| Opening Thoughts | | | | start later. The reverse might apply equally as |
| You have spent many hours looking on the | | | | well. |
| Internet, making phone calls and carrying out | | | | Disadvantages |
| visits. In terms of your choices for educating your | | | | Home Schooling Has Restraints |
| son or daughter, it is no longer between dyslexia | | | | 1. Financial Restraint. Educating your child at home, |
| schools and other schools- whatever their qualities. | | | | would ordinarily mean but one parent is not |
| Instead the choice is between educating your child | | | | working. For most families this would be a large |
| at any school or educating them at home. So in | | | | consideration as they balance the best educational |
| this article we will take a brief look at the | | | | interests of the children against the basic need to |
| advantages and disadvantages, the pros and cons | | | | earn enough money to live on. This can lead to all |
| of home schooling. | | | | kinds of stresses and strains on the family as a |
| | | | whole unit or on the relationship between mum |
| Home Schooling Brings Freedoms | | | | and dad. |
| 1. Emotional Freedom. I think that this is the | | | | 2. Social Restraints. A parent will be spending an |
| greatest freedom that could be offered to a | | | | awful lot of time with their child or their children. A |
| dyslexic child and their family. However | | | | direct result of this is that the parents and the |
| individualised and supportive a school claims to be | | | | child will spend less time with other people. I think |
| in relation to the special education they provide, | | | | that this factor is a huge consideration. How much |
| there is a limit to how flexible class teacher can | | | | is of education is about academic progress and |
| be in adapting learning to the individuals level. | | | | how much is education about learning to live and |
| There will always be a tension between the ideal | | | | successfully function in a social world? Depending |
| pace of learning of the individual and the class. | | | | on your perspective the importance of this will |
| That is just common sense. A child with a learning | | | | vary. What about the parent? They are missing |
| disability such as dyslexia should have the | | | | out on all kinds of social benefits by not working |
| curriculum molded around their exact needs. How | | | | alongside their peers. Also, for the parents and |
| wonderful would that be? | | | | the child alike, spending long periods of time with |
| 1. Educational Freedom. By teaching your child at | | | | close family members can be very stressful! |
| home there are less restrictions on the curriculum | | | | 3. Being seen as different. Obviously by educating |
| you have to teach. You been more imaginative | | | | your child at home, they are going to have unique |
| and creative. It is easier to organise one or two | | | | experience but it is an experience that they will |
| children than it is to manage a whole class. For | | | | not be able to share with many of their peers |
| instance, a maths lesson could easily take place in | | | | because by definition they have not got any |
| the local playground when you are exploring | | | | peers. Staying at home is a more lonely |
| shapes. An English lesson could take place in the | | | | experience than going to a local public school or |
| local library. | | | | specialist dyslexia schools. It will mark your child |
| 2. Physical freedom. You are your own boss. The | | | | out as being different, which may not help them |
| only routine and timetable that you need to follow | | | | in when they do meet up with friends. |
| is devised by yourself. As long as your school day | | | | Yet, perhaps as a parent of a child with dyslexia |
| meets the minimum legal requirement it can start | | | | you feel that your child cannot be any more |
| and stop around the needs of your family. There | | | | isolated or lonely than they already are by |
| is no need to your lessons to begin at the same | | | | attending their local public school and that an |
| time as lessons in the local public school. It may | | | | education provided at home will not make this |
| suit you to start and stop earlier or later. Your | | | | situation any worse. But it is a point that needs |
| children might be much more alert in the | | | | careful reflection. |
| afternoons in which case your school day may | | | | |