To home-school, or not to home-school

A lot of students from middle school and high school don’t like going to school. Either they don’t like to learn, they don’t like the other students who go there, or they just don’t like the overall environment. That is why home-schooling has been brought up numerous times, whether someone’s friend experiences it, one longs for it themselves, or even a parent insists upon it. With the economy suffering and some of the kids at school having a hard time fitting in, from the exterior, home schooling seems like the perfect solution. But when you really look at the situation, it’s really not ideal — for the student nor the parent. If a student is struggling academically or they just don’t like school in general, their friends are most likely the main reason why they don’t have a temper tantrum before going to school each morning.

Friends are an important part of a students life; it’s important for teens to experience having people they trust and rely on. Having a good friend teaches them something just as important as math or science. If a student or parent insisted on home schooling, he or she would miss a very vital aspect of growing up and they could potentially have issues making friends or fitting in when they’re older. Although being pulled from school on account of social reasons could solve the problem at that moment, it wouldn’t disappear forever. In the second place, being schooled at home isn’t the same as being taught at school when it comes to the academics.

Most parents willing to step up to the plate aren’t qualified to teach their child the specific standards needed to be known during these years. Additionally, that parent isn’t being paid for this time-consuming job, which means that the entire family has to rely on only one income. Teachers at the school dedicate their time and money to teaching, while parents have other duties to worry about; for example: cooking, cleaning, and most importantly, parenting their child. They don’t have time to teach their daughter or son the needed curriculum, and even if they tried, it wouldn’t be done nearly as well as the educated teachers at the schools. In conclusion, deciding to home-school your child is not the best idea. When it comes to learning or making friends, leaving the student in school and letting them deal with their problems is better than pulling them out.

Although it may be a difficult decision to make and agree on between the parents and a child, just remember this: No matter how far you run or where you hide, you can’t run away from yourself.