Benefits Of Homeschooling

Annalise Kuhlman

Diane Mercer

Honors English I

13 February 2018

Homeschooling

Homeschooling has become increasingly popular over the last thirty years. In the 1980s, only ten thousand children in the U.S. were homeschooled. Today, it is estimated that around two million children are homeschooled. There is a good reason for the increasing popularity of homeschooling: it works. Homeschooling is more beneficial to students than public schooling because it meets the needs of both the students and their families. Homeschooling meets individual learning needs by allowing the student to learn at a pace that is best suited for him or her. Students that are being homeschooled can stay on a subject as long as they need to in order to understand the

Wendy Martin talks about this in her article, “Our Experience With Homeschooling”: “We are rooted in this place, yet we are also free to travel. In the Winter when the garden is frozen and other kids are sitting in classrooms, we explore many national parks and forests—the warm ones”(Martin 68). Many families are switching to homeschooling to have a more flexible schedule. An example of this can be found in the article “Home Schooling Goes Mainstream”, “Movie stars Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, married in 1997, home school their two children along with Will’s nephew. Why? “For flexibility” Pinkett Smith told an Essence reporter, “so they can stay with us when we travel”(Milton 10-18). It is important to travel and learn about geography and different cultures. Families that homeschool their children are not limited by school hours and days, and are free to travel any time of the year. Homeschooling is a good option for students and families that want to travel often while still

Students need to interact with their peers and form friendships in order to be fully socially developed. Homeschooled students often do not get the opportunity to interact with people their own age every day because they do not attend a public school. Homeschooled students often lack good social skills due to lack of interaction with their peers. Lack of socialization can also have detrimental effects on a child emotionally. According to the article “The Harms of Homeschooling”, by Robin L. West, the lack of socialization that a homeschooled child has can lead to depression. Suffering from depression is unhealthy for children. Children who do not get much socialization might also be lonely or might not be able to empathize. These harmful emotional effects are the last things that a parent would want for their