By Katie Picard
Parents have many options when it comes to educating their children. They can choose to send their kids to public or private school or be homeschooled. Home-
schooling is known to give the parent more bonding time with their child, but is it really better for them? One of the benefits that come from homeschooling is flexibility. Having a flexible schedule allows parents to adjust lessons to fit their family’s schedule, and if kids need extra time to grasp a concept then parents can lengthen any lesson as well. Another benefit is that parents or guardians have the freedom to choose and plan the entire learning experience, which means families can travel to learn about other cultures or can insert hands-on subjects like sewing, sailing, religion, or astronomy.
Now that some of the benefits have been laid out, what are some of the disadvantages to homeschooling? For starters once a parent starts homeschooling, they have to balance parenting their child, or children, running the household, and running a school. Another aspect that will affect the child is the excessive interaction they will have with their parents. Many children may find this to be confining or restricting. The last cons is the fact that the student will not get the experience of socializing with other kids during the school year. Socializing and learning to navigate relationships with other kids and adults are vital skills that kids need for success in the wider world.
When specifically discussing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education and homeschooling, the most popular discussion is, how can parents give their child access to the right programs and electives? That question can be answered by the multiple STEM programs that are set up just for that homeschooling purpose. Programs such as Acellus have set up video lessons about many science programs, including chemistry, environmental science, and physics. JuSTEMagine is another organization that offers STEM education to all students. JuSTEMagine organizes and facilitates events to educate kids about all aspects of STEM and how it applies to their lives. Prairie STEM, a non-profit STEM organization in Nebraska, also offers STEM classes for homeschooled children. Homeschooling is an option that many people may want to explore, but it all depends on whether or not it would work for the child or the parent. If parents are worried about their children missing out on solid STEM education, they can simply reach out to one of the many organizations like JuSTEMagine.
Works Cited
Arnholz, Jonathan. “Is Hands-on Learning Better?” Build Your Future, 12 Feb. 2019,
byf.org/is-hands-on-learning better/#:~:text=Hands%2Don%20learning%20
better%20engages.
Calvert Education. “Homeschooling Pros and Cons - Calvert Education.” Calvert Education,
pros-and-cons.
“The Advantages and Limitations of Homeschooling.” The Edvocate, 10 Nov. 2020,
www.theedadvocate.org/the-advantages-and-limitations-of-homeschooling/.
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