Reading Passage 8

Home-schooling

A Introduction

In developed countries, compulsory education is the norm for children aged from around 6 to 16. Even so, in most cases this does not mean that the child has to attend a school. Increasing numbers of parents are choosing to educate their children at home. In the UK it is estimated that up to 100,000 pupils are being taught in this way, which equates to about 1% of the UK school population. In the USA, home education, or home schooling as it is known, has reached unprecedented levels with approximately 2 million children, or 4% of the compulsory age group, now receiving tuition at home. Parents cite various reasons for keeping their children away from school, ranging from a lack of satisfaction with the school environment to a wish to provide their own religious instruction. Home-schooling is a controversial issue surrounded by misgivings, with supporters emphasizing its benefits and detractors pointing to its limitations and risks.

B The reasons why parents elect to educate their children at home are often linked to emotionally charged issues rather than rational arguments that reflect the pros and cons of home-schooling. Typically, a child is removed from a school following negative experiences, for example bullying, or exposure to bad influences such as drugs, discrimination, bad language, or falling in with the wrong crowd. Consequently, home-schooling is ardently defended by its proponents who are not necessarily best placed to consider its downsides dispassionately. Whilst the popularity of homeeducation is on the increase, it remains an oddity, associated more with problems at school rather than a positive decision to provide a real alternative.

C Whilst home-schooling of a child is unusual, learning from parents is not, so formal teaching at home can be regarded as an extension of the parents’ normal role. However, education in the home environment can have its limitations; for example, when there are gaps in the parents’ knowledge in key subject areas such as fractions or algebra. Moreover, teaching is not merely the dispensing of knowledge acquired, but rather a skill that has to be taught, practised and mastered. Parents are not professional teachers and if the outcomes are poor then the parents can only blame themselves. Home-schooling is both time-consuming and demanding. Parents can lose out financially and socially when they are obliged to spend the entire day at home.

66 How to Master the IELTS

D Lack of socialization is perhaps the main criticism of home-schooling. When children are taken out of school they cannot interact with other pupils or engage in school activities, including team sports. Later, a young person may find it difficult to integrate in ordinary social settings or lack the coping skills to deal with the demands of everyday life. Socialization outside of the home can negate some of these short­ comings, bearing in mind that the home-educated child is likely to have more free time to engage in recreational activities. Indeed, it might be argued that the socialization experienced in the natural setting of a community is preferable to that within the confines of a school.

E Whilst home-schooling has its shortcomings it also offers several advantages. Tuition is on a one-to-one basis so it can be personalized to meet an individual child’s needs. There is no strict curriculum so the teaching can be readily adapted for those with special educational needs or learning disabilities. Children are allowed to develop at their own rate, and attention can be focussed on subjects that a child enjoys or has a particular aptitude for. Parents can provide religious education and impart moral values consistent with their own beliefs, and they can also include subjects that may not be available in their local schools, for example Latin or Archaeology. The timetable is entirely flexible with no time wasted travelling to and from school, no lack of educational continuity when moving home, and no restric­ tions on when to take family holidays. It should come as no surprise that with all these benefits, home-educated children usually outperform their schooled counterparts academically. However, this is not conclusive proof of the effectiveness of homeschooling. Parents who home-school their children tend to be well-educated and in a higher than average income bracket. Consequently, these parents are more likely to show an interest in their child’s education, encouraging compliance with home­ work and offering support, meaning that the child would probably have performed well had they remained within the school system.

F Parents who educate their children at home may choose to shun school com­ pletely. Despite this, local schools should offer parents and children support and guidance, extending access to school trips, library resources, recreational facilities, syllabus information, assessments and examinations. The future of home-schooling and its position in the education system are uncertain. Nevertheless, it is the duty of the state and the parents to ensure that home-educated children are given an education that affords them opportunities in life and equips them for the world of work.

Questions 215 to 219

Reading Passage 8 has six paragraphs, A to F.

Choose the correct heading for the paragraphs B, C, D, E and F from the list of headings below.

List of headings

i)Disadvantages

ii)Range of benefits

iii)Problems at school

iv)Main advantage

v)Overcoming a weakness

vi)No bad influences

vii)Introduction

viii)Shared responsibility

ix)Parents as teachers

Paragraph A vii (Introduction)

215Paragraph B

216Paragraph C

217Paragraph D

218Paragraph E

219Paragraph F.

68 How to Master the IELTS

Questions 220 to 226

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 8? Write:

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.

220In the USA there are four times as many home-educated children as in the UK.

221There is much disagreement about the merits of home-schooling.

222School children with disabilities are the most discriminated against.

223There is nothing unusual about children learning from their parents at home.

224Only children who attend school can be favourably socialized.

225Pupils in school achieve higher grades than home-school children.

226Children from better-off homes are more likely to complete their homework.