Online Schooling Or Homeschooling: Two Sides Of The Same Coin?

According to a study by NHERI, homeschooling is experiencing a growth of 2 per cent to 8 per cent over the last few years. While this is good news to parents who are keen to homeschool, there are some clear reasons why it is still not the main mode of education. 

Online schooling is seen as an extension of regular school, where the child studies through a virtual classroom. Often seen as a component of hybrid schooling, it gives the child an opportunity to learn and interact from the safety of their house. 

A keen evaluation of the two modes of schooling reveals their unique features:

Online schooling works with the studied curriculum of regular school, whereas homeschooling is a more freewheeling approach. Online schooling uses the curriculum of a board that has been put together by learned academicians. The syllabus is well-structured, monitored and time-tested; and is created to develop a child's mind in an age-appropriate banner. Homeschooling is more spontaneous and very highly customised. It takes one student at a time, specifically serving the needs of a specific child. 

Online schooling is delivered by teachers who are trained to deliver it competently, and homeschooling needs a parent to step up as a teacher. A child's education needs an adult's complete and undivided attention. For homeschooling, parents need to be well-educated in the subjects and available at all times. It requires immense dedication from parents. By its very nature, homeschooling demands incessant hard work, involvement, patience, and parents' sacrifices. Further, seeing the parent as a teacher may not be easy for the child. The boundaries in a parent-child relationship get blurred too. In online schooling, each teacher knows their student well. These teachers are certified with years of training in engaging students – not to mention many evolving courses being doled out consistently by training institutes.  

Regular reviewing in online schools allows children to flourish at the right pace, while homeschooling takes an open approach. There are many benefits to regular reviewing that lets children grow at their pace. In many ways, tests are very motivating stepping stones. It blooms in a child the desire to excel, work towards a goal, and develop willpower. When others around them do better or worse, it develops respect and empathy respectively. Home-schooling is open, where the only competition for the child is with the self, and the next big goal is to exceed your own self. 

Online schooling reveals an understanding of the outside world, while homeschooling is more inward-looking. Children develop a range of faculties when they interact with their peers. Online schooling enables them to reach out and mingle with children belonging to different strata, cultures and regions. Learning in a group teaches life skills too. Children learn to weather different scenarios and become tolerant of others. Homeschooling in comparison is more of an inward exercise. The child is more deeply involved with people and resources available at home and grows with that.

All in all, homeschooling and online schooling are both crafted for different purposes. Both evolve with the children in different ways and have unique impacts. Homeschooling is attuned to each child and moulds them gently as they grow. While online schooling is a step up from regular schoolings – like regular schooling from the comfort of home, and prepares the child for the hybrid world of the future.

Rohan Parikh

Guest Author The author is Managing Director - The Green Acres Academy