As the name suggests homeschooling is where children are educated at home instead of attending mainstream school. This can occur for a number of reasons; such as:

  • Religion
  • If you frequently move
  • If the parents dislike the local school
  • An alternative to private school
  • If the child is exceptionally bright
  • Personal preference
  • If the child is bullied

Those that are homeschooled are not restricted to those listed above. In some cases kids are homeschooled as a last resort because they hate school so play truant or fake illness or get into trouble in order to avoid having to go. Other children that are homeschooled are those with a serious illness or disability which makes attending mainstream education very difficult if not impossible, one case that I came across was about a boy who was severely autistic, his parents didn’t want to send him to “special school” as they felt it would make the child appear to be a freak (please note this is not my personal view on specialist schools), but he was unable to cope in mainstream education; therefore he had to be homeschooled.

So what are the advantages of homeschooling?

  • More one to one
  • You can go at the child’s pace
  • You can teach things which are not on the curriculum
  • You can fit the teaching around your normal routine

As with everything there is always two sides. The disadvantages are:

  • In mainstream school there is the social aspect that children may not get if they are homeschooled.
  • It becomes difficult to switch between parent and teacher
  • The child may get biased views on subjects, such as religion
  • The parents may concentrate on the subjects that interest them and that they are good at rather than those that are their weaker subjects

Now to clarify a common misconception people assume that if a child is homeschooled that they are taught by the parents. In most cases this is the case but in some cases the parents pay a tutor to teach the child instead. If a child is homeschooled there are a few things that are worth pointing out:

  • They still have to be taught the National Curriculum however extra subjects can be added
  • You will be inspected to ensure that the child is being educated rather than simply bunking off
  • Children who are homeschooled must attend social activities whether it be a sports club or a craft club it doesn’t matter as long as they are socialising.

In my personal opinion, I would put my child in the best school if I found that she was unhappy for whatever reason I would try to resolve the issue. Obviously if it was something like the fact that she didn’t like a particular teacher then there is very little you can do as it is impossible for a person to get on with absolutely everyone. I would only consider homeschooling as a last resort; only considering it after all other options have been explored, however I respect those that choose to homeschool for whatever reason because it is a personal decision and nobody but the parents can make that decision.