The Benefits of Home Schooling

(...) we have come to realize that for most men the right to learn is curtailed by the obligation to attend school.

Ivan Illich

In the last century we have seen many great advances and breakthroughs in education and the techniques of teaching and learning. Although sometimes not applied to their most positive degree, this advances have shaped the teaching of our younger generations for years and one must wonder what, given all this evolution, are the advantages of home schooling. Nowadays increasing in popularity all over the United States, this method of teaching is not just a stubborn attempt at being old fashioned but a valid and successful way to teach our children.

There are many good reasons to support home schooling. For starters, it is widely recognized that a one-on-one tutoring method is widely more effective for the progress of the student than being in a big class full of others that demand different levels of attention. In this large classroom setting, even an experienced teacher can't possibly give all the individual attention that each kid needs to excel. Parents can devote more time to their children and they can relate to them on a personal level.

As far as the development of the course, things go much smoother than in any French courses Manchester can offer these days since it's quite easy to tailor the curriculum, teaching style and activities to the ones that are more productive and interesting for the child. It has been proved that being interested in a subject matter is often the single most important factor that decides if a person will go to the lengths to understand and remember the content. Not only that, but since you control the curriculum, you are able to teach very important subjects that might not be included on public and private schools: cooking, basic economics, managing money and nutrition are examples of very important skills that can be learned through real life projects.

It Works Better

A tax supported, compulsory educational system is the complete model of the totalitarian state.

Isabel Patterson (from The God of the Machine.)

A lot of people feel puzzled because of the fact that, despite the usual shorter hours, home schoolers consistently score above average in virtually all areas on standardized tests. Home schooled children with parents involved in their education are apparently more apt to excel in academic pursuits. This is the result of several variables, but the main problem is that there are several basic flaws in our current teaching system that undermine their success. This are usually repeated regardless of location (it doesn't matter if you are learning Spanish on the sunny Madrid or on any Spanish courses London offers) and prestige of the institution. Home schooling allows the parents to limit the working hours to focus the attention span of their child as well as teaching the subjects with an eye on the kid's interest. These two steps alone can boost the learning potential to an incredible degree.