The pros and cons of being home schooled?

What are some pros and cons of being home schooled?

• So there is a good chance my parents are going to switch me from public school to being home schooled starting in January. They wouldn't teach me but I would go to a tutor and take ...show more

• Answer:

  Your situation sounds a bit different from most of the homeschoolers I know (it's quite rare to be able to take anything at the traditional high school, for example), but some of these pros may apply to you anyway: - More individualized attention for each child - Less time spent on useless busywork or getting 20+ kids to settle down, resulting in far shorter school days for homeschooled children. Even in high school, I usually finished my formal school work in 3-4 hours, and many other homeschoolers report similar situations - The ability to move at a pace appropriate for YOU, not some arbitrary standard set up by the school system - The ability to use school resources appropriate for YOU, not those chosen by total strangers as appropriate for everyone, regardless of individual interests or needs - Speaking of interests, all that extra time and flexibility you have can go towards pursuing your own interests (academic and non-academic) rather than relegating them to the weekends, school vacations, and the hours after you finish you homework - Flexibility in scheduling. You can set up a daily schedule that works for you and your family, and you can take vacations, field trips, and emergency trips when YOU want or need to, not when the school says you can have time off without getting in trouble. - Learning is integrated, giving students a much better view of the world and how things influence each other, rather than having the school day broken down into disconnected subjects that have little or no relation to one another. - Socialization takes place in the real world. The typical homeschooled child is exposed to a wide range of people, abilities, interests, and points of view through participation in a wide range of activities, including but not limited to music lessons, martial arts, theater productions, college courses outside the home, participation in groups/after-school activities (with other homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers), field trips, and participation in the tasks of everyday life, such as doctor's appointments and grocery shopping. Contrast this with the average child in the traditional school system, whose social circle is limited by age, ability, and often other factors like race and socioeconomic status (since public schools often draw their students from specific areas and private schools are often expensive). - Many homeschoolers finish high school early, resulting in early college admissions and college graduations for those who choose to pursue higher education - And speaking of higher education, your average homeschooler scores as high as or higher than traditionally-school students on tests like the SAT and ACT, and colleges not only accept but often actively recruit homeschoolers. The only real homeschooling con I can think of is that, for the rest of your life, you'll be dealing with ignorant people who know nothing about homeschooling going on and on about how homeschooled kids are unsocialized weirdos...which, when you think about it, is a weak argument. First, who gets to decide what's "normal" and "weird"? Second, do those people really think that everyone in school fits their (usually very narrow) definition of "normal"? And third...well, see above for my discussion of socialization while homeschooling.