Homeschooling may sound intimidating, but with the right resources, regular support, and timely interventions, it can be an enriching experience for parents/ guardians and children. Homeschools today are greatly led by the child’s interest, giving them scope to explore interconnections between subjects, study a subject on various tangents, and have deep conversations with their instructor. It promotes original thinking, giving the students to give answers besides the expected ones, and studying a subject in greater depth.
Learning and Syllabus
Homeschoolers can adopt many pedagogies and teaching methodologies to educate students. While some parents are comfortable with following prescribed textbooks, others design their curriculum while referring to the syllabi of different boards. As the tutor, parents know how well the child understands the concepts and the learning method that helps them.
Parents even conduct informal tests at regular intervals to measure the child’s progress. The internet is a great resource pool, and there are other guidebooks and test sets that will help in creating test papers that will prepare the child. There are NIOS Board books and tests that prepare students to take formal exams at different levels to prepare them for their 10th and 12th board exams, and also for college applications.
Parents have Space to Help their Students Delve into their interests
A common strain heard among parents whose children have different needs education-wise is that their children are forced to conform to classroom standards. While some feel that their skills are limited, other parents and their children feel lost while looking for the student’s area of interest. Although there are updates to syllabi, the implementation of study methodologies varies from school to school, which leaves parents frustrated by the education scenario.
With homeschooling, parents can adopt contemporary learning methodologies, that help students with alternate ways to explore concepts that will teach the theory and its application. Thus, students will be firmly grounded in their basics and work towards wider applications.
Finding the right balance
One of the biggest perks of homeschooling is that students can balance their main interests – art, professional career, sports, or strong aptitude for a single subject. They can take classes for a few compulsory subjects and electives to get a formal education certificate that can help them pursue a college or qualify for jobs or any other vocation.
With alternatives such as the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), students can choose a hassle-free curriculum that gives them options to drop subjects that they are disinclined towards. So, students who are not interested in Math or Science subjects can drop them and still complete their 10th and 12th boards to qualify for college, competitive exams, and government jobs.
Begin Homeschooling
The first step towards starting homeschooling is to decide which board would be the best fit. The most preferred alternatives are CBSE, ICSE or NIOS, which are all part of the Ministry of Education. Their textbooks are widely available, and parents can use them as reference material while using other aids to educate children. There are many online resources for virtual labs, online free tutorials, resources such as worksheets, planners, test sheets, and tools for analyzing and reporting progress. Besides this, many cities have support groups for homeschoolers that help parents and students deal with the practical issues arising from homeschooling.
Some schools offer NIOS curriculum classes, and study material and even offer support to homeschooling students with special support groups, counseling, and much more. With better exposure and understanding of available alternatives, parents and students can have an enriching experience with homeschooling, making the best of their talents and not struggling to cope.