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You are here: TJ Home >> Homeschooling Helps >> Making the Decision to Homeschool
Homeschooling. You hear the term all the time these days and now its on your mind. Your spouse brought up the topic, your neighbor homeschools , sisters at the masjid homeschool; your public school child mentions something in class that he learned that is contrary to Islam or your personal beliefs; you are afraid of school violence, you are concerned that your child's class does not provide enough personal attention, and the list goes on. All these things begin to make you ask yourself, should I homeschool?
The decision to homeschool, as you know, is not a light decision. It requires careful consideration which includes an evaluation of your beliefs; your degree of conviction to those beliefs and finally the best way, in your opinion, to ensure that the education of your child follows those beliefs. After this evaluation, for some, it leads to homeschooling and others it may not.
I've attempted to provide a collection of resources (Islamic and non Islamic) that may be of assistance to those who are deciding whether or not to homeschool.
Step 1: Become informed about what homeschooling is (and what its not); reasons for homeschooling and what it entails. Don't worry about things such as what others will think or really the day to day concerns of homeschooling at this point. The first step is to figure out if homeschooling, as a whole, is right for you and your family. It much bigger than these issues. Homeschooling is not one size fits all and there is lots of room for customization so the day to day concerns (in my opinion) are not of importance at this time.
Please note: I am not necessarily endorsing the sites that all the articles come from.
Reasons to Homeschool Your Child
Highlights:
"The first and foremost reason to educate our children in the home is to ensure that they are being educated according to the Qur'an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam)."
"By ensuring the quality of our children's education we may be able to help save our children from the hellfire insha'Allah"
"For surely we will all stand before Allah one day and answer to him as to the children He placed in our care, and how we motivated them in their pursuing the akhirah (hereafter) our real home, and not this world..."
Educating Muslim Children: Challenges and Opportunities
"This paper analyzes the choice the parents make in sending their children, to Public, Parochial, Private non-parochial, Islamic, Virtual Islamic, or Home School. Their advantages and disadvantages."
(I thought this was an excellent read!)
Same article, a little nice format
Home Schooling: Reasons and Resources
Introduction:
A growing number of people including Muslims, are choosing to educate their children at home. The benefits of home schooling can be divided into three interrelated areas:
The advantages in encouraging, and maintaining an Islamic way of life,
The academic benefits and
The social benefits for both the individual and the family.
To Home-School or Not to Home-School?
Lists four misconceptions of homeschooling and their realities as seen from the author's point of view.
Outside, In: From Public School to Home-school
"There are two main areas of trouble that have prompted Muslim parents to make the decision: suffering scholastically, and most prevalent, crisis in the child's Islamic identity, which often results in motional problems."
Reasons for Homeschooling (55 reasons given)
Are You Considering Homeschool?
"Homeschooling isn't new; most of this country's founding fathers were, in effect, homeschooled. But in recent years interest has been growing, and many people, who never thought they would even consider it, are finding themselves more and more intrigued by the idea.
What is it that is attracting so many families to homeschooling?"
Discusses the following reasons:
values-based or religious reasons
academic and learning reasons
social issues
health issues
safety concerns
flexibility of family schedules or lifestyles
A collection of articles that discusses, making the decision, advantages of homeschooling, are you qualified to teach your own children, socialization, research and statistics, public school issues, reasons to homeschool and more.
How To Evaluate Pros and Cons of Homeschooling
"Making the decision to homeschool can be a difficult one. There is so much information on homeschooling that often people are not sure where to begin. Consider the following pros and cons that are common to most families to determine why some may choose to homeschool and others might not. After you evaluate the list of pros and cons that are specific to you and your child's needs, the decision of whether or not homeschooling is right for you will become much more clear."
Pros and Cons of Homeschooling
"8 Things To Keep in Mind Before You Decide on Homeschooling Your Child..."
Pros and Cons of homeschooling; includes an online Homeschooling guidebook.
Homeschool Basics–Making the Decision
Short blog entry with a few useful tips.
Help Deciding to Homeschool or Not
Making the decision to home school: What you should consider
"The decision to home school isn't one intended to be taken lightly. As with any other endeavor, there are pros and cons to be weighed. Red Tape, Time consumption, Curricula, Schedules, Socialization and the list goes on."
Making the Decision to Homeschool
Learn more about homeschooling: Why do families choose to do it? Will it work for your family? What are the legal requirements in your area? With this information, you will be prepared to take the next step down the homeschool path!
Is Homeschool for You? Ten Things to Consider
Time commitment, personal sacrifice, financial strain, socialization, household organization, both parents in agreement, is your child willing, one year at a time, intimidated by teaching, why others began.
I Can't Homeschool! My Kids Would Drive Me Nuts!
"I can't homeschool. I don't have the patience." Ever heard that line? Ever said it? "My kids would drive me nuts." Oh, yeah? (Christian based, but can be looked at in Islamic terms)
Anti-Homeschooling Excuses: Are They Valid? (Christian based)
Of course this is just a sampling of what's out there (on the internet) in regards to making the decision to homeschool. In addition, there are many books available from local libraries that deal with the issue. If you know of any live homeschoolers, talk with them, see what lead them to homeschool.
If you are a Muslimah, you can join groups like International Homeschoolin' Ummis to get insight from "veteran" homeschoolers.
Step 2: After researching (and this will take some time), evaluate your list of reasons for homeschooling and pros and cons.
Step 3: After you have decided on a course of action (to homeschool or not) make Istikharah. By doing so, you are asking Allah to facilitate your decision if it is good for you or remove it from you if its not the right one.
This page last updated:
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
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