The Good and Bad of Homeschooling Your Kids

I can still remember the first time our children encountered some pretty big problems at their school. One of our children was in the third grade, and the oldest in fifth grade. I'm not bragging on my kids, but it was obvious that they were bored with the grade levels where the school had them placed appropriate to their ages.

Our kids were showing signs of not wanting to get up in the morning, feigning sickness in order to get out of attending school. We discussed the situation with the principal and she would not let our kids move up a grade, even though they were both tutoring other, slower kids at their own grade levels. We decided it was time to try homeschooling.

The Good Things About Homeschooling

Having homeschooled our own kids and other kids with our own kids for about 7 years now, I think I can make a pretty fair and impartial judgement about the good and bad of homeschooling. One of the best things about it is the freedom to choose what we wish to study. Sure, the State mandates a few subjects, but is pretty good about leaving the rest up to the parents.

There is also the physical freedom of not being tied down to the absolute, unchangeable day-to-day schedule of a public or private school. We are free to travel in the off-season and even take individual day trips during the week when other kids are in school. Going to a movie with your kids in the middle of the day is like a private screening.

Religious freedom was an important factor in our decision to homeschool. We are a very spiritual family and we like to practice freedom of religion without all the other "stuff" and political correctness that you typically experience in a public school. Being home all day also allows us to live our faith and have our kids see that every day.

Other positive factors of homeschooling are the lack of peer pressure and the absence of kids who may be a bad influence. Homeschool kids tend to be more well-rested and experience a closer familial bond because they are around family for most of not all of the day.

The Bad Things About Homeschooling

Property taxes are the absolute worst thing about deciding to homeschool. Without some sort of voucher or legislation to help parents who homeschool, we are bound by law to pay a big chunk of our property taxes to fund the public school system. Every year when I pay my property taxes and purchase the curriculum for the coming year, I am reminded that this is one of the bad things about homeschooling.

Probably the biggest negative, if you could call it that, is the amount of time spent by a parent or parents in preparing, teaching, grading, and assisting kids in working through their curriculum. There is no way around it, this homeschooloing thing takes up a lot of time. Of course, as the kids get older, the curriculum tends to be more self-directed and requires less time from a parent.

Homeschooling can be tough financially because one parent is going to have to stay home to teach the kids. I have to say that this has been one of our biggest obstacles. It's tough to raise a family on just one income. I keep telling myself that the sacrifice now will be worth it later down the road.

Some of the other minor bad things are being together as a family all day and all night. It took us about a year to get used to that and we still have our moments, but overall, we have learned to live well with one another. Another bad thing is the misconceptions that non-homeschoolers tend to have about those of us who do homeschool. Homeschooling definitely requires us to live outside what most people would consider "normal."

Even though homeschooling is increasing in popularity, it is still perceived as "weird" or "outside the norm." A lot of that misperception is probably the result of many things and is not likely to change anytime soon. Homeschooling is not for everybody. Our family liked the idea when we started and we absolutely love it now that our kids are at the high school level.

One last note on homeschooling is for parents to be sure and check with local colleges and universities for advanced programs available to homeschool students. In our town, the local colleges and universities have one program in place that allows a homeschool student to attend tuition-free for the first three semesters. Many colleges and universities have programs designed specifically for homeschool students. Check with your local institutions of higher education for more details.

Sources:

Family Education; The Pros and Cons of Homeschooling

The Heritage Foundation; Homeschooling Sees Dramatic Rise in Popularity

Homeschooling-Ideas.com; Homeschooling pros and Cons