program.”

Burke advises that Tennessee families use Support and Training for Exceptional Parents (STEP), a parent training and information center that educates and empowers families about their special education rights.

Another version of this article was originally published on March 1, 2024.

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Peabody Scholars share guidance to inform school voucher policy

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Helping them save money that can go towards another cause."Homeschooling families save American taxpayers at least $4.4 billion to $9.9 billion annually by forging taxpayer-funded public education".Moreover,because of. Get Access. Free Essay: Did you know homeschooling is helping more than 1.1 million children around the world.
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Persuasive Essay About Homeschooling. 796 Words4 Pages. Homeschooling has become a popular trend around the world, in some countries such as America, England, Australia; homeschooling is legal and is supported by the government. It is not usual that children stay at home all day for educational purposes, as well as striking a proper balance ...
Home Schooling: Pros, Cons, and What You Need to Know
Has sensory issues and finds the school environment overwhelming. Is an actor or athlete who needs a more flexible schedule. Is being bullied at school. Learns better at their own pace. Has ...
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Calvert Education, a homeschooling organization, stated, "Parents must teach a broad range of subjects. Greater freedom and flexibility requires more time and responsibility from the parent". In contrast, homeschooling is beneficial because of its impact on a child's education and the flexibility that comes with it.
The Homeschooling Debate
Homeschooling is not just about your child's education - it also helps your own. By teaching your child, you might learn things that you never knew before, whether that is a foreign language, algebra or history. You can share your interests and areas of skill with your child in a meaningful way, too.
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Persuasive Essay On Homeschooling. Homeschooling refers to the procedure of teaching kids from home instead of sending them to public or private schools. This is when they are taught by parents, brothers, sisters, a neighborhood friend, or online. Homeschooling is not for everybody and as we will see later the pros and cons of homeschooling.
Argumentative Essay: Why Public Schools Or Home School?
In this way, parents have two choices either studying at public schools or home schools. Whether students study at home schools or public schools is an argumentative topic. Some parents think that home schools are better for their children. In home schools parents are friendly involved in their children's education in addition to each and ...
Argumentative Essay On Homeschooling
The second argument for people who are in conflict with homeschooling, is that they presume that having their children go to schools and being adhered to the school`s Curriculum will be much more advantageous to the students as they learn with better influencing study materials; though homeschooling offers a superior cogency when it comes to ...
Persuasive Essay On Homeschooling
998 Words. 4 Pages. Open Document. Putting kids into homeschooling is not an easy task for parents to take care of. Parents would have to make sure that their kid is receiving the right education he/she needs. "The parents also may have to file paperwork with the state to explain who is teaching the kid and which subjects are being covered ...
Homeschooling vs Public School, Argumentative Essay Sample
Homeschools are gaining popularity due to their advantages over public schools. Many parents see the expenses of homeschool as less than that of public schools. In a homeschool, there are no uniform requirements, and this reduces its expenditures. Also, there are no mandatory fees in homeschooling. In a homeschool, there is family togetherness.
Argumentative Essay: Homeschooling Vs. Traditional Schooling
Argumentative Essay: Homeschooling Vs. Traditional Schooling. Many people are aware that public and traditional schooling can be difficult. Many people are aware, online schooling isn't the greatest either. Online schooling can put students in the position to be able to get away with many things that public school makes sure students won't be ...
Peabody Scholars share guidance to inform school voucher policy
The original argument for school choice in the U.S. was based in economics. In a 1955 essay, economist Milton Friedman argued that public education was a monopoly that needed to be broken up ...

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All the Pros and Cons to Consider Before Homeschooling Your Kids

Pros of Homeschooling

Flexibility

Individualized education

Strong relationships

Avoid school stress

Cons of Homeschooling

Less time for yourself

Inability to work

Too much togetherness

Missing out on certain opportunities

Facing judgments and biases

Consider Your Options

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Home Schooling: Pros, Cons, What You Need to Know

What Is Home Schooling?

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The Homeschooling Debate: Advantages & Disadvantages

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Flexi-Schooling

Why Do People Choose to Homeschool?

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Individualised Learning