8 Positives of Homeschooling

A listicle, on the positives of homeschooling – that we have found through our own experiences.  This isn’t one of those posts that trots off the standard benefits. The usual positives of homeschool are tailored learning, physical freedom, better socialisation, along with family togetherness. This is us, these are the positives we’ve found.

Homeschooling is misunderstood because we homeschoolers just don’t fit with other people’s perceptions of how the word is. So can I just shake up your worldview for a moment?

Only a few reasons, it won’t take you long to read. I’m not going to annoy you, be controversial or aggressive, I’m really not that person. I’d just like you to be aware of these positives that we have found in homeschooling from kindergarten to high school. They’re not the only positives, they’re just the ones I’d like to introduce you to today.

People love to hate on homeschooling and give all sorts of reasons as to why it’s wrong. I’d like those haters to know about the benefits and positives in our homeschooling society.

Some would call us worldschoolers, but we’re not going to address the worldschooling so much today. These reasons cover childhood and education, family life, not the travel that has been so important in my homeschooled kids’ upbringing.

We are not unschoolers, the unschooling definition of all learning being child-led does not fit with us at all, we’re not against it, it’s just not what we do.

Homeschooling does not mean school-at-home and an absence of school-at-home does not point towards unschooling.

Sure, we take on some project based unschooling, that’s been fun over the years. We also break out the homeschool workbooks sometimes along with all the other homeschool resources. There are pros and cons to homeschooling and new homeschoolers (me included) make many mistakes. The positives below were hard-earned.

The Positives of Homeschooling

Alternative Ways of Making a Living

Exams, qualifications and pieces of paper proving academic competence and success are not required in many fields of income generation.

By eliminating this need, kids gain the freedom to figure out other things and learn what they need or want to learn.

Income generation is necessary, but there are ways to do that other than the standard path of getting a job working for somebody else. I’m teaching my kids how that is done and it’s not something they’d ever learn in school, homeschooled kids can start earning younger.

By being free of school homeschooled kids can gain far more insight into how a broad spectrum of adults make a living because they meet so many more adults and peek into their lives and businesses.

You know how so many school kids say they want to be teachers? Maybe it’s because they don’t know how many millions of other ways of making a living exist.

A “good job ” is one that provides financial sufficiency, fulfillment,  happiness, and freedom throughout life, along with plenty of time off. I want them to have all that and not be convinced by the system that a “good job ” only comes through tertiary education and a huge financial burden right from the start of their working lives.

Exams and Higher Education

If homeschooled kids decide they want to follow the standard path of exams, university and get a job working for somebody else, that is possible at any life stage.

That path does not have to be followed from early childhood. You may find our post on how homeschoolers sit exams useful if you don’t understand how that is possible.

With more and more regular schooled kids entering tertiary while not college ready, you have to question what sort of job the schools are actually doing and how homeschooling could possibly do a worse job.

Homeschooled kids are free to decide for themselves if this path is one they’d like to follow and in making choices for themselves, may dodge some of the stress induced by pressure of academic achievement found in some schools and homes.

Many kids come out of the school system without a high level or even intermediate level of exam success, some are even illiterate.  To these kids losing their freedom to school was a waste of time.

Again, homeschool provides freedom throughout childhood and choices in life paths.

Homeschooled Kids Are Raised By Their Parents – The People Who Care Most

Homeschooled kids are not raised by the cold state, teachers, strangers, and a bunch of other kids. I had kids to raise them myself, to show them the beauty and wonders in the world and teach them to think and to question while showering them with love and support. They don’t get that love from a teacher.

Homeschooled kids may pick up values not in parallel with family values. In some cases this is a good thing. You’ll just have to trust me that it’s often a bad thing.

My 5 year old coming home from school spouting racism wasn’t so great. Yes, my elder child did go to school, briefly.

There used to be an association between extreme religious beliefs and homeschooling, that stigma is now pretty obsolete. Religion in education is, of course, a two way street.

I spent a lot of my school time in church being told that Christianity was the only true religion. I want my homeschooled kids to learn about all religions and not be indoctrinated into believing that any one religion is more real than any other.

You’ll notice we have posts on this site on learning about Islam and Voodoo but my kids have studies and experienced most work religions.

If you are religious you may see this as negative. I think it’s a huge positive and of course, if they decide for themselves later that one religion is right, they can sign themselves up.

