Home school vs Public school?

Question

Which do you prefer and why?

Answer 1

public. more opportunities...extracurrics, better academics, sports, clubs, etc.

Answer 2

I prefer homeschool.

Public school is great. There are many teachers who sincerely want kids to succeed. I would gladly send my kids if it was that simple, but it's not. I remember in school all the kids who challenge the teachers and make it harder on everyone else. I see kids today and the way that some parents and authority figures aren't taking care of problems the way it should be handled...it's just to easy to break the rules and walk away. And it's boring. Many kids have really bad attitudes.

Homeschooling allows for travel all year round. It allows me to teach my daughters at the pace which they learn best. It gives them the time to joining all the awesome youth groups, such as brownies, 4H, gymnastics, soccer, YMCA teams, etc. If they were in school it would end up taking up lots of family time. Homeschoolers I have known and talk to have self confidence, are more mature, and enjoy learning.

It boils down to this. I love my kids more than anything. It feels natural to school them myself. I personally would feel like I'm taking the easy way out if I sent them off to school, found myself some job, and let someone else do the work. I mean, I know that sounds rough, but say school is from 7-4 and then extracurricular activities, dinner time, etc. When would I see them? Oh, weekends and an hour or two at night. I love them too much to waste time.

Answer 3

A lot depends. Mostly on how safe the area is, how good the academic standing of the school is, if you learn in the school methods and if the school is well equipped.

If this criteria is met, it will cost more and require buying equipment and such just to equal the school environoment.

If the area is lousey, the school is lousey and they have bad or no equipment then you are better off at home.

Homeschool offers you a variety of ways to learn. At public school you're stuck with their choices.

Homeschool can be done 7 days a week 365 days a year and you can complete a 3 year highschool program in 1 1/2 years.

Investment and unschooling/homeschooling in Earth Science.

A telescope, a text book on astronomy and a star chart.

This will cost $100-$120.

You go outside and look at the sky. Look at the Moon and stars and planets and find things for yourself.

If you whine and say you can't find anything, then you need to be in school where they show you step by step because you don't think, can't reason. You are someone who has to be shown something and memorize it.

Homeschooling is for thinkers.

Someone who can pull a Dell computer out of a box, get it up and running in a hour without having to call in the nerds to help.

I hate to be frank but this is the truth of the matter.

I set my first telescope up at age 11 on my own, went outside and found Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mars, the Pleades, the great nebula in Orion the ring nebula.

It was not easy and I had to consult books and read star maps, but I did it.

To this day I can look up at the sky and tell you where the planets are if I can see them. Like Jupiter half way up in the South at sundown.

You will NEVER get an astronomy education like that in High School.

Unschooling/Homeschooling in math and computer sciences.

You go to E-bay and get a used copy of Visual Basic 4 or 6 with all the books and learn how to use it.

You go to the library, like I did, and check out books on programming in BASIC, especially the ruminetary Minimal BASIC. You go to thrift stores and buy books for 50 cents.

Writing programs requires mastering Algebra, some Geometry and Trig functions.

You learn that circles are formed by using SINE and COSINE and RADIUS to activate pixels at a point on a TANGENT ANGLE.

Once you start understanding how all the TRIG is used it starts to make Math look more interesting and meaningful

You'll never get this in highschool. All of this is college level stuff and it is accessible to anyone.

There are some 12 year old boys out there than know how to program this well and do graphics work on their PCs.

These are the ones who snicker at their Computer Teachers because they know they know more about computers than that teacher every could!

Now what that means is some 16 year old homeschooled and unschooled themselves into a 40 Unit college level major course at home.

That's all you learn in a BS course in computers is 40 units of computer classes. Figure 3-4 units a course so that's 10-12 computer courses

And a few 16 year olds in highschool have done MORE than that work on their own.

Now, when it's a young teacher who was a nerd like them and he went to college but wrote is own programs they sit and his feet and await words of wisdom once he hits them with problems they can't solve.

But that's rare.

So taht's homeschooling vs public

But you have to be a self-starter, a thinker and a doer for homeschooling to work.

Answer 4

I prefer homeschool for my kids becuase I then know what they are learning. I also know all the friends that they are hanging out with. My kids are still really young and are at that very influential stage and I want to know who and what they are being influenced by. My kids are very motivated and I am finding that they are way beyond academically than the kids in the public school system. And the fun thing is that I don't need to push, all I need to do is make it fun and they learn very quickly.
Also my son is considered to have ADD and hyperactive. He is not on any medications and here at home I do school according to what he needs and in the public school setting I know he would just get into trouble because he is physically unable to just sit at a desk all day.
They like the fact that they don't have to go to school all day and that there is plenty of time for extra curricular stuff like dance class, soccer, music lessons, etc. And I find that those are perfect opportunaties to get socialization with other kids and make lots of friends.

