Homeschooling Will Continue Through 2022 And Beyond, Survey Shows 

Before the pandemic, if you mentioned that you were going to start homeschooling, the response was generally a skeptical one, such as, “Why would you want to do that?” We are social beings, and children, in particular, need to socialize. The pessimists were abundant. But without a health crisis to state the obvious, we would think the same. 

The pandemic, which introduced millions of people to the concept of online learning at home, also helped change the general public’s perspective regarding homeschooling. No longer is it being classified as an approach that works for certain types of families or seen as an enigmatic educational pathway on the margins of society. Today, homeschooling is nothing else but an educational option with transformative life-long benefits. We see increasingly more families embracing the phenomenon regardless of their needs.

The New Normal 

The vast numbers verify that homeschooling has become the new normal. Recent findings hint that the pandemic has been a driving factor behind the massive influx of new homeschoolers. There are now more than 5.5 million homeschooled students in the U. S alone, accounting for 11.1% of the K-12 students in the country. 

Why the sudden change of heart? Well, it seems that parents across the country (and why not the world) turn to homeschool during the pandemic for good reasons: remote learning disappoints some of them. Their kids were not getting the support they needed, or they fell behind because of minimized or reduced hours of instruction. They were not satisfied with the results and may have had to deal with challenges returning to work and balancing childcare, these families used homeschooling to “get through” remote learning. Of course, those online chemistry classes will definitely pay in the long run, but children are children and they need more. Some families made it through one year of online learning only to find out that their schools no longer provided virtual options during the second year of the pandemic. 

Some of these families had children too young to be vaccinated or immune-compromised family members, or they just were not ready to take the risk of sending their kids back to school in person. In turn, they resumed to the only choice: homeschooling. 

Why Do Families Choose to Homeschool their Kids? 

While the Covid-19 has emphasized homeschooling as a temporary or permanent solution to certain problems, families have been turning to homeschooling to solve other issues or to provide opportunities to their children for generations. 

Some of those reasons include: 

• Bullying: It’s that simple: no school, no bullying. Families choose to homeschool their children to allow for social and emotional support, as well as more effective instructions and safety. 
• Disappointment with the public school system: The current school system simply does not maximize their children’s potential. Whether it lacks necessary resources or support, quality instruction, or relevant courses, the system disheartens both parents and students. 

Homeschooling allows children and parents to choose, customize their own curriculum and individualize instructions to elevate their child’s strengths.

• Support of special needs: Families with children with special needs often feel that the school’s system isn’t supporting their child’s behavioral, learning, and social needs, or they may feel that the school treats their kids unfairly. 
• Travel Opportunities: Families whose main income comes from travel may opt for homeschooling because of the flexibility it provides. Worldwide, schoolers take advantage of being able to study anywhere and make the world their classroom. 

Do Homeschoolers Do Better Than the Rest? 

Some say that they actually do. One study of 20.000 homeschooled students revealed that they certainly scored better at tests. This is particularly evident in those kids who had been homeschooled right through to the high school level. Another study shows that homeschooled children actually did better in the Sat test with 67 points more than the national average. 

Homeschoolers Have more Emotional Freedom 

Home education removes all the stress of the traditional classroom. Children no longer have stress about “fitting in” and giving into peer pressure. Homeschool eliminates bullying, drugs, being out of favor, and all the other social pressures. Another study reveals that homeschooled adolescent girls do not experience loss of self-esteem and can easily mature into happier and more emotionally settled adults. 

Homework – No Longer a Problem 

Homeschooled children are more directly involved in the learning process than their state school peers. Homeschooling advantages them greatly while parents never have to struggle to help with impossible and lengthy homework. 

Homeschoolers are not socially isolated 

There’s a lot of criticism of the fact that homeschooled children do not get to develop their social skills. But that’s not always the case because there will be plenty of opportunities for them to do extra activities with other children. Homeschooled children will more than likely have a lot of friends when they do their gymnastic, swimming, or piano lessons, for instance. It’s up to the parents not to isolate their kids. 

Progress is Greater in Homeschooled Children 

There’s a lot of controversy regarding the current public school system. On the other hand, homeschooling eliminates confusion in learning as students get one-on-one tutoring. They learn autonomy in learning and are not so intellectually and emotionally dependent as their peers from the public schools. 

Homeschoolers More Likely to Become Accomplished Adults 

Recent findings hint that homeschooled adults are much more active in community and social life than their public-school counterparts. They also did better in higher education and scored higher on the happiness scale. 

When questioned during college, homeschooled students reported that they were much more independent in their approach to life and learning. As such, they never felt the need to follow the crowd, and this served them greatly. In regard to having to solve learning problems, homeschooled students were much more independent in seeking solutions themselves.