Question from Quora: Homeschooling

Why is homeschooling considered bad?

It’s not. What is important is the reason for homeschooling.

Before making the decision to homeschool, make a list of WHY you want to do this.

Is it because the child’s needs are not being met at a traditional school, either public or private? Some parents do it because they want to limit exposure to subjects they would rather their children not learn or would like to focus on more religion that they are unlikely to get at public school. Sometimes it’s because the child is being bullied at school and the only other option is to teach the child at home.

The second thing to do is to check with the school district about their rules for homeschooling and what laws allow or prevent homeschooling, it could be different for different states. Is there a specific curriculum that needs to be followed so that the child will get accredited if they want to attend college afterward?

The third thing is to think about how much time it will take for you as a parent to not only prepare the different subjects but also teach the child each day. While there is something called ‘unschooling’, it doesn’t mean you can just plop the kid in front of the TV and let them play all day and hope they learn something. Both homeschooling and unschooling (where you let the child’s interests dictate the subject matter) still take directed teaching from the parent and other sources.

My son was homeschooled for his 6th-grade year and my daughter did a combination of both public school and cyber school for her 10th-grade year. My granddaughter did cyberschool for her 12th-grade year.

Homeschooling took me 3 months of research, planning, and preparation before the school year started but you have more control of what is being taught and how it’s presented. Unschooling takes even more time as you need to be able to change as the child’s interests do. Cyberschool is the easiest because someone else comes up with the curriculum but the parent still needs to be part of the equation. But even with a traditional school, parents should be part of the equation.

No matter which learning model you choose for your child (and the child should have some say in this matter), parents should always be their child’s first teacher and be involved as much as they can.

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-homeschooling-considered-bad/answer/Cindi-Wafstet