18 Disadvantages Of Homeschooling

Homeschooling is a social unit of family living together with the focus of one’s domestic attention, whereas a school is a place specially designed to provide a specific area and ambiance for the teaching-learning process.  Homeschooling defeats the purpose of both – Home and School as Institutions. Covid-19 pandemic has brought every parent to homeschool their child. A lot of drawbacks exist in the homeschooling system.

The disadvantages cited in this article will help the parents to understand the snags. It will help them in decision-making for their child’s schooling.  

 

18 Disadvantages of Homeschooling

1.   Demands comprehensive Planning and Execution

If the parent wishes to achieve a child’s academic goals through homeschooling, comprehensive and perfect planning is the essential element. This requires more focus which may stress the parents.

 

2.   Needs Expertise

Selection of curriculum, the time required to cover each concept, following the child’s capability require extra-ordinary expertise of the parent.  Parents are completely responsible for the overall learning of children in homeschooling. Parents should have perfectness to plan the learning process comprehensively to achieve the learning outcomes. Faulty design of daily executions of home learning creates negative consequences.

 

3.  Demands Extensive Reviews

Before selecting a curriculum, parents have to review the available curricula several times to zero down on one which suits the best for the child. It takes quite a large amount of time from their regular schedule.

 

4. Domestic Distractions

Visitors, pets, frequent temptation to eat, or to take breaks during study time are hindrances to distract the parent and the child as well.

 

5.   Consumes Maximum time

Homeschooling consumes a large amount of parent’s time in curriculum selection, planning, and daily execution of the learning process. They have to ensure that at least one parent should be available to attend to the child’s studies. Preparation for teaching difficult concepts also demands time.

 

 6.  Too much togetherness upsets the child

A child has no option but to spend the maximum time of the day with the parents in the homeschooling system. Children feel happy if they get the company of their friends and peers for a longer time. Homeschooling makes parent-kid togetherness almost 24/7. This may sometimes annoy and confuses the child.

 

7.   Restrictions in competitions entries

Co-curricular activities like games & sports and competitions are integral parts of the growth of a child’s overall personality. School provides the opportunity to all his pupils to participate in such activities. Most of these events and competitions are affiliated with the schools and participation is possible through schools only. Such competitions need entries through schools only.  Homeschooling restricts a child’s natural spirit to participate in competitions.

 

8.   Limited Sports and other activities

Traditional schools have fixed slots for games and sports. Children participate individually and in teams in these activities. The children are teamed-up for these activities. In homeschooling, a child gets limited involvement in sports and other activities.

 

 

9.   Lack of Learning with Peer

Children enjoy the learning environment where they get the opportunity to learn in their peer groups. Homeschooling prevents this opportunity. Children have to study in the company of parents or the home tutor. As a result, children sometimes lose the fun of learning. Learning becomes tedious and less enjoyable.

 

10.  Restricted Resources

The resources available in the schools are plenty for mass learning. These resources are sufficient for every age group enrolled in the school. At home, there is a limitation, especially in terms of technological and subject-specific resources. The learning process is compromised in such situations.

 

 

11. Limited Circle for Appreciation

At a very tender age, the education of a child starts. Each passing day brings new learning to a child’s life. On achieving those learning outcomes and experiences, the child genuinely expects appreciation as a booster. In school, children are appreciated by the teachers and the other students. The child gets only the inner family circle to appreciate his good work in home learning.

 

12. No Award Ceremonies

Homeschooling provides no platforms on which the child is appreciated for achievements. He or she cannot appreciate other child’s achievements too. No one cheers and celebrates his/her achievements in public.

 

13. Demands Physical Presence of Parents

One of the parents has to devote full time at home to the child that means only one parent can work. One parent has to sacrifice a professional career. This restricts the flow of financial resources.

 

14. Parent’s struggle with difficult concepts

When the concept is difficult, parents struggle to make the child understand it. In school, teachers are trained to deal with a variety of concepts. Parents either try hard to learn the concept or hire a tutor.

           

15. Less Social Exposure

While traveling daily to school, children get exposed to society. Child in homeschooling gets less social exposure and interactions with the peer groups. This might affect the growth of social abilities of adjustments and team building.

 

16. Constant Stress to Parents

Parents are in constant anxiety about their child’s educational progress. They may have to review and change the execution of the daily learning process many times. This might give them less relaxing time.

 

17. Needs  Patience

Homeschooling needs a lot of patience from the parent. It’s not easy to tackle the educational needs of the child. It depends upon the child’s ability to learn and his mood for learning as well. If the parent loses patience, the possibility of gradual distancing between the parent and the kid thickens.

 

18. Parents struggle to Maintain Regularity

Homeschooling brings additional responsibility to the parents to execute the learning at a regular pace and time. Due to their professional commitments and domestic responsibilities, parents find it difficult to conduct regular teaching sessions daily.  Constant irregularities in conducting the learning period may lead the child to lag.

 

While deciding the schooling, parents must investigate and examine the advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling over schools. This information will be useful for the parents who are tossing the coin to choose education for their children.