Answer 5

This is one of those questions that has to be answered with "it all depends" -- so much depends on the student, and so much depends on the parent. Students who are self motivated do wonderfully well in home school programs because they work at their own speed. This is especially important for the gifted child, as sitting around waiting for the rest of the class to catch up results in pure boredom which, in turn, engenders alternate behaviors and in many cases results in a bright or gifted student dropping out of school.
Other students need the stimulation of being with classmates - it's the old competitive instinct -- and they are quite content to plod along. At the other end of the spectrum, the student who needs extra attention will usually do better in a home school situation IF the parent is capable of providing that attention. And this is where teacher training is so important. There are many kinds of help that children need. Knowing which technique fits which situation is an art all by itself.
So my answer has to be, home school has a place and public school has a place and one is not preferable to the other for all students.

Answer 6

Home school.
1. I can provider a safer environment. No shooting, stabbings, assaults, bullying. Socialization is right out the window in public schools today.
2. I can guarantee ZERO TOLERANCE. Public schools cannot.
3. A child can learn better from a parent than from a teacher that does it for an occupation than to actually achieve a personal gain.
4. There are no risks of drug or alcohol problems in our home, no thefts, hustling lunch money, threats, etc.
5. I provide detailed information far better than public schools and do not just rush our children through the educational system. We strongly emphasize repetition.
6. At home here there is no segregation. No one to harass our children for their clothes, their habits, hobbies, or if they're not with popular kids. Once again, socialization is out the window in public schools with this.
7. Our work assignments are so in depth that research must be achieved and proven from multiple angles rather than just a solitary book or on line site.
8. There is no Principal's office to sit in or hallway to stand and wait in when there is trouble with our child. He is given more work to do and cannot stop until it is completed.
9. I don't have to take crap from a mouthy student like teachers do. Extra homework is always a deterrent.
10. We cover every aspect of the planet and universe. History, mathematics, automotive, diesel, electronics, home economics, geology, geography, science, social studies and social sciences, Chinese philosophy, biology, and English. Foreign languages are also given here. This year it is Russian and Chinese.
11. We have incentive programs that public schools do not offer. Fields trips with points systems for earning extra cash at the end of the year. We put money aside out of each check and divide it based upon scores.

Answer 7

Which do I prefer for whom?

I went to public school. My mother was a single mom and an emotional mess. I would have hated being homeschooled by her. For the most part, I enjoyed my time at school, looked forward to going back after summer vacation. Even became a teacher.

For my children, however, I prefer homeschooling. I know what the schools here are like now; my jr. high teaching husband knows what the schools here are like now. We're fairly sure we can provide our children with something better. And if you ask my children, they have no desire to go to public school.

Why do I prefer this for my children? For a number of reasons I will cite only briefly. I don't like how confining the academic program is in the early grades, a time crucial to mastering things correctly and to not get bored and lose interest in learning; I didn't like what I saw going on socially and realized the ridiculousness of having 20-30 kids all the same age together and expecting them to learn mature social skills; I like being their parent and didn't feel that in their 18 years of legal childhood (legal age is 18 here), that I only had the right to be their primary caregiver for 4 of them. Essentially, I wanted a better education and a better upbringing for my children. Some parents have no problem with the schools' way of doing it all. I have no problem with people sending their kids to public schools. So, what I prefer is for our family, not for everyone.

***
When people make comments like public school has more opportunities, I have to wonder if they know ANYTHING about homeschooling at all. Where I live, homeschoolers are very active. There are opportunities available for kids of all ages that I never heard of existing in schools. There are homeschooling clubs. There are homeschooling sports activities as well as community sports. Extra-curriculars are all over the city, available to both the homeschooled and the public schooled, and many times the homeschooled child is involved in MORE extra-curricular activities than the public schooled child. Better academics at school? The parents I know who don't unschool are definitely providing better instruction and tutorial support to their children than schools ever could or ever did (many parents I know have pulled their kids from school due to the school's inability to adequately teach them).

You don't need to be around people only your age for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, 9 months out of the year for 12 years to 'become social' or to learn how to be with people. Think about it: is that what we had for the many years before people all went to school? No. Even the early schools were all multi-aged (not to mention the academics more individualized).

"Hear perspectives of other students"? Oh, what, in math class? Geography? "Yeah, I think England is in Europe. What do you think?" In chemistry? History is one topic that *may* open up discussions, but that'll depend on the teacher. My experience in school and what is basically expected is that the kids will remember the facts, not spend each class discussing each other's perspectives. English class was another, yet most kids didn't even share their thoughts; heck, most weren't even interested in the literature being studied in the first place.

Besides, most kids who are homeschooled are in the elementary grades. There's not a whole lot of discussing perspectives at that age.

Answer 8

I have the best of both worlds. My children attend a public charter school (which means cirriculum materials are free) that is 2 days a week at school and 3 days a week at home.

Parents are able to select cirricula for their child (within certain constraints based on the classical/Charlotte Mason approach of the school), the kids get to socialize with others, and such. The Home School Legal Defence Association is not a big fan of charter schools that are part homeschooling and part classroom education. They see it as selling out your options as a parent. They go so far as to bar any charter school homeschooling kiddos from membership. I do NOT agree with their stance.

