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Homeschooling, as the term itself shows, means to educate the child at home instead of at school—it does not mean schools conducting online classes. Under homeschooling, parents teach the child or appoint private tutors. Some children are self-driven and may not even need much intervention of parents and/or tutors. The child has to appear for an exam conducted by a certified Government body to earn their academic credentials. Homeschooling has been around for quite some time but has still not become as popular as it should. In other words, the benefits of homeschooling have not yet been fully realized. In USA, about 3 to 4% of children are homeschooled while in India there are about 15000 families who educate their children at home. In the coming years, the numbers all over the world will increase but the onus lies on the governments to speed up homeschooling..

It is very important to take a fresh look at homeschooling because its many advantages are often overlooked. In a country like India where private schools (especially in New Delhi) shamelessly demand huge donations from parents for admitting their children, homeschooling, if encouraged, can bring about significant changes.

Below are some benefits of homeschooling children:

1) Studies have shown that homeschooled children are smarter than conventionally schooled ones. In the USA, homeschooled kids get better marks on the SAT exam. At the USA Mathematical Olympiad, in both 2009 and 2010, a homeschooler was among the winners. In fact, homeschoolers made up 8 percent of the winners in both years. Also, in the 3M Young Scientist Challenge, 2 of the 10 finalists in the 2008 and 2010 contests were homeschooled students. In India, Malvika Raj Joshi, a homeschooled girl from Mumbai, got admission in the prestigious MIT in the USA without even a class 12 certificate. There are other examples, like Ramchandra Kishor Apte, who were homeschooled but performed very well. The argument that homeschooled kids are not as bright as schooled ones is simply baseless. Sources – Link 1 Homeschool Kids

2)  Let us admit all teachers are not good and such teachers kill the child’s interest in the subject. Under homeschooling, the child has the flexibility to choose tutors. If one tutor is not good, the child’s parents can appoint another one. It will not be necessary to remain stuck with one ineffective teacher for many years. I remember in my school days I was very interested in physics, but a poor teacher destroyed my interest in physics completely and he continued in many classes, so there was no escape.

3) No society can progress without new knowledge and to assimilate new knowledge, one must abandon old knowledge. For this, the ability to UNLEARN becomes a critically needed skill in the 21st century. Unfortunately, schools emphasize too much on learning but do not teach students the art of unlearning. Since a homeschooled child learns at its own pace, he or she can develop better discrimination and decide what to learn and unlearn.

4) It is quite possible that viral diseases and pandemics will become common in the coming years. Homeschooled children are at a significantly less risk of catching infections.

5) Parents get more time to spend with their children, therefore the emotional bonding between them becomes stronger. This has a significant impact on the psychological health of the child. Both parents and children can use the time spent in travelling back and forth from school, waiting for the school bus, dressing up, etc., for emotional bonding.

6) The child feels gets greater freedom to learn and can understand better where his or her true interest lies. In schools, often teachers condition the child’s mind, resulting in wrong career choices. In India, millions of children want to become engineers, and this is because of parental pressure. A significant number of these children have no genuine interest or aptitude to become engineers. It is important for a child to experience some disconnection from parents, teachers and peers to understand himself better.

7) Family vacations need not depend on school vacation schedules. Parents can plan their vacation anytime they want. This will go a long way in reducing stress.

8) Homeschooling is a wonderful option for children with disabilities, transgenders, and so on. They can study in peace without being taunted and bullied by other children.

9) A child’s body is in a developing stage and so needs adequate sleep. Many children do not get adequate sleep because of the hectic school routine. This is especially true for children living far from their schools. During monsoons, children get stuck in traffic jams for hours. Homeschooling will allow children to get adequate sleep.

10) Homeschooling will also allow the child to take up many online courses provided by udemy.com, skillshare.com and other learning portals. These portals have many courses, such as photography, animation and filmmaking, which are not taught in schools. Beyond engineering and medical, these courses are gateways of excellent career options.

11) As parent monitor their children’s study at home, they can also re-learn what they have forgotten from their school studies. In relearning, they can also learn new things and update their knowledge. It is common to find adults who do not remember even basic but important things they learned in their school days, such as common science concepts, basic concepts of their country’s constitution. Homeschooling enables both the child and his parents to learn.

12) Education in most countries is expensive and private schools in India indulge in malpractices like forcing parents to buy textbooks and overpriced uniforms from the school itself. The annual fees also keep moving north and schools often arbitrarily add other charges. The parents are helpless and forced to comply. Changing schools is not an option because of many reasons and often the next school wants a huge donation. Homeschooling can reduce the financial burden to a tremendous extent. The money saved can create a substantial financial fund for the child.

Governments should no longer view homeschooling as inferior to conventional schooling and must actively encourage parent to teach their children at home. In India, there is distrust and lack of clarity about homeschooling. Most Indian parents still feel homeschooling will not be conducive to their children’s career. The government must form policies to formalize home education and harness the benefits of homeschooling. Besides, in the present age, with widespread Internet broadband connectivity, there is no reason homeschooling cannot succeed. There are challenges involved, however. Both parents and the child need to be very disciplined and must maintain a school-like atmosphere at home. The child must study regularly as he or she would in school, parents must maintain a vigil on their child’s studies and so forth.

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