Are you homeschooling for the right reasons?

It's a very big decision to make.

🗝 Key points:

• Work out whether homeschooling is the best option for your child
• Try not to be swayed by other parents' opinions
• Don't expect too much of yourself

Homeschooling has become increasingly popular in recent years, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, with many parents now taking the significant decision to educate their children at home rather than sending them to a traditional school.

While homeschooling can offer a wide range of benefits to you and your child, it is important to carefully consider whether it is the right choice for you and your family.

You choose what they learn

This will either excite you or terrify you. Or both.

For me it's definitely both.

Many people choose to homeschool their children because they want to provide a more personalized and tailored education for their children. Rather than following a specific pre-determined curriculum dictated by the school or government, homeschooling allows parents to design a curriculum or approach of their own that meets the unique needs and interests of their child.

This can be particularly beneficial for high learning potential or asynchronous children who learn at a different pace to their peers, or who have specific learning needs that are not being met in a traditional classroom setting.

It's not easy though. It is an enormous responsibility to ensure that your child is receiving enough stimulating information and being challenged enough to reach their full potential.

It's definitely not the easy option!

They avoid bullying

This is always a polarising issue, so please don't be swayed easily by the opinions of others. I'll try to be as impartial as possible here, but make sure to decide for yourself how you feel about the issue.

Many kids get bullied at school. I don't think anyone will argue with that point.

The question is whether children should be expected to go through the process of being bullied as a character building exercise, or whether it's something to avoid as much as possible.

All I know is that I got bullied for being a nerd, and it made me avoid doing things that in hindsight I really wish I had done. And I don't want my kids to go through the same thing. Furthermore, I was bullied for being a nerd at one of the most selective private schools in the country. Just let that sink in for a moment.

Yeah - I'm that much of a nerd.

And I want my kids to be able to be nerds too, if they're that way inclined, without feeling like they're going to be picked on for expressing who they are. I had a terrible few years towards the end of secondary school and at the beginning of my university life where I didn't really know who I was, or what I liked, because I'd spent my school years trying to fit in, and please other people, when really I just needed to accept that I'm a bit weird and like spending a lot of time on my own.

Faith and Religion

Some people choose to homeschool in order to provide an education that is better aligned with their particular moral or religious values.

We're not religious, and one of the things that has put us off the local schools in our area is the religious emphasis placed on the kids' education from a very young, impressionable age.

I want our kids to learn about religion from an impartial point of view, and if they then choose to grow up and adopt a specific faith, they can do so from an infored standpoint, rather than simply following the religious doctrines that happen to predominate in the region in which they were born.

It's a full time job

Probably the most important key factor to consider is whether you have the time, resources, and expertise to effectively homeschool your child.

Homeschooling requires an enormous commitment of time and energy from both parent and child, and it is important to ensure that you have the necessary resources and support to make it work.

This includes having access to educational materials and resources, as well as being able to provide a structured and consistent learning environment at home.

The socialising question

It is also important to consider whether you are prepared for the social and emotional challenges that homeschooling may bring.

While homeschooling can provide a more nurturing and supportive learning environment for an HLP child, it can also limit your child's opportunities for socialisation and interaction with a peer group. This can be particularly challenging for children who are naturally more extroverted or who enjoy being around other kids their own age.

However if you approach homeschooling with this in mind, you can take active steps to provide your child with enriching and vibrant socialising opportunities that bring them huge amounts of joy and benefit, such as:

• Sports and Hobby clubs
• Community groups
• Online communities

Personally I'd argue that spending time around other gymnasts, learning from older kids and teaching younger children, is far more valuable as a socialising experience than spending 8am-3pm in a classroom with a random selection of other six year olds. But as always - each to their own.

Think about their long term needs

It is important to consider whether homeschooling is the right choice for your child's long-term educational and career goals.

Marie and I are both doctors, and needed GCSEs, A levels, work experience and all sorts of other hoop-jumping bits and bobs to make a strong application to medical school. This is one of the many reasons we will ensure our kids take their GCSEs and A levels just as if they were in conventional schooling, because there are many desirable vocations that they may miss out on otherwise.

They may even choose to attend secondary school full time - we'll leave that decision until closer to the time.

To sum up

In conclusion, while homeschooling can offer a range of benefits, it is important to carefully consider whether it is the right choice for you and your family. Personalised and tailored education, a safer and more secure learning environment, and the ability to incorporate personal values and beliefs are all important factors to consider, but they should not be the sole or primary motivation for homeschooling. It is also important to consider whether you have the time, resources, and expertise to effectively homeschool your child, and to be prepared for the social and emotional challenges that homeschooling may bring.

Good luck!

M+J