Why you shouldn't be afraid of home schooling

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The Russian school system is scolded from some tribunes and extolled from others.

The parties cite impressive statistics as proof and shake the results of research and the latest multi-stage tests. The controversy continues, and it is impossible to separate the right from the wrong.

Until a certain moment - until your child comes home from school in tears. All indicators, ratings and high-profile statements expire.

123RF / Jennifer Huls

It is good if the problem is in a specific institution, which is easy to change. Worse, when this is not the first school, and it becomes clear - the point is in the system.

At a turning point, parents think about family education, but often do not dare to take this step - there are too many risks. The specialists of the InternetUrok.ru portal told whether home schooling really is so risky.

Homeschooling - the choice of experimenters or experts?

In Russia, family education is just beginning to gain momentum - the movement called homeschooling is only 30 years old in our country.

However, in recent years, only 100,000 families have switched to home schooling. This is not enough to create an information space where parents can share experiences and find valuable advice. As a result, practically no one knows anything about family education. It is not surprising that homeschooling is overgrown with myths, like a musk ox with wool - behind it it is impossible to understand what kind of animal it is and whether it is possible to approach it. Fortunately, the lack of information is just a matter of time.

Homeschooling has long been tried abroad. For example, in the United States there are more than 1.5 million children in home education. Over the 60 years of the movement's development, American families have gone through a lot of trial and error, shared experiences with each other, and homeschooling has become an understandable and adequate alternative to schooling.

(still from the movie "Captain Fantastic")

Today, home education in Russia is at the conditional “acquaintance” stage. It really takes courage and a willingness to try new things to switch to it, but it is equally important to get rid of unfounded fears of homeschooling.

Fear 1. Home education does not provide socialization

The first thing that comes to mind when you hear about homeschooling is that a child sits in a room with his mother and studies subjects - all the time.

123RF / goodluz

Such a picture outrages: “Communicating only with parents, the child will not get socialization! Better to leave him at school, where he will learn to interact with society."

Here you need to pause emotions and ask yourself the question: what is it about, this socialization? According to the dictionaries, the main task of this process is to study the norms accepted in society and become its full member. Does the school really teach this? What norms does the child learn? Does he see himself as a full member of society? Unlikely.

The truth is that a standard school position is always a position of strength. The child is made convenient for learning en masse: do not ask unnecessary questions, do not argue, do what they say. This is a pipelined approach. And it can be explained: there are many children in the class, the lesson time is limited, it is impossible to conduct discussions with each student - it is necessary to fulfill the program established "from above". Thus, the child learns to remain silent, adjust, obey others and not hear himself. Socialization is questionable. This approach works for the army, but does not work if you want to grow a free person.

At the same time, everyone understands how much depends on the teacher. One illiterate teacher is enough to bait a student and grow a bouquet of complexes in him. So the random person has every opportunity to hurt your child.

123RF / darkbird

The well-known opponent of schools, TV and radio presenter, public figure Tatyana Lazareva, transferred her son and daughter to home education. In her interviews, she says that she dropped out of school because of domestic violence and disrespect for children. Tatiana believes that school, using only fear in motivation to study, destroys the child's personality and does not allow his individuality to be revealed.

Home education, on the other hand, comes from the child. The program, the method of feeding the material, the pace and the load are configured for it. As a result, the child realizes his importance, learns to listen to himself and gets used to what others hear him. Such children grow up free of labels and fear of people in power. They learn dialogue and constructive interaction as opposed to rebellion and silence in school.

Fear 2. The child will not have friends

Parents, who have most of their friends from school, are afraid to doom their child to loneliness. However, homeschoolers have long since resolved this issue. With a well-structured home education, children attend additional courses, circles, sports clubs, museums, parks and walk in the yard and in the country with other children. Thus, the child communicates with children with similar interests, and also learns to interact in different groups. And this, again, is socialization.

Experienced homeschoolers advise parents to get involved in dating: if your child has made friends with someone, exchange phone numbers with adults. In the future, you can agree to visit each other and go out together for walks and cultural events.

The third option is to find friends among like-minded people. Homeschoolers often band together for joint learning and pastime. Communication with such children in family education will also be beneficial for the child.

Fear 3. The child will not get enough knowledge

Among homeschoolers, there are parents who teach children alone. They follow the school program or deviate from it at their own discretion, while they themselves deal with the child and explain everything to him.

But not all parents are ready for such feats - many believe that they will not be able to explain the material as deeply as a good teacher.

123RF / rawpixel

This is a normal concern and a resolvable question: you can hire a tutor or study through online schools. In this case, the main task of the parents is to organize an environment where the child will freely and happily explore the world.

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Often at home, children begin to learn on their own. The thirst for knowledge arises in them again. This process is called "scrubbing". The child understands that now he does not need to learn from under the stick, he opens up and reaches for knowledge himself. Because it's natural for children.

School kills a child's curiosity. Forcibly and in a boring form, information is laid in children, without tying it to life. Think back to your school. Will you tell me today what burning is? Can you explain the work of the great law of conservation of energy when you start the car by turning the key? Can you answer the question: "Why, if all people are genetically similar, are some communities so backward?" School knowledge, like plants without roots, simply does not hold in the head.

So what is more afraid of - school or family education? Everyone will answer it himself. To summarize, the price a child pays to be in the system is curiosity, individuality, and self-esteem. Is it worth it? You decide.