Homeschool or Public School?

My child is actually currently 2 months old; however, this has been one topic on my mind because I know that to homeschool takes a lot of preparation, so I want to be prepared. Also, it's been on my mind because as a new parent, you realize the weight of responsibility of being a parent and raising your children the best way you find fit and I only hope to give her the very best I possibly can.

My opinions on homeschooling have seemed to outweigh the other options. I think it would be good to give her the individualized learning for her early years because I believe that with a solid educational foundation, anyone can learn anything they put their mind to. Also, I believe that I am able to teach her things that I don't think are being taught in school; such as, how to cook, sew, etc. I want her to have common sense about the world because although doing math is important in everyday tasks and in business settings, so is knowing how to do basic things to be able to function on your own.

The one thing that I do like about public schools, though, is the social aspect. I don't want her to have difficulty communicating with others or socializing in general. But, also, I hope to make sure that she would be well prepared for going to college and I think that public schools may provide more insight on that.

What are your thoughts?

 

The way things stand now, if I had kids, I would without a doubt be homeschooling them. I was home-schooled and was able to see the benefits of it. I also know some things about how the public school system operates, and to keep it plain and short, I think it's a horrible way to learn. My main issues are the same kind of issues I have with college level schools. These institutions don't teach, and the vast majority of things "taught" are not actually "learned."

 

Homeschool or public school? Seriously how is this a question? As a teacher and a parent there is no doubt in my mind that I would not send my child to a public school. School offers so much more than academics it allows kids to learn to work together and cope with those around them. So many times we say the public school fails our children when in reality we as human beings are failing our children. We are electing officials into office that are changing the laws or demanding that our children perform a certain way on tests to prove the school or the teacher is doing their job. Where is the parents report card on how they are raising their children? I think now a days we get confused on who is raising our children and we blame teachers because your child is learning anything. It takes a village to raise a child the support of family and professionals. Everyday is a learning experience and we all are teachers because children learn from those around us. Don't blame the school for not doing their part. Step up and be a teacher yourself.

 

I homeschooled my oldest son, and heard all the negative comments, which haven't changed over the years. When we homeschooled, we were living in a very strict State, New Mexico, that required a waiver of a Baccalaureate Degree, completed lesson plans for your entire upcoming school year, the name of each of your text books, and testing at the local superintendent's office every other year in specific subjects. This testing was to ascertain that the child was in fact, learning and progressing in knowledge of key subject areas. And I enjoyed doing all of that.

Then we moved back to Oklahoma, and the only thing they required was a statement in the Superintendent's office that you intended to homeschool. Wow! What a difference a State can make. However, we managed to muddle through 3rd grade before he decided he wanted to attend the small local school. Because he was home schooled and had no transcripts, they had to test him to see what grade he should be placed in. He tested at 2 grade levels above what we thought he should be.

One of my favorite objections to homeschooling is the "socialization" argument: that a child who is homeschooled lacks the necessary communication skills to be able to get along with their peers. At the same time, a public school teacher will tell rowdy and noisy children to settle down, to stop talking, that they didn't come to school to socialize, but to learn. Isn't that ironic?

Our time spent homeschooling was wonderful. I would recommend it for any parent who wants to bond with their child and share a once in a lifetime experience.

 

This has always been an interesting topic to me. Homeschooling has come a long way in the thirty or so years that I have know about it. In the state of Georgia, home schooled children can attend public school events, field trips and participate in their sports programs. This way, they still get to engage and socialize with children in their age category. I have also found that children who are home schooled, tend be fair academically. Many tend to score better on tests that their public school peers. I have also noticed that they are more disciplined in their studies and in behavior. I believe that this is because the parents are more hands on with their children.

As far as the public school experience goes, I am glad that they are becoming uniformed schools; as this tends to cut down on distractions where attire is concerned. Unfortunately, nowadays in most public schools, teachers spend most of their day teaching children things that I feel are the parents responsibility like; following simple directions, manners, their full name (no nicknames), their address, their parents names (no nicknames), the alphabet, basic counting skills, colors, and shapes. True, there are a few teachers that are just there to collect a check, but for the most part, many enjoy teaching. On this note, I feel that more parents need to step up to the plate and be more instrumental in what their children are doing or not doing during class.

Lastly, for those parents who really try hard to work with their children and their teachers and you find that your child/children are socially and academically more advanced and need a challenge, please provide the challenge via grade advancement or giving them school work on a higher level so that they don't get bored and end up dropping out or causing behavioral problems like my youngest did. And if you as a parent or teacher notice behavioral or academic issues with a child, please don't let pride and or embarrassment stop or hinder you from allowing your child the best academic experience possible.

