Homeschool Vs. Public School

There has always been the debate of which education style is better, homeschooling or public school? Homeschooling can provide both a flexible and more intimate setting. Public school can be considered a disciplined environment and good for social development. Although public school is more popular among parent choice, the decision to home school is on the rise. “Over 2.04 million students are now home schooled, a 75% increase from 1999.” (Home school Domination, n.d.) In my opinion homeschooling is the better option over a public school education. Homeschooling a child can offer many great things. One of the benefits of homeschooling is having a flexible schedule and having educational freedom. When a child is home schooled, they learn on their own time. Whether class begins at four in the morning or four in the evening, homeschooling gives the student the ability to learn at their own pace. Having educational freedom is also a benefit.

There is freedom in choosing the curriculum rather than being restricted to only general studies that public schools offer. Another advantage of being home schooled is an increase in family time. Homeschooling gives a family the opportunity to grow closer together and to have more interaction with each other.(Kaitlyn_Deann, n.d.) At home, a child can get more work done in less time because there is no busy work. (Isabel Shaw, n.d.) Because a home schooled child works around their own schedule, they are much more rested and less stressed to complete assignments with a deadline. A child that works at their own pace has less stress which leads to better grades. With all the advantages of homeschooling, there are also a few disadvantages. First and foremost, a lot of parents decide that homeschooling is not right for them because of the financial strain it puts on a family.

The cost of books, lesson plans, materials and even field trips will be out of pocket, where public school is paid for by tax dollars. The big controversy with homeschooling has always been the lack of social interaction with other students. In public school there are all sorts of extra curricular activities such as sports, band and theater. Home schooled students don’t get those opportunities through a school, but there are alternatives such as home school groups and public sports teams. While I am for homeschooling, public school has advantages too. Teachers have to be state certified with a degree to teach in schools. With home school, Mom or Dad don’t need to be qualified to teach their child. (Thomass472, May 2012) In the name, public school, it means just that. A public school is open to anyone and is paid for by tax dollars. What most people bring up in this topic is the advantage of social interaction.

Public schools offer a child plenty of socialization with peers and the opportunity to be involved in after school activities. With these advantages there are plenty of disadvantages. Being in public school, there is a lack of freedom to choose not only the curriculum but the school itself. A child is restricted by zoning when it comes to the school they can attend. (Thomass472, May 2012) In public schooling, bullying is on the rise. According to www.bullingstatistics.com “ The bullying statistics 2010 reveal that bullying is a crime that is not going anywhere anytime soon. There are about 160,000 children that miss school everyday out of fear of being bullied.” (Bullying Statistics,2010) This is a problem that most likely isn’t going to happen in the home. I don’t believe that children should be sheltered from everything, but it seems to me that homeschooling is a safer route to take. Another disadvantage of public schools is the high teacher to student ratio. (Thomass472, May 2012)

A student has a lot less one on one time with a teacher to better understand the subject. A home schooled child has plenty of one on one time with either a teacher or parent and the child’s educational needs are better met. In my opinion I feel that homeschooling is a better option than public school. After researching this topic further I have come to the conclusion that the advantages of homeschooling outweigh those of public schools. A lot of people may disagree with me due to the social aspect of it, but is that a good reason to deprive your child of the best education possible? I believe that the freedom, family time and proven better test scores and academic success (“National average percentile scores”, n.d.) are reason enough to choose homeschooling over public school.

REFERENCES

1. (Thomass472 , 2012, May) Public School Versus Home School, studymode.com retrieved May 2014 from http://www.studymode.com/essays/public-school-versus-home-school-1004977.html 2. (Kaitlyn_Deann, n.d.) “Homeschooling vs. Public School: Which is more beneficial?” retrieved May 2014 from www.teenink.com/college.guide/college_essays/article/467879/Homeshooling-vs-public-school-which-is-more-beneficial/ 3. (Isabel Shaw, n.d.) “The Pros & Cons of Homeschooling” retrieved May 2014 from www.school.familyeducation.com/home-schooling/parenting/29861 4. “National Average Percentile Scores” retrieved May 2014 from www.home-school.com/news/homeschool-vs-public-school.php