HOME EDUCATION: Is it really for me?

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Homeschooling

Do you like the idea of homeschooling, but are not sure what it will entail? What does home education really mean in a practical real life situation? How do I know if it will be right for us?

This article will highlight some of the pros and cons of homeschooling so you can make an informed decision.

You will need to decide personally how important each positive or negative is to you. This will depend on your character, your situation and your child. Homeschooling is a fantastic option, but it is not for everyone. I hope this article helps you to decide if it is for you.

If you missed Part 1 in this series: What is Homeschooling? A guide to what home education is, could be and definitely is not! please click HERE

PROS

Control

Home education gives you almost complete control over WHAT your child is learning and HOW they are learning it. It also means parents can control what your child is exposed to: friends,  books, music, peer pressure, bullying, religious teaching to name a few.

Whilst there is some truth in the argument that children need to learn the social skills to deal with these negative things, there is a lot of harm that can be done to a child, particularly to his character, when exposed to them on a daily basis.

Flexibility

Homeschooling allows you to schedule school around you family’s needs, and not schedule the family needs around school.

For us this means we rarely do formal school on a Friday as it is our Sabbath. Instead, that time is spent reading Islamic children's books, doing an Islamic craft, or something like that. When they are older, we will use that time to go to the mosque for Jummah too insha’Allah.

As a home educator, you have complete flexibility over what you are teaching you child. You can add in subject that they wouldn’t be learning at school (e.g. Arabic) and disregard those subjects you find inappropriate (e.g. sex education).

If the curriculum you buy is not working for your child, you can switch to another one in the middle of the year. Or if he is not understanding a concept well, you can go back and revisit it. If your child is gifted in a topic, you can provide her with more challenging material that she would not get at school.

Home schooling also give children the opportunity to pursue their talents that would otherwise be difficult if they were at school 6-8 hours a day. If you child is a talented tennis player, you can fit his school work in around his sports lessons. The same can be said for any talent or interest that your kid may have.

You can book holidays in ‘term-time’ and benefit from cheaper rates! You can stop and start school whenever you need to, as long as your child learning is not interrupted too much. For example, over Ramadan, we do very little formal schooling, but will make up for lost time over the summer.

Better exam results

It has been shown in studies in the US that children who are home educated performed better on standardized testing, than those in mainstream education [1].

One reason for this is you are providing you child with one-to-one tuition for every subject, every day, rather than sharing the attention of the teacher with thirty-five other kids. You will be tailoring the way to teach each subject to the unique way your child learns. You will be pushing him when he finds something easy, and going back when a concept is not understood. So its hardly surprising really that home-educated kids are doing so well!

Family Benefits

Spending all that time together, and sharing all those memories inevitably brings a family closer together, especially the bond between siblings.

No school runs!

I know this sounds silly, but listen!

Imagine allowing your children to wake up whenever they naturally get up, having a relaxed breakfast, and not having to ‘rush rush rush’ to get everyone ready and out the door! No waiting in traffic, no stressing about uniforms, or thinking about packed lunches, washing sports kits, remembering book bags or signing forms. Instead mornings are just...EASY!

CONS

Responsibility

This is the big one that everyone fears! Instead of handing over the responsibility for your child’s education to a group of strangers, YOU are completely responsible. If they don’t do well academically or personally, the responsibility is on you.

Personally, I think even if your child was at school, you are still entirely responsible. The day you had your baby, the day Allah entrusted that soul into your care, was when you became responsible and accountable for the education of your child.

Parental Sacrifice

Homeschooling your children will almost always require one parent to put their career on hold. Therefore is usually means that home educating families have to live off one-income alone.

Other people’s reactions

Since homeschooling is almost completely unheard of in the UK, most people are either confused or shocked when you say that the kids are homeschooled. Most will make the assumption that you are depriving your kids in some way.

But sometimes people will surprise you with positive comments like, ‘Aren’t your kids lucky!’ Or ‘I wish we’d thought of that!’

The kids are ALWAYS there!

