By Corey Whelan
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So far, so good. She excels at math and is able to comprehend challenging concepts as long as they are presented in small doses.” She is not alone in her frustration with how the educational system handles atypical learning styles or learning disabilities. A Dept. of Education survey cites 73 percent of homeschooling parents as being dissatisfied with the academic instruction available in local schools. Learning styles can be a significant factor in a parent’ s decision to homeschool their child, but is not the only one. Kids, particularly those growing up in urban areas, may find the regular school schedule chafing up against their burgeoning interests in theater, dance or art. Some parents who opt to homeschool their children do so in an attempt to alleviate scheduling issues between traditional class time and time spent pursuing their children’ s specialized talents. Advocates of homeschooling cite this as an admirable choice, but others argue that it is not in the best interests of the child. Why not homeschool? Teaching styles vary widely among parents who homeschool their kids. Some follow standard school curriculum, utilizing text books and following a schedule that includes math and English, while others opt to unschool, meaning that no curriculum whatsoever is utilized and each day is different from the next.
Unschooling may be earmarked by a variety of trips and learning experiences and can be highly creative and child-led. But for some, these freewheeling unschooling days may instead be parent-led, pushing children to concentrate their efforts on interests of note for the adult rather than the child, or on religious ideology.
Arguably, an asset of attending regular school is the opportunity it affords kids to be exposed to a wide variety of subjects, not just those currently of interest, as well as a diverse group of people. While not all schools are created equal, the ability they give children to socialize with others is a big plus. Recognizing the need for socialization, parents who homeschool typically attempt to create a social network for their children by organizing field trips and by joining homeschooling networks or groups. However, rarely do they encompass disparate types of people. Within urban areas, these groups may be ethnically diverse, yet similar socio-economically. In rural regions, the groups may be religion-focused or comprised of people sharing other common ideologies. Either way, it is a rare
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