We are in a time in our history when mainstream media is interested in Homeschooling as a concept and it is something that will be welcome at the same time I don't think we are ready to be open-minded to learn and not be stuck in our ways. 

BBC interviewed me last month on Homeschooling and I was so excited to talk about one of my favourite topics.                                     




As expected there were a lot of comments both negative and positive one interesting thing was how divided it was across platforms. Most of the comments from Facebook were negative and those on Instagram were positive.

In this article, I want to talk extensively on each of the objections and comments made, in case someone out there also needs some education. 

On Competition & Real Life: 


I have wondered why people think competition is important for the development of a child. I understand that there are some positive aspects of healthy competition but I can't help but wonder if it's the best thing for children at such tender ages. Some of what might be termed as the positive aspects of competition can easily be taught to children independently but we are not willing to do the work, are we? Taking time to teach your child to be disciplined, think critically, manage their time etc are things we can do ourselves. On the other hand is learning it from being "among their peers" there is the tendency to get low self-esteem, undue pressure and stress and focus on winning instead of deep learning in the process. Every situation of competition we find in the real world are things that are optional, you can choose to enrol in a sport, you can choose to apply for a scholarship, you can choose to xyz. It's all a choice and when you make the choice you prepare for what it entails. Even in our everyday life as we are older now one of the mantras we say is "You are not in competition with anyone" because when you are living your life on your lane, you are really not in competition with anyone but we condition children to be in competition then when they grow older tell them they are not in competition? Sigh! Think about it, after we got positions all through primary and secondary school, did all that matter in real life? Nah! I propose, picking out the values we think we see from competition and teach our children those values independently and guess where it will start and end? At HOME! 

"Integration" back into society: 

I don't know why when people hear Homeschooling they think it means you are chained by the forces of nature to your house. Homeschooling only means you have made the choice to not educate your child through an alternative method that is not the traditional school system. Simple. I wish I could scream it loud for everyone to hear, Homeschooling is not equal to isolation!!!! Homeschooling doesn't mean you won't meet your mates, doesn't mean you won't meet other people in this world. We have to understand that school is also not a cure for the personalities of children, some children go to school and are still very socially awkward and don't interact much with people and it is just the child's personality.  

On Socialization: 

I have a detailed article on the blog on socialisation because I can clearly see people don't know what they are talking about. You can read up on socialisation here 

On your influence and the downgrade of parents: 

The world as we know it continues to downgrade our role as parents. We are supposed to be in charge of our children's education whether or not they are in traditional school. They want you to just be in charge of lessons and holidays which is not majority of the time. You should not just mearly pick a "good" school, you should also be involved with the curriculum, teaching methods and strategies ensuring it suits your child and adding or removing what doesn't align with the vision you have for them. People will make you feel like you wanting to have influence in your children's lives (as it should be) is you being controlling, absolutely not. Our role is to guide our children until they are mature enough and it is something we should do unapologetically. 



On selfishness & wickedness:

Some people think making the choice to homeschool is a selfish and wicked decision on the part of the parent but I don't blame them because they think you are depriving your child of quality education. Think about this for a second, the children from low-income families that can't go to school do we automatically call the parents selfish and wicked? No why because we say oh they can't afford it that's why(I still believe homeschooling can solve this problem of out of school children but that's a conversation for another day). But a parent who is not neglecting her child but just because she didn't choose to educate the child in the 4 walls of a classroom is selfish? What is selfish? when you are putting your own needs at the fore. I can boldly say that the choice to homeschool is one of the most selfless acts a parent can perform. You are thinking mostly about the child and how it can be beneficial to the child. How can you say that a parent is being wicked to the child because they are not choosing to allow them to learn from their peers? The same peers that bully, use harsh words and are also learning themselves? How would you say it's wickedness that a parent doesn't want a "blind" child to also lead her equally "blind" child? 
If you want to learn about homeschooling I suggest books you can start with here. 

Sportsmanship & extracurricular activities: 

I was absolutely appalled by this position. When you bring lesson teachers to your house did you do it in the school? Or did the teacher say oh we only do lessons for children who are in schools? You can independently join an extracurricular activity, you can sign up for whatever sport you want, and you can find a coach for everything and anything. Again, homeschooling doesn't mean a force is holding you back from leaving your house or keeping people from interacting with you. You can even have more time to dedicate to your sports and extracurricular activities when you homeschool. 


In conclusion; Homeschooling is beneficial to both the child(ren) and the family but as a people, we need to be more open-minded and understand that because someone chose a different path it doesn't mean they are attacking your choice. The internet is a blessing and we should be ready to do the research that is necessary to educate ourselves so we can be better informed and maybe make better arguments! 


Do you have any objections to homeschooling?