5 Fantastic Reasons to Homeschool Your Child
For increasing numbers of families, homeschooling – whether long term or for a term or two – is becoming a positive choice, not a last resort. Far from yesteryear’s image of the hot-housed, friendless, peerless child, today’s homeschooled kids are confident, sociable, successful and enjoying many advantages over some of their schooled peers.
Here are five fantastic reasons why homeschooling could be right for your family.
1. Academic Rigour
One to one teaching ratios get better results than one to thirty – this much is obvious. The benefits of personal teaching, at the child’s own pace, are hard to deny. Homeschooled children traditionally do very well academically, and have every chance to reach their full academic potential.
An extra bonus is that homeschool families in England do not have to stick to the national curriculum – this opens up all kinds of opportunities, as Steve Spriggs, MD of William Clarence Education, knows. “When a child is homeschooled, they have the opportunity to learn diverse subjects often not on offer in school,” he says. “From astronomy and archaeology to rhetoric, Russian or zoology, parents and tutors can tailor the child’s learning exactly to their interests, ambitions and strengths.”
2. Social Intelligence
Real life does not mirror a classroom or an academic setting and the social skills children learn at school are arguably restricted to the social skills they need… at school. Homeschooled children, on the other hand, tend to mix widely in the community, and are typically at ease talking with younger children, older children, and adults of all ages. They are also more exposed to society in all of its many guises, and have greater opportunities to embrace diversity.
3. Cultural Capital
Because one to one teaching is much more efficient than classroom teaching, the academics are covered much more quickly at home – which leaves lots of extra time for cultural activities, museum visits, theatre trips, travel and sightseeing tours. What’s more, homeschooled children can visit these places of interest during term time, and often have a museum or attraction virtually to themselves, with guides and curators happy to spend time talking and answering questions.
For busy, working parents, high end tutors can also offer cultural and social integration activities. “Our tutors cater to the whole child,” says Steve Spriggs. “As well as academic teaching, we believe that cultural trips and social activities are an essential part of a good education, and we create tailored plans for each child’s interests.”
4. Travel Tales
Travel is one of the best educators there is, and for the homeschooling family, there are no limits to when, where or how often you can travel. Some families even homeschool while on round the world trips – and with today’s technology, there’s no reason why your child can’t have a regular tutor while enjoying incredible travel experiences which they will remember for ever.
5. Unique Abilities
Got a budding chess grandmaster on your hands? A future world class dressage rider, or the next great fashion designer? Homeschooling provides every opportunity for your child to develop and hone their own unique gifts – there is much more time for hobbies to be developed to a level of excellence, and your child’s gifts don’t have to be sacrificed for lessons in subjects which will be of no future use to them.
Families homeschool in all kinds of ways and for all kinds of reasons; some just for a term or two of intensive tuition, others for many years or even the child’s entire “school age” years; some for practical reasons such as travel or relocation; some for ideological reasons or due to family preferences. “Homeschooling is efficient and effective,” says Steve Spriggs. “Done right, it’s also a lot of fun – and isn’t that what childhood should be all about?”
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William Clarence Education is the leading education consultancy service in the UK. With an unrivalled reach into the UK Schooling and University network, we help and advise families from around the world to reach their maximum potential and gain access to the very best of British education.
William Clarence put the student’s needs and welfare at the centre of every programme of study we deliver with a focus on integrity and discretion. Services include UK School Placement, University Placement, Residential Tutoring, Oxbridge Applications, US College Admissions and Homeschooling.
For more information please contact:
+44 (0)2074128988