If a survey by the National Center For Education Statistics is to be believed, roughly 1.1 million children underwent home schooling in 2005 alone. That’s a lot of children. Not so long ago, homeschooling used to be an extreme statement – something like a declaration of independence.
It was the conservative Christians who advocated homeschooling in the 1980’s and legalized it in every State. But these day, average homeschooling student is not religiously motivated.
Later surveys show that parents are quite fed up with the public school system where a lot of the learning is superficial and compulsory. They are also concerned about the negative environment in school, ranging from drugs and abuse to negative peer pressure.
As a result, we have a surprising mixture of people who form the homeschooling world of today. They cut across all religious creeds and all regional borders. Their chief goal is providing meaningful and productive learning through a means that strengthens the bond between all the members of the family.
All these families have one main thing in common – a long enduring commitment to the sanctity of childhood. The children in these families are accorded a primary position. Many believe, and, I think, rightly so, that home schooling allows parents to bring up their children in a more natural and nurturing environment.
Public schools can make a child nervous, diffident and downright mean. Children who get their education at home are protected from these damaging, negative influences until they reach an age where they can deal with them.
Home-schooling draws the whole family into the quasi religious job of teaching. Everyone has a role to play. Both the parents together form a bond with the children. Any experience can be turned into an educational experience. Both the parents are aware of exactly what is going into their child’s education.
Parents also have a greater say over the type of religious and moral values that the child is learning. Even watching a film together can become a learning experience. Trips to the libraries, zoos, museums and other places become educational as well as recreational.
A home-schooling family is primarily dependent on the income of one earning member. That means that often spending has to be curtailed and proper planning of expenditure is a must. This helps to bring the family members together and everybody gets involved in the task of saving money.
Just having a parent at home to look after, to nurture and to care for the children brings with it a lot of love and caring. Even the husband takes part and there is just no room for boredom.
All right, problems do occur, and there will be a lot of misgivings in your mind, but when you know that your children can always count on you, and your kids know it too, then homeschooling becomes a richly rewarding experience.
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