Homeschooling can give a more positive, direct, focused education than public schools. Public schools are better in other ways like social interaction. Homeschool Versus Public School Public school is a place where children are able to gain an education and form social bonds with other children and their teachers. Public school offers students access to qualified teachers who are equipped to answer most questions and deal with a great many situations in a professional manner. Public institutions offer an environment of scheduled learning and a school chosen curriculum.
Another positive thing that can be said for public schools is that they are prepared to deal with students who display special needs, such as: ones who are physically, socially, or emotionally handicapped (“Educationbug”). Public school provides the much needed environment of learning with time set aside for each subject, and specially trained teachers for certain subjects. Public schools offer more curriculum opportunities for students while giving them a more diverse social education. Teachers in public schools are required to have specific credentials.
A major benefit for children in public schools is that they learn how to deal with real world situations that force them to effectively learn how to problem solve with their peers. They learn to read, write, and do math with distractions that one normally encounters in every-day life. Public school children learn through relationships rather than individual experiences. Students in public school are often better socialized than their homeschooled peers. Many people feel like children educated in the public school system are better prepared for college life when they graduate.
There are a great many reasons why parents choose to educate their children through the public school system. On the other hand, homeschooling is becoming more popular nationwide. Parents who choose homeschooling prefer the one-on-one attention their children receive while learning. They also appreciate the opportunity to incorporate religion into their children’s daily education. Parents of homeschoolers prefer the safer, less violent learning environment their home offers compared to the public school system.
Parents who decide to homeschool are not forced to compromise their values and morals when it comes to sex education (“Conservativefront”). Many parents teach their children that abstinence is the right choice. These parents do not appreciate being undermined by the public school system teaching their children the virtues of safe sex. It is a great relief to parents of homeschoolers that their children’s chances of being exposed to drugs, alcohol, and nicotine are virtually nonexistent.
Parents who homeschool their children are better able to decide who their kids socialize with, rather than being forced to let them socialize with children from questionable families who do not have the same values. Homeschooling is a great way to keep one’s children shielded from the harsh realities of today’s world, at least temporarily. Students who are homeschooled are not forced to learn in overcrowded classrooms with one teacher trying to do his or her best. They are able to move at a pace that suits them, with their parent’s attention usually available when needed (“Homeschooling”).
Students who are homeschooled have the advantage of learning from a curriculum that their parents have chosen specifically for them, rather than one that was picked by someone who doesn’t even know them and is expected to meet the needs of thousands. I have personal experience with both homeschooling and public school with my daughter. While she is currently enrolled in a local public school, I personally preferred the many options we had available as homeschoolers. I was forced to place my daughter back in public school when I decided to become a full time student at Indian Hills Community College.
As a widow, I found myself having to make some tough decisions about my future. Since I only possessed a high school diploma, my employment options were severely limited. I feel like I made the sensible choice by enrolling myself in college. However, the time I spent teaching my daughter at home was time well spent. I was able to watch my daughter blossom away from the distractions of other children. She enjoyed having my undivided attention and I enjoyed being able to choose a Christian based curriculum for her education.
I was able to tailor each lesson to suit my daughter and there was no one forcing us to move on when we felt like she needed extra time with something. This personalized way of educating her caused my daughter’s Iowa Basic Test Skills scores to sky-rocket. This made us both proud and gave us a great sense of accomplishment. As for socialization, we enrolled in our local homeschool program that works with the public schools in order to encourage interaction with other homeschooling families.
We were able to meet weekly for the kids to participate in physical education classes together at the county parks, there were monthly classes offered by a certified teacher that focused on financial education for the children to use later in life, and there were many picnics and field trips. I can’t even begin to express the amount of bonding that took place between me and my daughter. We have always been extremely close, but the experience of homeschooling was a very positive one for us. I would recommend it to anyone.
Sources Cited:
http://www.conservativefront.com/category/arts-culture/education/.
http://www.educationbug.org/a/homeschool-statistics.html.
http://homeschooling.about.com/od/socialization/a/socialization.htm.
