The decision of whether a child attends public school or homeschool lies with the parents. In recent decades, there has been an upsurge of children around the globe ditching the public school system opting to join the home-based style of education. The reasons for this upsurge range from financial ability to the need to avoid public school bullying incidences that are rampant in public schools. As proof of the popularity of homeschooling, all the states in the United States have legalized this system of education with varying degrees of regulations being administered (Reich, 2016). Both the homeschooling and the public system of education have their pitfalls as well as their advantages. However, with the rising cases of school bullying and other newer forms of bullying such as cyberbullying coming up, the proponents of homeschooling have more reasons to advocate for homeschooling education. In this essay, the discussion will center on the reasons behind homeschooling education and its rising significance in matters of education.
Bullying is a major reason behind parents making the choice of homeschooling over mainstream public education. Few public schools can boast of having control over the bullying vice. It is impossible for schools to completely eradicate the issue from schools as some of the bullying cases are not violent. The non-violent cases are often unreported but they still have the same negative impact on the children’s ability to receive quality education (Clery, 1998). With more parents being aware of these cases, it is not surprising then that they prefer homeschooling for their children instead of running the risk of bullying at school. Other newer forms of bullying such as cyber-bullying have only served to legitimize and increase the calls for more homeschooling of children.
The failure of public schools has been cited as a major reason why more parents are opting for homeschooling over public schooling. Mismanagement of public schools is a common occurrence in many states and countries of the world. Issues such as underpaying of public school teachers, theft of school resources by management, poor quality of education and overpopulated schools have led to the wide-spread belief that public schools are failing. While this may not be true for all public schools, the better performance of private schools compared to public schools in many states highlights the plight of public school institutions (Reich, 2016). Due to this, more parents are increasingly preferring homeschooling their children as the means that can assure them of quality education.
Homeschooling offers clear advantages that public schools cannot match. Homeschooling gives children quality time with their private tutors and offers the children customized education that works to improve their grades. It is easier for children to identify their weaknesses early on and work on their weaknesses as opposed to public schools where a student does not receive personalized attention (Winstanley, 2009). Additionally, homeschooling has fewer rules and children often tend to enjoy it over public school because of the obvious flexibility it offers compared to public schooling. For special students and slow learners, a homeschooled education system is the best alternative and it offers them clear-cut advantages and guarantees of better education.
In conclusion, the essay clearly shows that homeschooling system of education is poised to play a critical role in the future of education. Bullying instances, failure of public schools, and the clear advantages of homeschooling such as personalized education are the main factors behind parents choosing this system of education over public schooling for their children. Based on current trends, it is definite that homeschooling is the future of education.
References
Clery, E. (1998). Homeschooling: The meaning that the homeschooled child assigns to this experience. Issues in Educational Research, 8(1), 1-13.
Reich, R. (2016). Why homeschooling should be regulated. Homeschooling in New View (Hc), 133.
Winstanley, C. (2009). Too cool for school? Gifted children and homeschooling. Theory and Research in Education, 7(3), 347-362.