Homeschooling is the practice of educating children who have attained the age of
school education at home or in places other than school. It is estimated that over 3
percent of students in the United States of America are homeschooled, and this
number is steadily on the rise.
In Nigeria and most countries in Africa, less than 1 percent of the children and
youth population is homeschooled. There are many reasons why homeschooling is
not popular amongst parents in this part of the world; the most common being:
(a) Illiteracy on the part of parents, which forces them to outsource their children’s
education to traditional schools
(b) Poverty and economic instability; and
(c) A general fear of disrupting the status quo.
Many stand on opposing sides of this conversation. Those for homeschooling often
are younger and seemingly more ‘woke’ parents while those against often are older
and, for lack of a better phrase, less ‘woke’.
One argument against homeschooling is that it is more expensive than traditional
education. Some would argue that the absence of school fees, uniform and PTA
levies, exam levies, and all other levies that plague traditional education makes it
the less expensive option for child education, but I would counter with a fact:
setting up a proper homeschooling experience will cost parents more, as they would
have to pay for excursions, computers, laboratory equipment, curriculum
frameworks and other media and technology enabled devices which are necessary
for the child’s education. However, it is worth mentioning that a proper
homeschooling experience, delivered with all the necessary tools required by the
child, will afford them a more centred learning experience, which, in turn, could
lead to greater learning outcomes.
Another argument against homeschooling is that it takes away the opportunity of
children to learn as kids and with other kids. This argument has its basis in the
point that children need to be left to socialize with other children if they are ever
going to learn true independence. Homeschooling enthusiasts refute this claim for
a variety of reasons. They say that the very act of homeschooling includes teaching
one’s children how to navigate social skills that are relevant in our ever changing
world. They assert that there are activities that children can undertake with or
without their parents which help them build skills like tolerance, independence,
organization, cooperation, empathy, self control, and effective communication.
Again, some parents who practice homeschooling opine that they have more
information about their kids’ lives and strengths and that this helps them to not
just make more informed decisions for their children, but also to influence their
children’s views of life. In a study of homeschooling parents conducted in the
United States of America, over 35 percent of parents who homeschool their
children stated that they made the choice to homeschool because they would like
to heavily influence their kids’ moral and religious values. On the opposing side,
parents who send their children to traditional schools are of the opinion that
there’s no guarantee that children who are homeschooled would become adults who
share the religious and moral beliefs of their parents.
With this newfound perspective, would you consider homeschooling your kids? Let
us know in the comment section below, or shoot us an email via this address:
[email protected]