Of course, most of the time, I view this are a good thing. I love their company. Homeschooling would be a very difficult thing if I did not. But there are days, that all mums go through, when you just ‘need a break.’ But when you homeschool, there is no break from the kids…..EVER!

There are times when it can be emotionally very draining, and it is not uncommon for mum's to suffer from 'burnout' if they don't take steps to avoid it.

Your house will never be tidy

So if the kids are always home, then it follows that it will always be a mess! That, in addition to the fact that, you will have to find space for all the extra books, science experiments, art supplies, and all other manner of ‘educational resources’ that will inevitably end up littering every available surface. Your home will never be a show home, but it will be filled with memories that are (in my opinion) worth so much more.

Keep kids active

It will be your responsibility to make sure the kids stay fit and healthy. At school children do sports at least three times a week and run around in breaks etc. If they are not attending school, you need to find ways to keep them active. Choose something that your child enjoys. Don’t force them to do a sport they dislike, just because their peers at school are doing it. Think outside the box. Hiking, skating, rock climbing are just as good forms of exercise as any organised sport.

Requires planning

Even if you have a very relaxed take on home education, you will still need to have some level of organisation and planning. Personally, I like to have the year planned out in general terms, and then plan in detail just one month ahead of time.

Planning out what subjects you will cover and how you will ‘teach’ these subjects does not need to be complicated. For those overwhelmed by all the choices, or concerned that they won’t cover ‘everything they need to,’ should consider a boxed curriculum. These are more expensive, but contain all the texts you need for every subject, all the worksheets and even a timetable to follow. There are numerous websites and books available, most from USA, that outline what should be covered and when. I will cover my recommendations the next post in the series.

You have to ‘find’ friends/ social opportunities

If you yourself are very shy or suffer with social anxiety, this may find this aspect of homeschooling difficult. You will need to ‘get out there’ to give your children opportunities to meet new people and make friends.

But consider this negative point to also be a positive one. You can encourage friendships for your child that you feel may benefit him, and limit friendships with kids who might be a ‘bad influence.’ If done well and with thought, your child will know how to interact comfortably with children of all ages, races and different backgrounds to their own. Something that no school can offer.

Cost

Homeschooling can be more expensive than sending you child to school. You will need to buy things that ordinarily he would get for free at school.

However, there are curriculum choices for every budget and if you spend wisely, it doesn’t need to break the bank. Just remember that peer-pressure itself can be very expensive and think of all the money you’ll be saving by not having to buy the lastest toy, shoes, clothes, video game or mobile phone for your child. Or going to every classmate’s birthday party, class Christmas presents and other school events.

There are so many free resources online, as well as homeschooling communities that sell things second-hand once their child has finished with them. So don’t be put off by the cost of homeeducation, it can be done to within your budget.

Local Education Authority

You may be asked for a home visit from an LEA official or school nurse, or be asked to provide some kind of written information. I would recommend dealing with these authorities with a touch of caution, and do your research on what information you need to give them by law, and what you do not.

Further Education

If you decide to put your child into school at a later date, you may find it difficult to get them a place in the ‘best’ schools.

You also need to consider University. Universities in the UK do accept homeschooled kids, but it will require you as a parent, to correspond directly with the university early on, to find out what records need to be kept and what other requirements they may have. Like with all things in homeshooling, the responsibility is with you and it just requires a little more planning. You may want to consider sending you kid to a university in the United States, where colleges are more familiar with home education and some actually now prefer home educated students [2].

So now you’ve heard the truth. You know the main advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling and I hope this helps you to make a decision on whether to home educate your child.

Next in this series:

Part 3: Resources to start Your Own MUSLIM HOMESCHOOL.'

A guide to Books, websites and other resources that I have found useful and those that I could not be without!

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Click HERE to see Part 1 in the series: What is Homeschooling? A guide to what home education is, could be and definitely is not!

If you have any questions, please leave me a comment below and I will do my best to answer them insha'Allah.

Please remember us in your duaas.

Peace and Love.

[1] http://www.nheri.org/research/research-facts-on-homeschooling.html

[2] https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?article_id=39384