 Why are an ever-increasing number of today's families drawn to homeschooling? What is it exactly that this educational experience has over group schooling? Educating your children at home has its own unique set of enriching qualities that add value and meaning to both your child and your family. Let's look at some of these qualities...
Family Time
You get to model for your children, on a daily basis, what it means to be part of a safe, supportive and honoring family environment. Honoring is one of my favorite words. It is especially applicable in a family, although it would be hard to guess that from watching a typical family sitcom. Know this... your family can treat each other with respect and kindness. Kids can learn to be responsible and productive members of the family and the community. Siblings can be best friends. It takes work, but as you model these traits daily, your children will internalize them and make them their own.
Values
Today's culture, no matter how you measure it, presents a vast array of character challenges for young people. From celebrity worship to cheating, young people are surrounded by poor role models and examples of lives devoid of character and self-control. As a parent, no matter how you choose to educate your children, it is YOUR responsibility to create an environment that is safe from the external chaff. Many people choose to homeschool in order to exercise control over poor and dangerous influences. They appreciate being able to build something meaningful in their children rather than spending valuable time retraining their children out of bad habits.
Academic Rigor
On the whole, the school system is not producing high-level results for most families. Allow me to define what I mean by that. I don't mean the kind of education in which kids just get by. I mean education that stretches their minds, that inspires independent research, that helps them strive for the good. This means rigorous academics. It means an understanding that school is their responsibility and reward; not something to be merely endured and mocked. Instead of accepting an average education, we should be seeking an optimal education.
Tailoring Education and Development
You are your kid's parent. You know your child better than anyone else. This positions you to make the best decisions on what content and/or concepts a child is ready to tackle. Some children are very sensitive, others seem to have been born with thick skin. Children may be gifted in one subject, yet struggle in another. Homeschooling is essentially one-on-one tutoring. By allowing a unique learning experience to each unique child, you have the ability to set them up for depth of learning as well as breadth.
Scheduling
Homeschooling is flexible. Your family schedule can be planned around work schedules, time with extended family, field trips, vacations, etc. Many families indicate that this is one of the best-kept secrets of homeschooling. Our family tailors our vacations to whatever subject our children are studying in order to bring the material alive. I know of other families who take advantage of the flexibility to run a family business or a farm. Being able to take a subject of interest and run with it for days can be one of the more rewarding aspects of home education.
One-on-one education
There is nothing like personal tutoring for academic progress. By handling education one on one with your kids, you have the opportunity to pursue a subject until it is mastered. You will be able to see sticking points before they become real problems. You will be able to identify special gifts and enhance them. Then, you can fill in holes where and when needed, enabling you to round out the educational experience.
Learning Styles
Everyone has their own optimal method of learning. Visual, textual, auditory, and kinesthetic are some examples of learning styles. By crafting your homeschooling program to allow your child to learn as they learn best, you set them up for success and a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
Inspired Learning
This is probably one of my personal favorites. If you ask a typical schoolchild today much they like school, you may get an 'it's great' from the elementary school set. You will probably an 'it's lame' from anyone older. Even the elementary student, if prodded with a 'why do you like it?' will say 'because I get to see my friends.' Sadly, many schoolchildren have had their love of learning stifled in myriad ways that are beyond the scope of this article.
Teaching your children at home allows you to create a more magical learning experience. Will they have to do some things they are not crazy about? Sure... and you can consider that character development:-) Life is interesting! You have the power to create an inspired learning experience for your children. If they are deeply into reading Little House on the Prairie and are inspired to build a model of the Ingalls' horse and buggy, you can do that. Use it as a learning moment. They need math (measurement), science (levers), history (how did they build buggies back then?) The biggest challenge then becomes how to narrow the options to fit your time constraints. Do you see the possibilities?
Development of Specific Gifts/Interests
Especially as children move into the pre-teen and teen years, they demonstrate unique gifts and/or gravitate to certain interests. Home education at these ages allows them to delve deeper into what draws them. They begin to develop specialities. A child who is drawn to the sciences can focus his pre-college studies around those subjects, all the while laying a strong foundation for medical school. A strong interest in woodworking can lead to an apprenticeship with a master carpenter. Opportunities to work in the family business can lay the foundation for a strong work ethic down the road. By creating an environment conducive to learning experiences that have depth, you give your child the gift of a possible vocation.
Learning at home provides benefits at many levels. I encourage you to examine each of these to see how they apply to your family needs and values. Then, check out The Cons of Homeschooling to make sure that you are looking at the whole picture. By making a decision on homeschooling from an informed viewpoint, you give yourself a strong foundation on which to build your homeschool.
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