Homeschooling vs. Public Education

Homeschooling vs. Public Education

A common concern that most parents experience when their child begins school is which is best for their child’s educational development, homeschool or public school. I myself was taught in both homeschool and public school off and on throughout my elementary and high school years. I can tell you from personal experience that there are pro’s and con’s to both aspects, it all just depends on which one you feel is right for your child as an individual and according to your family’s believe structure. The intention of this paper is to lay out the facts for both educational styles that way a parent can look into the good and bad of both and then make whatever decision they feel would be the best choice for their child.

With that having been said, let us take a minute to discuss the basics when it concerns your child’s education. The point of school whether it be done at home or in a public facility is for the students to learn, grow, and then integrate what was learned whenever they go out into society as an adult. Homeschooling is not the way it used to be what with the Internet working as effective as it does in this modern time. Your child can sit at home and do their schoolwork at the family computer with an entire virtual classroom, or do it the old fashion way by mail order assignments. However, the curriculum is different from that of the public school. With homeschool, the parent chooses the assignments and can work one-on-one with their child and observe what they are learning, giving the parent a more sense of involvement. This also allows the child to work at their own pace giving them more time to study and eventually learn more. With public education there is a set curriculum created and assigned by the state. This can leave a parent feeling as if they do not have a say in what their child will be learning. There is also a thirty to one student teacher ratio limiting the teacher’s attention span with each individual student. The assignments and tests also have a set time limit, meaning that if the student does not learn the material in an able time-period given to them, they will most likely get a failing grade. According to studies, when it concerns test taking, homeschooling in point of fact has the advantage with an 89th percentile in passing, while public education on has a 50th percentile rate in passing scores.

In addition, there is a difference between the educational styles in the way a student develops their social skills. One of the down falls of homeschooling is that the student is limited to himself or herself having only their siblings to socialize with during the day. There is no ethnicity, no difference of opinions, and no cultural differences. Therefore, a large amount of them will never know how to handle someone who is different from them, or how to handle a matter of differences in opinions. It is true you will more than likely never have to worry about your child and bullying or verbal assault this way, but you cannot protect them from bullies forever. Where with public schools there is a wide range of students all having a variety of different backgrounds. Therefore, it is an opportunity to learn to negotiate with other points of view, and understand people with diverse backgrounds and values. Public schools for the most part also have students with a range of abilities as well as disabilities. The diversity introduces and provides students to the communication issues as well as the interpersonal issues that can come from mingling with people that may be different from them. It also teaches them to stand up for themselves and what they truly believe in if it is necessary. These are the kind of social skills that most people use as they enter into adulthood and the job force.

In addition to the social skill factor, there is also a community factor. School dances, sports games, field trips, class projects, other extracurricular activities, and walking down the graduation aisle with friends are all things that typically make education a memorable experience for a student. All of these things are life experiences that if passed by cannot be captured later on in life. You always hear it from someone that is already a graduate from high school, whether their experience was good or bad that what they experienced help shape who they became as an adult. Most would not change that experience even if they could. Homeschool offers no such extracurricular activities; sure, the student can have more time for more personal hobbies such as reading, playing outside, watching TV, and other things. However, it is limited only to what is right there within the home itself, which can lead to boredom, loneliness, and possibly trouble. Most people looking back at their school years and were homeschooled feel that they missed so many things or felt as if they were held back and sheltered from the world.

Another difference between the two would be the fact that home schooled children have a lowered immune system, because of a possible lack of certain vaccinations. Whereas children that attend public school are required to have certain vaccinations, keeping their immune system higher, so they do not catch certain contagious diseases and illnesses. Because sitting in a home all day can keep their immune systems at a low never having been exposed to a germ or two from other children, like chicken pox for example. If a person has not built up an immunity to certain child born illnesses and then catches the illness later on in life when they become an adult it can cause problems and health risk factors. These problems can lead to lost time at work, serious reactions, hospitalization, and in rare instances even death.

Nevertheless, which ever path you choose for your child’s education there is always going to be up’s as well as down’s when it concerns a student’s ability to learn their assigned material no matter whether they are at home or sitting in a school building. Your child will be taught the fundamentals of educational values, if not by you personally then by the teacher’s who will guide them whenever or as it is needed. There will also be certain things that seem better with one more than the other does and vice versa. The important thing is to support your child no, encourage them to do their best, and always strive for better things in life. Nonetheless, no matter how you personally feel about either educational style, the ending result and main concern should be your number one priority, which is for your child to earn the grades and obtain their diplomas.