Before deciding whether to homeschool your children, it is important to consider the merits and the demerits. Despite the many advantages associated with homeschooling, it provides substandard education to pupils. Besides, it can be very enervating. Parents who will eventually opt for this system of education must be prepared for the obligations attached to it. This article presents some of the disadvantages of homeschooling.
It is financially demanding.
Quality education is expensive. Apart from classroom facilities needed, students also need learning resources such as textbooks, mathematical sets and tools, and a host of other equipment for the teaching and learning process to be effective. In this case, one of the spouses will have to give up his or her job in order to do the homeschooling with the pupils, while the other continues to act as the breadwinner of the family. The question is: can your spouse single-handedly provide the resources needed to cater for the family’s needs in all respect? As many economies are shrinking, parents will have to consider the economic implications, should they decide to homeschool their children.
Socialization with other children could be a challenge.
Although homeschooling requires you to spend every minute of the day with your children, there are concerns about the ability of your homeschooled kids to be exposed to varying perspectives which we are often exposed to as a result of socialization. For kids, these perspectives would come from their playmates. And for homeschooled children to have playmates when it comes to sports and other extra-curricular activities, their parents will have to search for other families who have adopted this same system of education. Moreover, they will have to work out ways of harmonizing the schedules of both families.
Time constraint in developing a suitable curriculum
The time spent modeling a new and ideal curriculum is enervating. If the parents concerned are not teachers or educators by profession, longer time and so many resources will be required to acquire knowledge and competence in terms of learning how to design a curriculum and then devise effective lesson plans and techniques. Unlike in the conventional educational system where experts collaboratively come up with a curriculum for the students, in this case, only the parents will have to go through the same rigour alone.
Being with your kids through the day could be burdensome.
The stressful demand of being with your kids throughout the day, especially when they become restless, should be borne in mind. This is one reason why some people do not favour this model of education. Not all parents have the physical and emotional strength to be with restless children all through the day. You should also bear in mind that children differ in their attention span. When a child has reached his or her limit for a day, such a child may become restless for the remaining part of the day.
Coping with struggling learners
Homeschooling requires great dedication and quality time. The demands and difficulty of coping with kids who are struggling learners is a critical disadvantage of this system of education. Some kids struggle with their academics and they need more time to relate to simple and complex things. The parent who is in charge of homeschooling will have a lot on his/her hands. Attending to the needs of a struggling learner might mean leaving the others with little or nothing to be engaged with. Conversely, giving little or no attention to the struggling learner has many negative repercussions.
Constant research about how to improve your homeschooling methods
The task of educating your children is not a solo effort. It takes the combined effort of trained educationists and teachers who rely on the years of research done by others. Their teaching resources and strategies are products of such research. In a situation where parents who choose to homeschool their children aren’t teachers or educators by profession, they will have to embark on constant research on not only teaching and learning techniques but also other aspects of achieving standard education.
Battling with and handling negative public perceptions about homeschooling
Although families are adopting homeschooling, many people do not approve of it, perhaps because they have not understood its pros and cons. Apart from being considered weird by such people, you may also be wearied by the constant need to explain the reasons for your actions to those who demand the explanations. Your kids may also be psychologically affected by other kids who may taunt them for being schooled in an unconventional way.
