1.
Definition of homeschooling
*Homeschooling, also known as home education, is an educational approach where parents
teach their children at home instead of sending them to a traditional public or private school.
Here are some key points about it:
-Parent-directed education: Parents take on the role of educators, customizing the curriculum
and learning environment to suit their child’s needs.
-Legal requirements: The legal requirements for homeschooling vary by location. Some places
have minimal regulations, while others require documentation, standardized testing, or reviews.
-Reasons for homeschooling: Families choose homeschooling for various reasons, including
dissatisfaction with the traditional schooling options, the desire for a different educational
philosophy, or the need to address specific health or social issues.
2. Advantages of homeschooling
Homeschooling offers several benefits depending on the family and the learner’s needs. Here
are a few key advantages:
1. Personalized Learning: Homeschooling allows education to be tailored to the student’s pace,
learning style, and interests. This flexibility often results in a deeper understanding of subjects
and more engagement.
2. Flexible Schedule: Homeschooling provides freedom in scheduling, allowing families to plan
learning around other life experiences or extracurricular activities. This also gives more time for
students to pursue passions, hobbies, or creative projects.
3. Safe Learning Environment: Homeschooling can offer a controlled environment where
parents can ensure that their child is free from bullying, peer pressure, or other negative social
issues that might occur in traditional schools.
4. Stronger Family Bonding: Spending more time together can strengthen the bond between
family members, as parents are more involved in their child’s education and daily life.
5. Focus on Values: Families who homeschool can focus more on their own educational
philosophy, religious beliefs, or moral values, integrating them into their daily learning.
6. Efficient Learning: Without the distractions or rigid schedules of a traditional classroom,
students often learn more efficiently, with more time left for exploration or rest.
3. Disadvantages of homeschooling
● Parents need to be beside their children 24/7
+ When parents have decided to homeschool their children, they will have to invest more time
and effort into educating the children at home. While kids are learning, parents need to monitor
the children’s schedule, observe their learning process and discuss with teachers in necessary
situation. This is an essential step to ensure that children can do academically well when
homeschooled.
+ For parents who don’t have enough time to tutor their kids, this is an important thing to know
before homeschooling them.
● Study resources :
+ Unlike traditional schools, direct learning resources, textbooks and laboratory tools can be
difficult to find for homeschoolers. This could restrict the knowledge gained, update themselves
on recent information and help develop studying skills.
● Hardly participate in extracurricular activities
+ Studying at home will result in fewer chances for students to interact with their peers in this
certain educational environment. This could affect their social skills. Due to the lack of external
support that most traditional schools get, parents have to organize extracurricular activities for
their children. Moreover, parents have to keep safety regulations and hygiene in mind.
● Regularly disapproved by others
+ Regardless of how homeschooling is a learning method that is widely used within families
every year, this is still new in Vietnam. Therefore, parents are constantly questioned by others
why their children aren’t sent to schools. Moreover, questions regarding homeschooled
children’s intelligence or knowledge are made just because they aren’t applying the same
conventional learning methods used by traditional schools.
4. Notable achievements, and examples of homeschoolers.
+Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Anh
Having dropped out of school after the 8th grade to follow the homeschool program, Nguyen
Ngoc Phuong Anh, 18 years old, was still accepted into 8 American universities
Among the 8 schools, female students choose Beloit College with financial support of 54,000
USD (more than 1.2 billion VND) per year. Phuong Anh's family only needs to pay about 17,000
USD (400 million VND) more each year.
+Charles Dickson
In September 2015, an article published in Boston magazine showed a photo of a girl wearing a
smiling Harvard University shirt with the title "Homeschool took me to Harvard"
This girl is Claire Dickson - an 18-year-old student who was accepted to Harvard in 2015. She
said that homeschooling is what helped her get a spot at the most famous school in the world.
+Taylor Swift
The eleven-time Grammy winner is a perfect example of what homeschooled students can
achieve. When Taylor was 14, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming a professional
musician which left her with no time to attend a traditional school. Her parents then supported
her career and started homeschooling her.
Taylor Swift became one of the most successful women in the music industry. She has been
nominated for over 900 awards throughout her professional career and has won over 460. In
2022, New York University (NYU) awarded her an honorary fine arts degree for being one of the
most “prolific and famous artists of her time.”
She is also the first and only woman solo artist to win the Grammy for “Album of The Year”
thrice for her solo recordings.