Homeschooled Kids Can be Happier Kids

My homeschooled kids find the idea of school abhorrent. Many kids do. This is why we’re forever hearing “Don’t tell the kids !” when people find out we don’t use the system.

I want them to enjoy life as if every day is a weekend or holiday. It’s possible, but not compatible with most perceptions. Studies have shown that homeschooled kids are happier that high school counterparts and this is linked in part to getting more sleep.

Animals in zoos receive what’s called enrichment, a special toy or game to make their artificial confinement more bearable. Kids free to live their childhoods outside school can receive more enrichment than the classroom offers. Often enrichment of their own choosing and without any need to sit still, listen, and be quiet.

Thinking back to the start of school, those first few days or weeks, kids cry. I cried, I cried for months. Separation from parents at a young age is traumatic and painful for many.

They get used to it, parents get used to it, but it’s not necessary to get used to it so why should everyone suffer?

Freedom to Learn

Teachers are no longer the holders of knowledge. The internet is. Homeschooled kids can learn about anything they like, to whatever depth they choose, anywhere, anytime.

Homeschool learning is not restricted by the curriculum and standardised testing. They can geek out on whatever floats their boats and have more time for their hobbies and interests.

Some countries and states do, unfortunately, inflict a government curriculum on homeschoolers. You’ll have to check local laws for yourself.

While they’re doing all that worthy learning they can simultaneously pick up the really useful stuff. By being around us they’re learning how to cook, how to grow food, how to open a bank account, how to manage money or get the car serviced – because they’re involved in real life, not removed from it.

Avoiding the Bullies

Some teachers are toxic and some kids are toxic. We homeschoolers are free to avoid those people rather than being stuck with them for years on end. Of course, some homes are abusive too, not mine, and not most people’s but bullying in schools is epidemic.

Learning how to deal with bullying is not a thing. I’ve read this, kids have to go to school and toughen up to learn how to function in the face of bullies in life and in the workplace.

No. Not so. Kids need to not ever have to be around such people and know that they are free to change jobs at any time. We have free will, nobody has to endure a toxic environment.

Homeschool kids grow up in the real world, they DO learn how to deal with unpleasant people because they meet them in the real world. They can learn to deal with them alongside their adult guardians, not in a Lord of The Flies style playground scenario.

Social skills are surely best learned in the real world from the adults inhabiting the real world, not in the playground?

Growing Up in the Real World

The real world lies outside the school gates. There is no need to wait to start figuring out your place in it until school-leaving age.

Better Sport and Fitness Opportunities

Homeschooled kids are not forced into sports and exercise. They are free to find the physical activities they enjoy for themselves.

Plenty of kids are turned off sports by compulsory participation in sports in schools. There is evidence too, that school sports and team membership reduces academic accomplishment. They can also be an unpleasant source of stress for kids.

It was a huge positive of homeschooling for us that the kids could be involved in skiing, scuba diving, trekking, or kayaking rather than football, which they hate.

Of course, if you have football kids, they can do that too. Homeschooled kids can join the same sports clubs as all the other kids.

Want More Positives of Homeschooling?

Try these articles on the further positives of homeschooling. Academic outcomes for homeschoolers are good should the child choose to take that path. School bullying can bring on depression, anxiety, ill-health and poor achievement according to this report. Homeschooling produces more tolerant, flexible kids. There are endless posts I could share on the positives of homeschooling, apologies for only linking 3.

It goes without saying that some parents do a bad job of home education. It happens and I’m not denying it. But most parents homeschool because they want the best for their kids, most parents will do anything for their kids. So why assume they’ll do their worst?

I could go on and on adding positives to this post. These are just the first few positives of homeschooling that came to mind.

The big reason, the one that drives everything we do is this. We homeschool because, like the huge majority of parents, we love our kids more than anything in this world and we want the very best for them at every stage of life. We love them, we want to keep them safe, and we want to spend time with them. That’s the big positive of homeschooling, years and years with your kids that you would not otherwise have had. Most parents probably don’t know that’s even possible, our society has conditioned us to hand them over way too young.

My kids are grown now so I can see the outcomes. I’m not talking about tiny tots, I’m not a new parent homeschool blogger. It’s worked, that is all. Could you save to Pinterest?