Homeschooling refers to the education of children at home, typically by parents or tutors, unlike the formal settings of schools. In many countries around the world, children are not legally obligated to attend school. In England, France, Canada, the United States and Australia, it is perfectly legal for parents to educate their kids at home. Homeschooling is becoming more popular every day, with a growth rate of 7 to 15 percent per year over the world. There are about two million children currently learning at home in the world. Homeschooled kids do well on standardized tests, are welcome at college and universities, and as adults, have a reputation for being self-directed learners and reliable employees.
This essay is going to examine whether homeschooling should replace normal schooling for the betterment of students in Hong Kong.
Homeschooling makes children miss the golden opportunity to practice their social skills. School is the miniature of society. One needs to have not only knowledge of the world, but also interpersonal communication skills in order to survive, not to mention excel in a society. If a child is taught at home solely by his/ her parents, the child misses the chance to meet and interact with other kids. Peer learning has vital benefits as well. By communicating with friends, students can improve their interpersonal skills. Homeschooled children cannot take part in extra-curricular activities like debate, choir and team sports. As interactive learning is such an important component in modern education, homeschooling deprives children of their chance to develop their social skills and network, and even friends.
Furthermore, home is not the most suitable environment for learning which lower the effectiveness of learning. Home cannot provide many different hardware which can only be provided by day schools. For instance, the different
References: Mark Graham, (19 August, 2012). Home-schooling American kids in a Chinese village. South China Morning Post Retrieved from: http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1016988/home-schooling-american-kids-chinese-village Homeschooling-Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling