Will you homeschool your children?

@magic9 (980)
China
October 29, 2009 10:00am CST
American parents today are faced with a stark choice. The country's public schools are becoming more crowded, more violent and less effective in preparing children for employment or college. Private schools may be too expensive or unavailable. To ensure that their children receive an adequate education, an increasing number of parents are simply teaching their children at home. While homeschooling offers many benefits to both child and parent. Its three most important advantages are its flexibility of curriculum, its adaptability to different learning styles and speeds, and its more positive, supportive social environment. If, for instance, the child is interested in dinosaurs, that subject could be used to teach scientific concets in geology, biology, or even history. Moreover, in the home environment, there is plenty of room for spontaneous discussion, field trips and other learning experiences that classroom logistics make difficult, expensive or challenging. HOmeschooling puts the child's natural curiosity to use, limited only by the imaginations of the child and parent. Children can move through the material at a rate that challenges them positively. In the conventional classroom, most lessons are aimed at the average ability. Thus, some students are rushed along much faster than is optimal, or faster than necessary for satisfactory results, while others yawn or find distractions because the pace is too slow. Nor can a teacher pay much attention to any single student in a classroom of 30 or discover how individual students learn best. But parents know the child better than any teacher, can readily make adjustments to content, teaching strategy, or pace as the child requires. I personally feel that my pace was dragged a lot by the poorly-designed curriculums and our dear Chinese teaching system. Gee ! If I am to be a parent, I really need to reconsider this issue.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@realan (518)
• United States
29 Oct 09
I wish I was able to homeschool, especially when my daughter was younger. Unfortunately we both had to work to pay off our College loans, our House etc. She is now in 4th grade and is doing well. We send her to a Catholic School, and we are very happy with everything the school offers.
@magic9 (980)
• China
29 Oct 09
GEE ! things are so different ! If someone says she or he has to pay off college loan, who is married even with a kid, people would all be stunned in China. Because we haven't met such a case, the education system doesn't allow this. Thanks and wish ur daughter prettier day by day !
• United States
29 Oct 09
No I believe they shou;d gain the social skills that they need by being around other kids there age. My naighbor homeschools sll but one of her kids. My daughter is friends with them, but they don't know that many people.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
29 Oct 09
I was going to respond to this but then I saw that you've only addressed it to Americans.
• United States
29 Oct 09
Hi Magic! I was talking with my boyfriend about this very same topic... We live in Chicago and the school here are not good! Well the public ones aren't.. Crowded classrooms, students don't get the attention that is needed in order to learn. If I am able to teach my child at home, I will. That way I know that she will get all the attention that is needed... I have to start thinking hard about this now, my daughter is two years old, and time flies!