Farah Rihani - 9C

Outline

Title: Effective Education Fitting for This Generation

     I.            I urge educators, students, and parents alike to consider the method, for its numerous advantages including major flexibility, good academic levels, and stronger family bonds.

 II.             

A.  To begin with, one benefit of homeschooling is the adjustability of one’s own school calendar.

1.                     Stating a mother’s thoughts on homeschooling

2.                     Mentioning a student’s testimony

B.  Moreover, permits great results, due to the great teacher-to-student ratio.

1.                     Referring to Elena’s experience

2.                     Citing statistics

C.  In addition, this educational method can possibly strengthen ties between the parents and their child, bonding over interactive learning.

1.                     Growing fond of parenting

2.                     Children appearing more comfortable

III.            As a conclusion, homeschooling provides plenty of benefits, through being flexible, promoting good education and encouraging family activities.

Effective Education Fitting for This Generation

“The idea is to educate, not to follow anyone’s schedule about when something should be studied”. This quote refers to one of the most prominent advantages of homeschooling, which is the privilege of adjusting the schedule to one’s own comfort to provide top tier education. Besides that, the home study encompasses a multitude of benefits that are otherwise unavailable in the typical educational sector. I urge educators, students, and parents alike to consider the method, for its numerous advantages including major flexibility, good academic levels, and stronger family bonds.

To begin with, one benefit of homeschooling is the adjustability of one’s own school calendar. Parents or assigned teachers are unobligated to follow a traditional school year schedule or curriculum. One can learn as slow or as fast as he or she wants, and can choose what to learn on top of the required topics. “Homeschooling is flexible. If I had a rough day, we just didn't do school, or it was an art day, or I'd read to them”, testified Allie, an at-home-teacher and mother of three boys. “I suffer from severe spinal arthritis and related chronic fatigue and depression. And actually, if I hadn’t homeschooled, I'd be in much worse shape”, she stated about the advantages that homeschooling introduced her to. Elena Kervitsky, a homeschool student in Maryland, US, wrote on HuffPost, “Someone who is in a school has a very restricting schedule — you have X amount of sick days or snow days and holidays. A benefit of homeschooling is that you can work when you’re sick or work during holidays, but you also have the freedom to take a vacation at any time of the year. With the flexibility of being homeschooled, I can take a trip almost anytime. I have been all over with world with the freedom of a loose schedule”.

Moreover, homeschooling permits great results, due to the great teacher-to-student ratio. One factor that is known to be extremely important to educate a child effectively is the number of students for which a teacher is responsible, as well as the degree of connection present between the teacher and student and the amount of dedication a teacher has to a specific child. Homeschooling excels in both these areas. “I myself was pulled out of school in the third grade because it was difficult to learn with 30 or more kids per class. The teachers are overwhelmed, and most students don’t get the attention they need for a proper education”, said Elena, a homeschooled high school student. “Homeschooling is simply the best scenario.” Also, teacher-parents can be around their children most of the time, restrain their impatience when children struggle with certain subjects, effectively handle the difficulties of moving at a slower pace than public school instruction, constantly motivate their children, and review educational programs to fit their student’s learning needs. This contributes to a surprisingly good academic level for homeschoolers. According to the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooled children perform 15 to 30 percent above public or private school students on standardized tests, generally scoring above the average student on the ACT and SAT. Adults that have been homeschooled report that they participate in local community services more frequently than the general population. They also vote and attend public meetings more. And, perhaps the most astonishing, homeschooled adults went to and succeeded at college at an equal or higher rate than their traditionally educated counterparts.

In addition, this educational method can possibly strengthen ties between the parents and their child, bonding over interactive learning. One parent on the website ChildrensMD wrote, “I like parenting more, by far. As a mom of school-aged kids, I felt like my role as a parent had been diminished to mini-van driver, schedule-keeper, cook and disciplinarian. And there was no mercy from the schools– six minutes late for pickup and they’d be calling my husband at work, unpaid 5 cent library fine and they’d withhold my child’s report card. Every day I’d unpack a pile of crinkled notice papers from three backpacks and hope that I didn’t miss the next permission slip. I was not born, raised and educated to spend my days like this. Now, I love being a mom.” Children also seem to be happier about learning at home! “Our family spends our best hours of each day together.  We were giving away our kids during their best hours, when they were rested and happy, and getting them back when they were tired, grumpy and hungry. I dreaded each evening when the fighting and screaming never seemed to end, and my job was to push them through homework, extra-curricular, and music practice.  Now, our kids have a happy time together each day. At recess time, the kids are actually excited about playing together!”

As a conclusion, homeschooling provides plenty of benefits, through being flexible, promoting good education and encouraging family activities. I believe and urge that this type of learning should be fortified and backed up by official legislation, as well as organizations and educators worldwide.