Disclaimer: This article is written not to discredit parents who opt to send their kids to traditional schools. Our impetus whether to homeschool or send them to school relies mainly on our personal reasons. All articles on this website reflect the opinions and views of the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of other authors in Parenting Rock, or Parenting Rock as a whole, unless otherwise specifically stated.

In the past few years, I had been contemplating about homeschooling my kids. I rang a number of homeschool providers, however, ended up enrolling my child to a traditional school. My parents did not like the idea of homeschooling. They have limited understanding to it, and I can’t blame them for that.

Since my grade school years, my parents sent me to a private traditional school. Just like any kids, I attended my classes everyday, wrote down notes, read my books, joined some contests, participated in student councils and other extracurricular activities, formed camaraderie with some classmates, schoolmates and teachers — and had no idea that homeschooling could also be our option. With such a young mind, I thought homeschooling was just for celebrities, and on the contrary, for families who had nerdy children incapable of socialization.

How ironic my beliefs were! I had misconceptions about homeschooling and was unaware of the benefits it could bring to children who were both curious and creative. Only in my early 30s has the cloak around homeschooling been unveiled. Now, I see much of its advantages and opportunities, that if there would lie no hindrance to homeschool my kids in the next years to come, I would gladly still deviate from the traditional pedagogy of sending kids to school and enjoy this fascination to knowledge that homeschooling brings to myself, our family, and nevertheless to our kids.

ADVANTAGES OF HOMESCHOOLING

So, what initiated me to embrace this alternative to education instead of sending my kids to school?

Five years ago, I read a blog of a mother who was homeschooling her kids while raising them to share a life that would be worth honoring to God. It sparked a passion in my heart and ignited a desire that someday I would also be doing the same for my kids. Cherin Hale was only 3 years old back then. Chantry was not even in my tummy yet.

As years propelled forward, my interest in homeschooling has grown bigger and reasons have become firmer, especially now that my kids and I are living together with my husband. Erwin wants to homeschool our kids as much as I do and sees all the advantages it can give to our children and our family. Below is a list of advantages we recognize so far:

• Freedom to move from one country to another. No need to wait for Christmas vacation or summer break before flying to our home country and vice versa.
• Meaningful learning. This allows the student and the facilitator to dig deeper into certain topics that can give interest to the student. Learning is more leaned toward new discoveries than passing the test.
• Efficient learning. Due to low student-teacher ratio, no time is wasted on commuting, doing homework, and waiting for other kids to finish before moving on to the next subject.
• Flexibility of class schedule that allows inclusion of lessons aimed at enhancing child’s gift and talent through practice, experience and exposure, and involvement in the community through volunteering and active participation.
• Generous time employed for play, outdoor activities, arts, experiment and pursuing their own passions.
• Promote independent and self-paced learning.
• Integrate personal faith, beliefs and practices in the system.
• Warm family relationship and closer bonds.
• Healthier meals served and no meal skipping.
• Focus and meet current needs.

These are the significant reasons and advantages as to why we have chosen to homeschool. To add to this list, choosing to homeschool does not translate that we will have to be locked up to this approach to learning till our kids finish their secondary years. The good news is, if the current needs of our family suddenly change or if it just doesn’t work for our child anymore, then we are free to quit.

FAMOUS HOMESCHOOLERS

As I researched further about homeschooling, I discovered that the people who have brought major contribution to their society were actually homeschooled. Allow me to enumerate some of them to you.

• Theodore Roosevelt – a statesman, politician, conservationist, naturalist, and writer who served as the 26th president of the United States.
• Thomas Edison – known for his many inventions such as the first practical incandescent light bulb and the phonograph.
• Florence Nightingale – transformed nursing into a respected, highly trained profession.
• André-Marie Ampère – formulated Ampere’s Law of electromagnetism.
• Ada Lovelace – chiefly known for her work on Charles Babbage’s proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.
• Blaise Pascal – invented the hydraulic press and the mechanical calculator, devised Pascal’s triangle for the binomial coefficients, and co-founded probability theory.

But then you say, “All these people are from centuries ago. Aren’t there any in the 20th to 21st century?” Oh yes, there are — and some of them are still alive! Lemme show you a list of those who are still breathing:

• Erik Demaine (1981-) — named as “one of the most brilliant scientists in America” in 2003 by Popular Science magazine.
• Reid W. Barton (1983-) — received the Morgan Prize for his work on packing densities and awarded two gold medals at the International Olympiad in Informatics.
• Jacob Barnett (1998-) — the world’s youngest astrophysics researcher who hopes to disprove Einstein’s theory of relativity one day.
• Arran Fernandez (1995-) — broke GCSE record at age 5, which is normally taken at age 16, and the youngest Senior Wrangler ever. His current goal is to find solution to one of the greatest unsolved conundrums in mathematics, Riemann hypothesis, which has baffled mathematicians for 150 years.
• Taylor Swift (1989-) — youngest person to single-handedly write and perform a number-one song on the Hot Country Songs chart and the youngest Grammy Award Album of the Year winner thus far.

Considering that these brilliant scientists, doctors, musician and mathematicians are still young, their current achievements may just be the start of what they would discover further down the road. As you can see, these people who received education were homeschooled in many different ways. So if you’re thinking about disparaging the unique path to learning, such as homeschooling, think again!

HOMESCHOOLING WORKS BUT NOT FOR EVERYONE

Homeschooling works for our family, for the reasons we validated prior to embarking on this journey. However, homeschooling is not for everyone. In cases where homeschooled parents are not driven and do not give much importance on their children’s academic progress, homeschooled children may flounder academically or even fail to receive any education at all.

Homeschooled children can be well socialized if sufficient opportunities for socialization is given to ensure that the child will integrate well in society. In contrast, if socialization outlet is not well provided for, homeschooled children may develop social phobias, feel isolated and not integrate well in society.

On our first day of homeschooling, my 8-year-old daughter expressed with glee how excited she was to be homeschooled. I have engraved on her heart about the many possibilities we can do and accomplish in homeschooling.

To meet her social needs, she has enrichment class in English where she meets kids her age every Friday. Then on Sunday, my two kids including Chantry, 4 years old, attend Sonlight, a Sunday school where they also get to mingle with kids and adults alike. On the same day, they play ukulele with their classmates/playmates. Further, swimming lesson is another opportunity for social outlet, too.

Homeschooling does not mean caging a child inside a home and leaving everything there for learning. Homeschooling gives you the option to enrol your child in enrichment programmes for supplement and help. Your child is no longer confined within the four walls of the classroom but the world becomes her classroom, which gives her more exposure to real life experiences.