by Amaryllis Holloway-Turman

Created on: June 30, 2007   Last Updated: October 13, 2011

Homeschooling seems like it would be better. With an increase in school shootings, aggressive bullies, and the potential for sexual abuse, a parent might reason that it would be better to homeschool than to risk potentially tragic circumstances. But there are three important reasons why formal education is better than homeschooling.

First of all, there is a tendency for homeschool to lack the structure. In order for homeschooling to be effective, the parent and the child have to stay on task with assignments each and every day. When the newness and novelty of the situation wears off that becomes difficult.

Secondly, not every parent is an effective teacher. Simply having the desire to homeschool his or her child is not enough. In many instances, the parent focuses on topics that may or may not be beneficial to the child. In situations where the parent is not familiar enough to teach that particular topic, their ability to teach their child is limited. For example, how can a parent successfully teach his or her child geometry or trigonometry if he or she is not proficient in advanced mathematics? That will affect the way the child fares on those sections of standardized tests which require competency.

Lastly, a formal education teaches important social skills that cannot be learned from homeschooling. When children interact with children their own age, there are social skills that are learned. These skills help to develop the child's personality. When the child grows up, he or she will have difficulty relating to other children his or her age. Also, formal education allows the children the opportunity to be confronted with situations in which he or she has to make personal decisions, demonstrating his or her morals and values. A parent who wants to shield their child from the possibility of making decisions will have difficulty teaching something that is best learned from experience.

Learn more about this author, Amaryllis Holloway-Turman.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.