Checking Out the So-Called Disadvantages of Home Schooling

Home schooling is more acceptable today than ever before. You can even go on to say that it is now in vogue and that more and more parents are willing to try it on their children. And this trend will probably not change anytime soon and will only continue until it becomes at par with the more traditional methods of educating children.

There are several reasons for this increased acceptance of home schooling, not the least of which are the benefits that it brings. Evidence has shown that those who undergo it usually perform better when taking standardized tests than their counterparts who were not schooled at home. That alone is a very good reason to favor this right there, and yet there are also the other reasons such as a child getting the kind of education that fits his abilities and personality better, among others.

Enough about the benefits of this, as there have already been plenty of discussion about that. What about its opposite, how about the so-called disadvantages of this? It is probably also worth looking at it, so that people can compare the pros and cons of this, which would allow them to make better decisions about whether to home school their kids or not.

Home Schooling Disadvantages

Even as we have noted the positive things about it, it is also important that we check out its perceived disadvantages. The following are some examples of those:

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage seen by critics of this is the limitations that are naturally set when it comes to the social exposure and interaction by the children who are under this educational system. And indeed this is a very valid point that needs to be looked at very seriously, since social exposure is one of the main benefits of going to school in the traditional manner, apart from the academic ones. While there might be some groups that help in addressing this by scheduling field trips and such, still that would hardly be enough to compensate for what is lost.

There are also some concerns about the supposed narrowness of the academic focus of it's curriculums. Now there is also some truth to this since the parents could either select from existing home school programs or they could choose to use the curriculum that has been adopted by the local school district. The said narrowness of the curriculum becomes compounded by the fact that it is taught by just one parent, thereby limiting the views and ideas that are passed on to the child, as this situation is seen to likely affect the way the child learns.

Opportunities that are always open to those who study in the usual way are also not open to those who are engaged in home schooling. This lack in the number of opportunities can be attributed to the limitations placed on the information that could reach a parent who is looking for advantages situations for his child - like financial assistance, scholarships, and the like.

Teaching Kids Creativity Through Science

Creativity is a subjective thing, usually considered an inherent trait and one most often associated with "soft" school subjects such as music and art class. You either have creativity or you don't, right? But is that really true? Can kids in particular be taught how to be more creative and can that happen in science class? I happen to think so and here's why.

Rote Learning Stifles Creativity

In the public school environment, creative answers and solutions are often not appreciated. And it's no wonder with all the red tape and national requirements that teachers face these days. They are more worried about getting their kids to pass standards tests than encouraging them to think about new ways to approach old problems. Fortunately, as a homeschool teacher, you can get past those barriers to creativity.

The biggest obstacle to promoting creativity in the classroom is rote learning - asking your kids to simply memorize facts out of context. There's nothing creative about that type of learning and it can actually be detrimental in the way it discourages kids from thinking outside the box or making decisions on their own.

Let's look at an example. If you are teaching astronomy this semester, you might be studying the planets in our solar system which, of course, revolve around our sun. That's a fact - but a pretty boring one. Your kids might be memorizing the names and orders of all those planets, again a fact but not one that gets kids excited. And learning those random facts doesn't result in good retention because they aren't associated with things within the child's environment.

Exploration Promotes Creativity

No matter what subject you are teaching in the home classroom, it can involve creative learning if you help them explore new knowledge while allowing mistakes to be made. Kids are much more likely to become creative when presented with "what if" questions without obvious answers.

In the above example about teaching astronomy, an easy way to get creative is to ask students to create a model of the solar system while talking about color choices based on what each planet's atmosphere is like. While you're at it, have your kids explore why or why not human beings might be able to one day live on other planets. Ask them about the elements necessary to support life and discuss which planets are most likely to contain those elements. There was a recent scientific discovery of a new planet in the Alpha Centauri system closes to our own which is very similar in size to Earth. Exploring science news such as this opens the door to creative exploration.

When it comes to teaching science, experimentation should be a major aspect of the curriculum. And there are few things better at promoting creativity than the ability to form hypotheses and then perform experiments to find out whether they are supported or found false. The less knowledge a child has at his disposal, the more likely those hypotheses are to be outlandish, but that's okay. He can hone his knowledge based on facts about the natural world as he progresses through the basics of science. Thus, making mistakes is itself an integral part of creativity because it leads to exploration of how to get it right next time.

Giving kids the answers to every problem and asking them to memorize those facts is one way to teach science, but a more effective way that also promotes creativity is by allowing them to explore knowledge. Help them get excited about the wonders of the natural world and they are sure to think of all sorts of fantastic new ideas. Creativity can be taught as long as the homeschool classroom encourages it.