There are very few children my son's age in my immediate area. The reason I was considering sending him to our local public school was that we couldn't find a good fit with any local homeschooling groups. Most of the parents were very into unschooling (which is fine, but that's not at all what we do), so they had no problem with erratic schedules, taking days off to play, etc. The children also tended to be from families with values VERY different from ours. One of the benefits of homeschooling for us is that, at least in theory, we can have some influence over which children our kids associate with while they are young and impressionable.

The fact that the charter school requires tremendous amounts of parental involvement (teaching your kids 3 days a week, volunteering at school, etc.) means that the children at this school are a high prioroty to their families. The focus on a classical, rigorous education means that the parents value excellence and a firm foundation in the basics.

My husband and I both went to public school. He was popular and loved it. I was a dork and hated it. We both love the option we have selected for our children. If there was a full time school in the area we could afford that offered a rigorous classical education, foreign language from kindergarten on, a focus on original historical documents, etc., I'd send my kids there. Such a school does not exist. The tuition for the schools that offer that kind of cirriculum here run between $8,000 and $20,000 per kid (I have 2 kids), plus another $3K or so a year for supplies, field trips, etc. Also, most of the students at the school go on the summer trip to a foreign county (add another $2K for that). Then, my kiddos would be surrounded by primarially wealthy children, giving them a skewed world view. I don't hate the wealthy, especially those that earned the money themselves. However, my hubby and I both grew up in neighborhoods that were upper-middle-class to wealthy, and we would prefer our children be surrounded by families that are generally a bit more grounded and middle-class.

We may move in the next year. The place we are planning to move to has no charter schools like the one my son attends. If we move, I will most likely homeschool him and involve him in extra-cirricular activities to meet other children and socialize. Homeschooled kids, even those with a rigorous cirriculum, tend to spend far fewer hours each week "in school," so they have plenty of time for religious activities, scouting, 4-H, team sports etc. Many have time for all of those things. Keep in mind, you would not have to spend time driving to and from school, as well!

The only situation that I see where public school is absolutely critical is if you have a pre-teen or teenager who is VERY gifted athletically. There is simply no guarantee that a homeschooled child will be able to get the attention of college/professional scouts. Of course, such children are pretty rare. However, if your child's coach is telling you that you really may have the next Joe Montana, a public high school or athletically competetive private school is your best option. If they are THAT good, you can probably get an athletic scholarship to a great private school.

Every family must choose what is the best fit for them. If you decide to homeschool, be certain to check out your state's legal requirements before starting. The Home School Legal Defence Association website has state-specific information.

Answer 9

My answer is : both.
I prefer homeschool for my son. He learns more in tutoring than he does in class room. We saved money and time by eliminating the classroom time which is ineffective for him. (So as not to be misunderstood, the tutoring I am talking about here is simply one on one teaching.)
We have home schooled for two years and will continue to home school through high school. He is happy with this arrangement because it gives him time to be with friends. When he was in public school, his days were spent in classes and after school hours were spent doing home work and being tutored by us, his parents, or by teachers who would give afterschool help.
I prefer public school for myself. I make money as a classified employee and most importantly, it gives me a schedule that makes it possible to home school my son in the mornings. I also enjoy watching the antics of high school students during lunch hour. They have 25 minutes to eat their lunch and 'socialize'. The principal and assistant pricipals interact with the students during this social time to make sure that food is eaten instead of thrown, friendly relationships do not get excessively physical, stealing from the lunch line is challenging for the students, and that friendships 'gone bad' don't result in bloodshed. By the way, copying homework is also done in this 25 minute social period.
We have good kids at our school but they are kids. We have smart kids at our school, but the class room does very little to prepare them for college or for 'real life'.
I think the real problem with public school, private school or home school is for any one sector to say, 'This is the only way'. Most of society have no idea what home school really means. They need to get an education and learn that home school is a very good way for many people to get an education. Most home school students are normal, fun-loving, and social people. The percentage of odd personalities are about the same in any education choice, any neighborhood, and in any job situation. You can't pick out one unique personality from any group and determine personalities from all in that group.

Answer 10

i like parts of both.
i was in public until 7th grade. i did fine, got straight A's, i liked the structure, but i was always bored out of my mind.
but it's so much harder to be at home. it's harder for me to concentrate, but when i do, i progress much faster than i ever did at school. also as a homeschooler, i also get a lot of discrimination from the school system.
but i still take orchestra at school, so i get to see all my friends.
i kinda wish i was all the way in public school, though. it's so much easier.

Answer 11

Homeschool!!! I was in public school for 6 long years before finally convincing my mom to homeschool me in 6th grade. That has now pragressed into unschooling and I am happier than I have ever been. There is nothing better than knowing that you are in control of you own future, your own life, having the freedom to chose what you learn and do and how you live...
I could go on and on about why homeschooling is better, but I have a bad habit of talking people's ears off, so I won't.