Home Schooling – Opportunities and Challenges

Children usually ‘Walk’ to school and ‘Run’ when they return home. This is a universal phenomena and is tested and proven over time – from our grand parents to possibly our grand children – we see that during our initial days (formative years) we do not enjoy schooling like the way we enjoy during our school ending years (adolescence years). Home schooling provides great opportunity to children with learning disabilities and other ‘hesitant’ children

The merits of home schooling are many – the primary being that you are not compared even inadvertently with anyone around you – thereby saving a huge embarrassment and guilt. A child can learn at a pace that can be decided mutually between the child and the guide. A child can study what is appealing on that day. In a classroom, a child can’t expect or get individual attention and therefore the time it takes to complete a lesson is much higher when compared to a one on one session. In addition to all these advantages, a child need not go for ‘tutions’ which is an inevitable evil in Indian education system. Tutions are no different from Home schooling.

When we talk of tutions, I used to wonder about this concept. Typically, the tution teachers are the same individuals who teach in classrooms. Even the students are same. Even today, I fail to understand that if a child has to attend tutions after the school hours, then what is the purspose of going to school and attending to classes. No magic is taught in private tutions. Then why is ’tutions’ so important in today’s education system? If tutions are inevitable, then is schooling necessary? Is schooling needed only to the extent that any educational board demands an association with a school?

These thoughts are not new. These thoughts have been haunting educationists and socialists for a long time. So, new methods of home schooling have started getting recognised. The first of its kind is the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). A child need not attend classes at school – can continue to make arrangements to learn from home  – and can appear in the board examinations. A wonderful opportunity for children who can’t afford to spend their time and money in traditional school system. This type of education is economically affordable for the masses and for children closer to poverty line. The population in NIOS has kept a steady increase in these years and it is glad to see many children have fulfilled their dreams of completing their school education from home. We all know that at the university level, we have distance education program (Correspondence courses) where students can afford to join these courses without attending to colleges – and instead of wasting their time, such children employ themselves and earn their fees for such courses.

So?? am I driving to a point where we conclude traditional schooling is bad? Am I saying that schooling is a waste of time and energy? No- certainly not. No system can replace a traditional schooling model where a child learns to be a social being. A child undertstands the importance of good over bad, magnanimity, role modeling, leading, sports, games, competition and many more. But these should not stop education to a child who can’t afford to come to school – may be because of financial burden or due to any other reasons.

Home schooling is certainly a very good alternative to traditional schooling and paves way for many students to pursue graduation at affordable fees and time lines. We should be thankful to open schooling or home schooling systems without which we would have lost so many young minds in their formative years. Home schooling is therefore a wonderful opportunity and wherever possible, I would request the responsible people of the society to support and patronize home schooling.

Thanks and regards,

Dr. PM Anavaratham

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How Much Time Should Be Devoted to Home Schooling?

You just spent eight hours making reports, filing papers, fielding phone calls, and placating your boss at the office.

When you get home, do you rest? Not really. There’s a dinner to prepare, stories to share with your husband, and doing homework with the kids.

Such a scenario is – and will still be – typical among working mothers, who balance the countless demands of career and home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The problem with this is that the children are the ones who are always at the losing end.

Why?

Because with parents, especially mothers, who are always busy with their work, they tend to take their children for granted especially on the aspect of education. They have this propensity to submit their children to school and believe that the institution could provide the best education for their children.

However, in today’s changing world, some parents realize that sending their children to school is no longer the best way in providing them the education that their children need. That’s why they have opted for home schooling in order to give their children the kind of learning that they want for their children.

In home schooling, most parents devote their time and try to provide their children the best education at home. They know that they are the ones who can provide the appropriate teaching approach for their children because they know their children best.

However, it does not necessarily mean that parents should devote more time to home schooling than they would do with their other chores at home.

It is true that home schooling needs time in order to come up with the best teaching approach that your children need. It is also through a committed schedule that you can identify the appropriate tactics that you need to employ in order to teach your children well. But it does not mean that you have to give your whole time to teaching your children through home schooling programs.

On its basic concept, home schooling uses the “one-to-one” teaching method; hence, it needs lesser time compared to the typical classroom setting. This is because with a more individualistic approach in teaching, most children would be able to grasp the concept easier and faster.

