I can offer my perspective, being a homeschooled individual myself (grades 7-12). I took my schooling through a distance education program in my town though and was not taught by my parents and the material I was given was all self-directed learning. I had to register for all my classes and aside from a couple of clarifying questions I had over the years I barely spoke to any teacher. I was the type of person who didn't put a whole lot of effort into my work and yet still got good grades (B's and A's). So some things that I can say that I learned aside from what was in the courses was the ability to estimate how long it will take me to cover some material, how to manage my time, how to teach myself (this has proved to be wildly beneficial as someone who likes to learn new things for fun as well as for work as a programmer).
I was also happy because I was able to use these skills that I had acquired after the first year of homeschooling and get into a good groove. This groove meant that I knew that I had to finish a certain amount of work (taking at least 1 hour and at most 6) in a particular course a day. Days where my chunk was finished early I would either do the next days work and then take a day off in the week or I would just quit early. I would spend my extra time either just relaxing or reading up on something I found interesting. I found this time to be very nice considering the long days that I knew my friends were spending at school and with homework after. I figured that if I had spent the same amount of time everyday that kids in school did instead of the way I did it as well as not taking two months off school one winter I could have realistically finished 1.5 - 2 years early. This would of course be if I was pushing myself, I avoided stress and found a more relaxed self learning style to be better for me.
Now speaking on the note about what you are identifying as the reason your wife wants to pursue this, I am an introvert and I can deal quite well with being alone. I can for sure see how a child with an extroverted personality might not deal well with this type of environment. It is not every kid who can spend hours a day at home with the dedication to learn and not play. You may find it beneficial to wait until your child is a bit older (maybe around grade 6-7) to see how they would be at learning from home.
The other thing to consider at the younger stage of this is engagement. That is the best way to teach and to learn, to enjoy the process and to interact with what is going on. The first few years of school is not at all like the last few years. My cousin homeschool's her two kids and she takes advantage of the fact that they aren't limited to what a classroom can do. They take educational trips to different places and they learn about things that are outside of this boxed curriculum that a school would normally have to stick to to teach a class full of kids.
I mention these things because I am not some statistic I am someone who was homeschooled and I know what it's like. I know that homeschooling was better for me. I got away from kids who were smoking pot and or cigarettes in middle school. I was able to finish at the same time as everyone else despite the fact that I spent less time per week doing schooling and taking off weeks at a time in addition to scheduled breaks. I had the freedom to learn on my time and learn extra things that would benefit me that aren't taught in schools. I got to avoid all the crap that happens at high school. But again this is me and my experience. Ultimately it will depend on your son and whoever will be doing the teaching. You can read all the stats and review what the benefits are but if the person isn't right for it then they are not and any viewpoint or potential brought forth in some article or paper won't make a difference.
Now you have heard what I liked about homeschooling and the things it has done for me and a potential of what it can do for your son. I might make a suggestion that could solve all your points. Wait a year. Let your kid go to public schoo
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I can offer my perspective, being a homeschooled individual myself (grades 7-12). I took my schooling through a distance education program in my town though and was not taught by my parents and the material I was given was all self-directed learning. I had to register for all my classes and aside from a couple of clarifying questions I had over the years I barely spoke to any teacher. I was the type of person who didn't put a whole lot of effort into my work and yet still got good grades (B's and A's). So some things that I can say that I learned aside from what was in the courses was the ability to estimate how long it will take me to cover some material, how to manage my time, how to teach myself (this has proved to be wildly beneficial as someone who likes to learn new things for fun as well as for work as a programmer). I was also happy because I was able to use these skills that I had acquired after the first year of homeschooling and get into a good groove. This groove meant that I knew that I had to finish a certain amount of work (taking at least 1 hour and at most 6) in a particular course a day. Days where my chunk was finished early I would either do the next days work and then take a day off in the week or I would just quit early. I would spend my extra time either just relaxing or reading up on something I found interesting. I found this time to be very nice considering the long days that I knew my friends were spending at school and with homework after. I figured that if I had spent the same amount of time everyday that kids in school did instead of the way I did it as well as not taking two months off school one winter I could have realistically finished 1.5 - 2 years early. This would of course be if I was pushing myself, I avoided stress and found a more relaxed self learning style to be better for me. Now speaking on the note about what you are identifying as the reason your wife wants to pursue this, I am an introvert and I can deal quite well with being alone. I can for sure see how a child with an extroverted personality might not deal well with this type of environment. It is not every kid who can spend hours a day at home with the dedication to learn and not play. You may find it beneficial to wait until your child is a bit older (maybe around grade 6-7) to see how they would be at learning from home. The other thing to consider at the younger stage of this is engagement. That is the best way to teach and to learn, to enjoy the process and to interact with what is going on. The first few years of school is not at all like the last few years. My cousin homeschool's her two kids and she takes advantage of the fact that they aren't limited to what a classroom can do. They take educational trips to different places and they learn about things that are outside of this boxed curriculum that a school would normally have to stick to to teach a class full of kids. I mention these things because I am not some statistic I am someone who was homeschooled and I know what it's like. I know that homeschooling was better for me. I got away from kids who were smoking pot and or cigarettes in middle school. I was able to finish at the same time as everyone else despite the fact that I spent less time per week doing schooling and taking off weeks at a time in addition to scheduled breaks. I had the freedom to learn on my time and learn extra things that would benefit me that aren't taught in schools. I got to avoid all the crap that happens at high school. But again this is me and my experience. Ultimately it will depend on your son and whoever will be doing the teaching. You can read all the stats and review what the benefits are but if the person isn't right for it then they are not and any viewpoint or potential brought forth in some article or paper won't make a difference. Now you have heard what I liked about homeschooling and the things it has done for me and a potential of what it can do for your son. I might make a suggestion that could solve all your points. Wait a year. Let your kid go to public schoo
Cybermen. Thats all I am saying...
I would also love a invite! email monkitman@gmail.com