Home schooling is better than sending children to school?

With the school system becoming increasingly unstable over the last quarter of the century, home schooling has become an attractive option to some parents. Growing violence in schools, outdated textbooks, less supervision and the general deterioration of quality education have all produced quite undesirable results.

Home schooling has been available for quite some time, but it has never gained that much popularity until very recently. Prior to the prevalence of current day school problems, home schooling was viewed as anti-social, failing to give our children the necessary training to learn and handle interpersonal and social skills. Home schooling didn't quite expose them to the real world and children who were home-schooled experience some kind of culture shock when they step out of the confines of home.

But homeschooling has its own advantages. If a child had a particular subject weakness, either parent can focus more on developing his skills and allow the child to learn at his pace. You don't get this in a traditional school set-up; either the child has to catch up with the rest or get into trouble for low grades.
Children, especially the sensitive and less social ones, can also approach learning without fearing aggressive classmates or nasty teachers. They're less prone to corruptive forces and distractions that exist in a regular school. Social and peer pressure is also minimized.

It sounds like a perfect option, but home schooling also has its disadvantages. Obviously, home schooled children are less socialized and may develop difficulty interacting or eventually working with others. There is also the absence of a well tested educational curriculum which every school implements upon the recommendation of recognized authorities in the field of education.

Parents also need to take full responsibility for the education of their children in a home school set-up. It can be taxing and may lead to contempt between parent and child. If you plan to opt for home-schooling, weigh the benefits and shortcomings very seriously, not only at your child's end, but also on yours as the teacher.