While most of us grew up in a traditional schooling environment, as soon as we start homeschooling our own kids, we quickly realize that homeschooling is more effective than the classroom. And even for kids who have learning disabilities and struggles, parents learn that homeschooling gives the freedom and flexibility to meet your child’s needs is ways that are just not possible in a standardized system.
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So – whether you’re investigating homeschooling for the first time, or you’re a seasoned veteran who just needs a bit of encouragement to keep on – here are 7 reasons why homeschooling is more effective than traditional schooling.
Immediate Feedback
Homeschooling can be more effective than traditional schooling because of the simple concept of immediate feedback.
Without timely feedback, students may continue to struggle with concepts or skills without realizing their mistakes. Immediate feedback prevents frustration by addressing misunderstandings early on and providing guidance for improvement.
A homeschool parent can provide feedback in the moment or at least within a few hours on most days. Compare this to a traditional classroom where the teacher has upwards of 25 or more students. Sometimes feedback on assignments, tests, projects, or other work doesn’t come for days or weeks. In the meantime, the student may still be struggling.
Immediate feedback is essential for reinforcing students’ sense of progress and achievement, motivating them to stay engaged and continue putting effort into their learning. Positive feedback can also boost confidence and self-esteem.
And of course, students need feedback in order to fix mistakes, improve, and clarify misconceptions.
In a homeschool setting, this feedback is much faster and therefore, more effective.
On episode 274 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast, we discuss how to use immediate feedback to your advantage as a homeschooler.
- older students can grade their own work
- middle & high schoolers should keep their own student grade sheets
- for a younger child, immediately correct their work as often as you can
- use open & go curriculum that is made for the homeschool family
- if you use methods like narration, you’ll automatically have immediate feedback
Call to Action: Figure out ways to include more immediate feedback in your homeschooling, depending on the ages of your kids. Do you need to change up your curriculum or use it differently? Change up your methods?
One-on-one tutoring approach
Even parents who didn’t graduate from high school themselves can be more effective teachers to their children than credentialed public school teachers. How can this be? The answer is by using a one-on-one tutoring approach.
Wondering if your one-on-one tutoring approach in homeschooling is making a difference in your child’s academic engagement? Check out this case study from HSLDA Director of Research.
Your will love episode 268 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast: Academic engagement is the gold standard.
This one-on-one tutoring approach is also why homeschooling is more efficient in less time.
Active Learning
Active learners are continually moving forward in their understanding, love of learning, and grasp of topics.
Contrast this with the typical student in a traditional classroom – completely passive. Or at least mostly passive. And studies show that the amount of active learning in a traditional classroom is only about 67.5 minutes per 6-7 hour school day!
This active learning benefit of homeschooling is why homeschoolers do not need long school days to have more effective learning outcomes than their traditionally-schooled peers.
Want to know some of the best active-learning approaches? Notebooking and narration! These simple methods will grow with your kids and allow them to take an active role in their learning. Take some time to deep dive into these methods and you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in your homeschool.
Customized Approach
Homeschooling can be more effective than traditional schooling because you are able to use a customized approach with your kids. Instead of being chained down to arbitrary standards and learning goals, you can adjust as needed to fit your child’s strengths and struggles.
Learn more about the 8 Great Smarts and how to customize your homeschooling approach from our podcast episode with Dr. Kathy Koch!
Want to break free from performance expectations in your homeschool? Whether you’re homeschooling a child with a learning disability or not, episode 269 of the Homeschool with Moxie Podcast brings just the right dose of encouragement & help.
Learn at your own pace
There’s nothing worse than a child falling behind in a traditional classroom because the teacher has moved on before he’s grasped the concept. It can turn into a snowball-effect very quickly.
Or, on the other end of the spectrum, there’s a child in the classroom who may be acting out simply because he’s bored and would love to move quicker through the content.
However, with both of these situations, the teacher is stuck deciding on the right speed to move through the material for the majority of the students in the middle. Unfortunately, those on either end are either struggling or bored to tears.
With homeschooling, your child has the freedom to learn at their own pace. This means that if you need to review a topic or reteach it a few times, you can! You’re not behind.
Or if your child grasps content quickly, they can move through it at a faster speed or spend that extra time going into a topic in more depth.
All of this leads to mastery and retention of the material more than with the standardized classroom experience.
Ability to be an independent learner & take responsibility
Because homeschooling tends to give the student increasing responsibility as they get older, it provides a great foundation for leadership skills, independence, and maturity.
As a homeschool mom, look for ways to gradually work yourself out of a job.
Grows a love of learning
Unfortunately, institutional school can easily squash a love of learning in your child. The curious preschooler can quickly become overwhelmed by piles of worksheets, too much structured time sitting instead of being engaged in hands-on learning, or long school days.
Homeschooling can be the most effective method of education because it encourages and grows your child’s natural love of learning. Your student can deep dive into topics and lessons that energize them. This is what passion-driven education is all about.
And you can slow down and let them do those deep dives. You don’t have to be beholden to a standardized education plan.
Homeschooling is More Effective
Don’t take my word for it! Even though we’ve been homeschooling since 2008 and have graduated most of our kids by now, let the homeschooling data and statistics speak for itself. And you’ll also see how effective homeschooling can be once you try it.
