By: Danielle Elish Goco & Angeli Tomagos

Have an idea what homeschooling is? Basically it is having an education done at home rather than having it at school. The debate on whether or not homeschooling is beneficial or unfavorable to the development of a child can go on forever.

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As for those who support homeschooling, they can provide more and more reasons why homeschooling is beneficial to children, those who are against it can also come up with their own list of reasons why it is unfavorable to the development of the children. There will always be contradicting points regarding homeschooling but nevertheless, you have taken the stand to be a pro or a con to homeschooling.

There are reasons to explain how homeschooling can be beneficial to children. Children can benefit from getting more attention to their own learning when they are taught alone, or in small groups (some homeschooling families join together for learning). Theres more flexibility with learning and the subjects being studied. Lessons can take place at home, in the garden, outside or on trips and theres flexibility and scope than just being in a classroom.

Theres more opportunity with homeschooling to focus and develop a childs special interests. Being homeschooled also helps in finding time to foster loving ties between all family members. Teens seem to benefit enormously from this interaction, and rebellious, destructive behavior often begins to diminish soon after homeschooling begins. It is also good for the childs health considering that he/she is sick, it wont be that hard to catch-up with lessons.

One of the reasons why some people disagree on having children receive education at home is because they believe that homeschooling will not allow the child to develop social skills. However, according to the Montessori Homeschooling Program, socialization actually does not mean being in a classroom and competing with other children their age. They believe that in a real community, children spend their daily lives interacting with people from different ages. In a real community, a competitive atmosphere does not exist in a childs eye, what they do is that they interact.

As with any method of schooling, there are downsides with homeschooling too. Children from homeschooling usually dont know how to interact with other people. Making friends is a bit hard in their part. They wont be able to learn the moral lessons that can only be learned from school, experiences on the outside world and from different perspectives.

Homeschooled children were less likely to be competent, active and participative in such activities that involves skills and interactions that can only be learned from schools. Realistically, its a lot of work for parents and takes a huge amount of dedication and it can be exhausting to do all the lesson planning and instigating themselves. Its also hard work coming up with new and interesting ideas to teach children. Homeschooling can also put a strain on finances, as it means one parent has to be at home to teach the kids and would not be able to work.

Homeschooling isnt something to go lightly, especially if theres a lot of work involved in being with and teaching your children each day. But many people do it successfully and they are responsible enough to accomplish all these things. What matters the most is that children are able to learn and their parents are always there to support them.