Then again, the amount of time to be allotted in home schooling will still vary depending on the many factors that may affect the progress of the teaching process.

Here is a list of some factors that should be considered in order to devise the proper amount of time needed in home schooling:

1. Learning style of the children

There are instances wherein the children’s learning style might affect the time requirement in home schooling. For instance, if your child can learn things at a much faster rate, then you only have to devote lesser time. However, if your child needs more time to grasp things that are being taught to him, then you have to devote more time in explaining to him or her the concept of the subject matter you are teaching.

2. The type of methods used

There are various teaching methods available for home schooling. Each has its own teaching approach; hence, they may vary on the time needed for the parents to devote on each program.

3. The number of children within the family

Just like in a typical classroom setting, where the number of students is generally bigger, having many children in the family would mean longer hours of teaching. This is because you have to incorporate in students what the subject matter is all about, and if one of them could not yet understand the idea, then you really have to explain the concept all over again.

4. The age of the child

The younger the child, the more time that is needed in home schooling. This is because younger children have the tendency to grasp the things being taught at a much slower pace compared to those who are already at higher levels.

On its total view, the time needed to commit in home schooling may be affected with these factors but the important thing is to have quality time for your children or students. It is not a matter of how much time you can devote in home schooling but more on how you have provided the time in teaching your children.

Find More Home Schooling Articles

How Much Time Should Be Devoted to Home Schooling?

You just spent eight hours making reports, filing papers, fielding phone calls, and placating your boss at the office.

When you get home, do you rest? Not really. There’s a dinner to prepare, stories to share with your husband, and doing homework with the kids.

Such a scenario is – and will still be – typical among working mothers, who balance the countless demands of career and home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The problem with this is that the children are the ones who are always at the losing end.

Why?

Because with parents, especially mothers, who are always busy with their work, they tend to take their children for granted especially on the aspect of education. They have this propensity to submit their children to school and believe that the institution could provide the best education for their children.

However, in today’s changing world, some parents realize that sending their children to school is no longer the best way in providing them the education that their children need. That’s why they have opted for home schooling in order to give their children the kind of learning that they want for their children.

In home schooling, most parents devote their time and try to provide their children the best education at home. They know that they are the ones who can provide the appropriate teaching approach for their children because they know their children best.

However, it does not necessarily mean that parents should devote more time to home schooling than they would do with their other chores at home.

It is true that home schooling needs time in order to come up with the best teaching approach that your children need. It is also through a committed schedule that you can identify the appropriate tactics that you need to employ in order to teach your children well. But it does not mean that you have to give your whole time to teaching your children through home schooling programs.

On its basic concept, home schooling uses the “one-to-one” teaching method; hence, it needs lesser time compared to the typical classroom setting. This is because with a more individualistic approach in teaching, most children would be able to grasp the concept easier and faster.

Then again, the amount of time to be allotted in home schooling will still vary depending on the many factors that may affect the progress of the teaching process.

Here is a list of some factors that should be considered in order to devise the proper amount of time needed in home schooling:

1. Learning style of the children

There are instances wherein the children’s learning style might affect the time requirement in home schooling. For instance, if your child can learn things at a much faster rate, then you only have to devote lesser time. However, if your child needs more time to grasp things that are being taught to him, then you have to devote more time in explaining to him or her the concept of the subject matter you are teaching.

2. The type of methods used

There are various teaching methods available for home schooling. Each has its own teaching approach; hence, they may vary on the time needed for the parents to devote on each program.

3. The number of children within the family

Just like in a typical classroom setting, where the number of students is generally bigger, having many children in the family would mean longer hours of teaching. This is because you have to incorporate in students what the subject matter is all about, and if one of them could not yet understand the idea, then you really have to explain the concept all over again.

4. The age of the child

The younger the child, the more time that is needed in home schooling. This is because younger children have the tendency to grasp the things being taught at a much slower pace compared to those who are already at higher levels.

On its total view, the time needed to commit in home schooling may be affected with these factors but the important thing is to have quality time for your children or students. It is not a matter of how much time you can devote in home schooling but more on how you have provided the time in teaching your children.

More Home Schooling Articles