Distance Learning or Homeschool?

There is a lot to keep in mind when deciding between keeping your kids in distance learning, or taking the leap and choosing to homeschool. For many people, these are two options that they never would have considered otherwise, but here we are. There is no one right choice, but here are some things to consider.

Distance Learning

Pros

The child remains connected to teachers, classmates, and his/her school. “Seeing” these people on a regular basis keeps personal relationships with the outside world alive and well.

Distance learning continues to improve as teachers get trained in new techniques, and the number and quality of educational programs/apps continue to improve as well.

Distance learning isn’t the same as crisis schooling. In crisis schooling, teachers and administrators scrambled to come up with ways to keep students learning without the time and resources they needed. Structured distance learning provides the best possible learning opportunities in an online format.

Distance learning can give teachers the opportunity to differentiate assignments to meet the needs of learners. Special Education services continue in distance learning.

Distance learning provides the instruction, assignments, and assessments. The caregiver needs to make sure the child is “attending,” but the bulk of the work has been thought out and provided.

Distance learning isn’t forever! Many schools are planning distance learning for a limited period of time, meaning that students who choose distance learning will be ready to make the transition back to a traditional, “4-wall” classroom.

Cons

Distance learning is only as good as the buy-in from all parties. If the parent or child sees distance learning as negative, difficult, or unimportant, it will be hard to convince him/her/them otherwise. This attitude will certainly affect a child’s ability to learn in a less-than-ideal format.

NOTHING replaces face-to-face learning. The connection and energy from the classroom setting simply cannot be replicated over a computer screen. The way students ask questions and receive feedback is not as efficient as face-to-face learning.

Students with learning challenges and special needs can really struggle to make progress in the distance-learning setting. It is difficult to differentiate all assignments when planning for distance learning activities.

So. Much. Screentime.

Teachers, through no fault of their own, have most likely not been trained to implement quality distance learning experiences. They are doing their best, but cannot be expected to make miracles happen without training, resources (money, technology), time, and quality care for their own children.

Working parents and stay-at-home parents with younger children cannot realistically monitor their child’s distance learning while also working/attending to younger children. One cannot be 100% at helping their child with distance learning AND tending to other obligations.

Homeschool

Pros

Flexibility. The parent decides when and how their child completes their homeschool day. They can choose the hours that their child does “school” and can cut out any unnecessary activities so that the school day is shorter than typical 4-wall school.

Parents can cater the curriculum towards their child’s learning style and ability level. They can review as often as necessary or challenge your child as appropriate. The child doesn’t need to wait for other students before moving on.

Homeschooling is fun! Parents can incorporate daily life into schoolwork – whether they are building a garden, shopping for groceries, making a meal, balancing their checkbook, ordering supplies for a home improvement project – there are so many real-world connections that homeschool allows.

Face-to-face instruction allows for immediate feedback. Parent-teachers can clarify confusion as it comes up and give plenty of time for practice.

Homeschooling allows for breaks that fit in with the child’s learning. A parent can decide when a child needs a break and for how long. This isn’t the case in a classroom or distance-learning format, where a child must take breaks at the same time as the other children.

Parents can choose to teach certain subject areas together, giving both exposure and review opportunities to all of the children in the family.

Homeschooling has become very mainstream, meaning that there are resources, co-ops, and classes galore. You can even outsource certain subject areas! Homeschooling is no longer an isolating experience – it can truly be what the parent makes it.

Cons

Homeschooling is HARD. There is a lot to learn, and if you aren’t planning on homeschooling beyond one year, it can be a lot of frustration.

Even when you homeschool, you still need support. You can get curriculum recommendations or join a homeschool program, but if you have no idea what you are doing and don’t get the help you need, you may actually be making things worse for your child.

Homeschooling is a lot of work. If you are attempting to work full time (whether from home or off-site), you may not realize that homeschooling is ALSO a full-time job. Just because your kids aren’t doing schoolwork 6-8 hours a day, doesn’t mean that you can just squeeze in a bit of homeschool after dinner and call it good. There has to be time for planning lessons (and field trips and experiments) as well as grading. The time commitment isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it can catch many people off guard. If you aren’t sure if you should homeschool, here are some questions you should ask yourself.

Some kids are wonderful working for other people (like classroom teachers), but have a difficult time taking instruction from their parents. When a child is around their parents 24/7, the hope is that it improves the parent-child relationship, but it can actually have the opposite effect. Many kids thrive when they can be around other adults or peers.

If the child isn’t a willing participant, homeschool won’t work. Some kids, particularly middle and high-school aged kids, are able to sabotage the homeschool experience because they simply don’t want to do it.

Homeschooling is simply not an option for many people. Even if they would like to homeschool, many people are unable due to employment, finances, familial obligations, etc.

Final thoughts

Right now many people are struggling to make a choice between two (or more) difficult options. Consider the pros and cons, make a choice, and go with it. If you don’t have a choice, that’s okay. Kids are EXTREMELY resilient. So much of how children react to a situation is based on their parents’ attitudes and reactions. Be as positive as you can (fake it til’ you make it), reassure your child, listen to their concerns, communicate with other parties involved, and practice good self-care. These are strange times, but they are strange for everyone. You aren’t alone.