Children are our Future - How are We Educating them?

Is homeschooling the way to go? 

The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report estimates that by the year 2022, ‘employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling.’ Elon Musk, the techpreneur, and CEO of multiple successful projects and companies believes that traditional method of teaching in schools is not the right approach because we need to ‘educate children for the jobs in the future’. And only because of this, Elon has set up his own school. He believes that rather than teaching text knowledge of screwdrivers and tools for a future engineer, the child needs to be face to face with an actual machine.  

Parents are concerned about their children’s education to the extent that they move cities and towns and overcome hurdles to get their child in the ‘best school possible’. The truth is, that learning for the child starts long before school and obtaining knowledge is no longer confined to educational institutions. Every child deciphers the world in a different way, has a different pace and responses best to different teaching methodologies. A classroom where the attention is divided among a cluster of students does not do justice to the child of tomorrow which is why homeschooling is becoming immensely popular.  

“according to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) as of 2013, 1.7 million students in the United States opted out of traditional education and into homeschooling; a number that is still growing rapidly” – The Huffington Post  

“74% of parents who elect to school their children at home, according to NCES, is because they feel that their child will get a more competitive education there versus what's offered at the local public school. And research might support them. In high school students, which represents the largest percentage of homeschooled students, these students "frequently outperform their public-school counterparts on the SATs and state standardized tests by about 20 percentage points. These students continue excelling into college and beyond with an average college GPA of 3.46 as compared to 3.16 held by their counterparts.” – Education World 

People have started to believe that homeschooling promises a happy and successful future for their children.  

Here are some reasons why homeschooling is gaining popularity day by day: 

1. Homeschooling is shaped around the personality of the child 

A classroom at a school caters to children of different personalities, caliber, and qualities. While the methodologies of teaching might be considerable, it is not possible to cater to each student in the manner that they would require. Homeschooling a child brings out the best in a child, it can polish the child’s talents and can recognize the child’s weaknesses and strengths from an early age. Also, the schedule and teaching methods can be best suited to the child’s needs. Homeschool Panda is a recommended application for homeschoolers across the globe.  

2. Cultural Experience 

A Homeschooled child does not have the regular subject periods that other school kids do. Surely, he or she will do math, science, and all the learning that is required; however, the child can learn much more by being exposed to subjects the traditional schooling experience doesn’t offer. By completing chores and assignments in his/her own pace and spending more time doing the things he/she loves, as well as, gaining community experiences your child will gain culturally more benefits, making learning an exciting experience.  

3. The learning doesn’t stop 

At a school, a child is programmed to spend time attending lectures, and doing homework. With the homeschooling experience, the child rarely has any external pressures and the learning process doesn’t stop. Homeschooling also helps prevent bullying, peer pressure, and unhealthy competitiveness. Homeschooled students are self-motivated and thus prestigious institutions like Harvard and Oxford prefer homeschooled students for their programs. 

4. Family bonding 

Homeschooling your children means that their school will be their home and that they will be around you all day! You will be the teacher and you will also be doing all the activities, whether it is studying or extra-curricular ones together. As the parent and the teacher, you will be a part of your child’s special moments and you won’t miss out on any phase of their life. It is reported that homeschooled children have much stronger bonds with their guardians/parents than normal children do. 

5. Religious reasons 

While this isn’t the case for a major chunk of homeschooling families, some parents often homeschool their children due to religious reasons. They believe that society might have a negative impact on the child’s religious habits and personality developments.