Home School vs. Public School

I have seven children. Some are at the public school and some are at home. I have seen pros and cons to both situations. As I considered reasons concerning homeschool, I wrote up this list of questions and tried to answer them as honestly as I could based on our experiences.

Questions:

1. Where do they excel academically?
2. Where do they develop better and long lasting friendships?
3. Where are they most likely to develop characteristics needed for their future?
4. Where will gospel values be taught?
5. Where will they have higher self-esteem and self-confidence?
6. Where will they get the individual help when struggling or skip ahead if succeeding?
7. Where will they learn better attitudes and behavior?
8. Where will learning be enjoyable and motivating?
9. Where are they able to pursue some of their own personal study interests?
10. Where will they learn to interact with others in a way that will prepare them for future careers/schooling?

My Answers:

1. They can excel academically in both places. In public schools, the teachers are trained and the class is taught together with regular assessments to try to keep them on track. They should, most likely, at least stay on grade level. In homeschool, they move at their own pace - or the pace they are taught to expect. If the curriculum is rigorous, they will actually can be one or two grades ahead of the public school. If the curriculum is laid-back and Mom is distracted, they will fall behind a grade or two.
2. In public school, they have several opportunities to interact with other children in group settings, during recess, and team projects. There is class discussions that may be difficult or even impossible in a homeschool setting. Often these friendships can develop into something lasting beyond the classroom (such as Jared’s lots of friends), but sometimes these “friendships” can be damaging as well - either from peer pressure or criticisms. In homeschool, there is usually more “time” to invite friends over to play since there is not the worry of completing homework. The parents can also have more of a choice in helping the children select which friendships to develop. The parents have to take an active role through inviting, encouraging, or setting up social situations. In homeschool, the children’s best friends tend to be one another.
3. Public schools try to encourage good character building and reinforce this through discipline and reminders. Homeschoolers also develop good character teaching the same way, except parents have more of a say on which character traits to emphasize. Public schools may also introduce ideas that an innocent child may not have heard of otherwise, such as “gay tolerance” and swear words.
4. Public schools are atheist. Even good teachers are not allowed to mention God in anyway. Gospel teaching is done at home.
5. If they are placed in a classroom with friends and a positive teacher, they can have great self-confidence and self-esteem. However once labeled by one teacher, that label is hard to erase. Teachers pass the labels on to each other and the child can believe them. If the label is positive, then great! If the label is negative, the child’s self-esteem and confidence will also be affected. In a homeschool setting, parents and siblings directly determine self-esteem and confidence levels by how they interact with each other. If there is contention and criticism, they will have low self esteem. If there is patience and understanding, they will have high self esteem.
6. Public schools are set up in IEP, tutoring, and other helps for struggling students. They can make a big difference in helping a child get on grade level. Once in a while public schools also have elite activities for bright students to get ahead, but usually it is just busy work. A bright student tends to get bored in a classroom setting where everyone is suppose to be at the same level. Homeschools can move at individual pace and a student may never know whether he is ahead or behind.
7. “You become like those you are around.” If at public school, you will develop the attitudes and behaviors of the school (such as Isaac laughing like Mrs. Mullinax). If at home, you will develop the attitudes and behaviors of the home. Children tend to live up to expectations and what they think is acceptable. They want to belong and identify with a group. That group will be who they spend the most time with … whether the school friends/teachers or the family. It is hard, but not impossible, to rise above those you are around the most.
8. That all depends on your teacher. Exciting, motivating lessons can be taught in any setting. If you get a boring public school teacher, you are stuck with boring lessons for the whole year. Some public school teachers are very fun and motivating. Some are not. At home, how exciting or motivating depends on the parents.
9. Public schools usually have a set curriculum for everyone in the class with only a few, if any, personal choices in the assignments. Homeschool can be completely choice based, with guidance, if the parent wants it to be. The child at home tends to naturally pursue personal studies through library visits and field trips, if not through curriculum.
10. One reason public schools were set up was to prepare the masses for the work force and they do a good job of that. You learn to be quiet, stand in straight lines, listen for bells, be obedient, and be on time. You are taught not to question your superiors and to work on assignments when the teachers says to. At home, learning is just a part of daily life and doesn’t run on a bell schedule. Students are taught to question and think on their own, pursue personal studies, questions those they don’t agree or understand and usually become very independent. I’m not sure which is better for future careers/schooling. If your future career is the work force, a submissive worker might be best found from the public school setting. If your future career requires decision making and personal study, a homeschool student might best fill that role. I think good leaders can be found in either setting.