Remember, it takes a village a raise a child.

 

I homeschool all three of my children. I do it because I want them to have a firm footing when they step into college. I want them to be prepared. My kids were in public school at one time and I was public schooled. I think that the major difference is in the way society views behaviors and disciplines that causes one to choose for or against homeschooling. For me and my family, it was a conviction to give back to our community, state, etc.

 

You are absolutely correct, you elect officials who demand we grade teachers and schools. I think that a large part of the problem we have when we feel our children are cheated in schools come from this, we test to see if a teacher did the job the officials want done but we don't test to see if our children actually learned the subject matter. We focus so much on standardized testing, how about focusing on education.
Like you said "step up and be a teacher yourself", that's what homeschool parents are doing. I began homeschooling my children a few months ago, unfortunately due to my work schedule we went back to public school, I was able to make progress with my daughter in a few short months that wasn't happening in school. Maybe she would have been getting a better education at a private school, unfortunately the only ones available in my area are Christian schools and quite expensive. I am hoping that she will continue to better now that she has returned to public school with all I had a chance to teach her, we still do work from some of our home school material so I'm sure public school won't rot her brain too much.

 

As a single mother I work a full time job, sometimes have a second job, and we've done both public school and homeschool. Either option is hard and there are perks to each, my family has tried both. Currently my children are back in public school, man do we wish we were still homeschooling, unfortunately due to my work schedule and lack of a support system we have to deal with public school.
I can't begin to explain to you how much we loved homeschool, I got to spend more time with my kids, the kids got to goof off most of the day, who wouldn't love that? We only worked about two hours a day on school work and were still able to make the progress that they had not made in public school before.
As far as social skills, we got to meet several other people in our city that homeschooled, so they go to do field trips, play dates at the park, group projects, and even little dances.

 

I believe that home-school and public school have their very own advantages and disadvantages. Since every child learn differently, what might work for one child may not work for another child, so there is not a cookie-cutter plan that works. I know that home-school is an advantage for customizing a learning plan designed for every individual child. Home-schooling also allow the child to receive hands-on learning and the parent can take more time to help the child improve in areas where they are struggling. In addition, it is unfortunate that many public schools may not have that advantage of providing individualized attention due to lack of educational funding. Sometimes, lack of staffing, over-crowded classes, and intense pressure on educators makes it difficult for children to improve and do their best when so much has been unintentionally overlooked. On the other hand, public schools provide a social atmosphere conducive to learning that home-school does not provide and that is the advantage of social development where children can develop relationships and and become influenced to learn by learning from their peers. Sometimes socialization among peers can boost social morale and increases self-confidence and motivation. So, it really depends on the child because every child adopt a different learning behavior.

 

Home school can be a wonderful option. Contacting the public school district superintendent in your local area may be a good place to start. He or she may have you complete an exemption form and may be able to direct you to resources along with the school principal and counselor. In Utah, the public schools are extremely supportive of the choice to home school. They offer access for home school children to all social activities held in the public school district. They provide online resources for testing, and group testing with the rest of the student body. If you do not find your district similarly inclined, there are many online support groups for home school parents and students. Providing a good education in any context takes preparation. It's true. Home school is no exception. Creating a bibliography, outlining lesson plans, and keeping a portfolio to document progress are part of the process. Sticking to a schedule to meet the required number of instruction hours per academic year takes discipline, but the flexibility of home school is an advantage many parents enjoy. It often allows them to shape the curriculum in collaboration with other educators in the district. It allows a great deal of creativity and individualization of material for a given child. The option to travel and to engage even very young students in field work to expand the curriculum is a plus. As for teacher-student ratio, you can't beat the class size. One-on-one attention is a tremendous benefit. Home schooled students often test higher than their public school class mates, and higher in their district and state as a result. In the early childhood years especially, there are numerous resources for parent. You do not need formal teaching credentials to teach the basics of early reading, writing, and arithmetic, although it is always nice to pursue training and credentials wherever you can. Most educators recognize that parents are the child's first teacher whether or not home school parents hold a teaching certificate. Educators know that without parental involvement, teachers alone can not succeed.

 

It depends on what your child's needs are. I grew up in the 1980's, and we were taken to a public school. I am not sure on how much home schooling was going on back then, but we didn't have a problem with it and I do not think many others did either. However, I am sure that there were a handful of people back then home schooling their children. I think it depends on how your child is in public school, if he or she can not hack it then I think home schooling is probably a better option for them.