Home Schooling vs. Public Education - Essay Example

? Home Schooling vs. Public Education Outline There are different systems for providing education to the child. These include home schooling and public education. Each of the two systems has their own advantages and disadvantages. Home schooling has the benefit of educating the child according to his capabilities. Home schooling prevents the child from the harms that the children may face in school and prevents the indulgence in activities due to wrong influences. It carries the disadvantage of keeping the child away from the social environment that he may be exposed to in public schools. Public schools provide the child with opportunities to interact with other children and it provides a social atmosphere for the child. Public schools offer different activities for the proper learning and development of the child which include different forms of extracurricular activities. Public schools serve to teach the child discipline and equality. But they have the disadvantage that the child may be exposed to the wrong environment. He may face peer pressure which may affect his learning. Home schooling vs. Public education As a child grows up, one thing that starts bothering the parents is how to pursue their child’s education. The two options available are Home schooling and public schools; both are different and similar in many ways. There are advantages and disadvantages to both sides and many parents ponder and debate over this choice. A more direct and focused education can be provided by home schooling whereas public schools can offer the social development of a child. This essay will cover all the pros and cons of both the sides. “Home schooling, the oldest of the three reform movements presently addresses, still continues to thrive and influence the educational choice. It has become increasingly popular alternative to traditional schooling and is now recognized as more mainstream, given the diversity and number of the movement” (Collom, 2005). Home schooling can be beneficial to both students and parents by offering individual attention. The student does not receive one on one attention in public schools as the ratio of students in a class is very high and as a result the teacher is not able to help and be attentive to all the students at the same time. Moreover, they are not able to relate with the parents of a child properly and they remain in dark about the weaknesses of their child. Comparatively in home schooling the teacher and the parents are able to devote their time to the child understanding the teaching style and the curriculum which best suits the student. The teacher can move at his own speed and guide the students about the other activities and explore his talents which are neglected in public schools. Another main advantage is that home schooling provides parents with a sense of security regarding their child’s wrong indulgence in bad activities. Harmful peer pressure, physical and mental mugging, threat of being bullied or involvement in drugs are some factors that children who go to public schools have to face. Comparatively in home schooling a child is saved from all this mental pressure and spends quality time with the teacher and the family which builds up the family relations and consequently the child will learn and embrace the good values around him. Then there is the benefit of flexibility in time. Parents can set the timetable for their child’s study hours as some children have the tendency to work best in different times of the day and the teacher has the advantage to lay emphasis on the subjects the child is weak in or needs more attention. “An added benefit of home schooling is the freedom to encourage mastery. Students can be made to repeat materials correct and retake tests, and study longer in order to master materials because there is not an entire classroom of other children ready to go on” (Andrea D. Clements). Despite the benefits, there are disadvantages to home schooling as well. Home schooling takes and requires emotional, financial and physical surrender. By spending so much time together it becomes overpowering at times and might not succeed for some families. A lot of money has to be invested in order to provide the resources for projects, field trips, tuition and children with home schooling lack in social development. Every day interaction is necessary in order to learn to communicate and handle different situations and at times the child may develop inferiority complex pondering over what qualities he is lacking by not going to a public school. “Parents did not have the knowledge to start a home school program effectively and often prescribed a complete inappropriate curriculum for his child... Because money is always a big issue, some parents try to cut too many corners with heir child education... The children academic achievement suffered greatly” (Marsha Hubler). Public schools on the other hand have advantages and disadvantages as well. Public schooling endow with many services for free. Although the number of children in a class is high, it is not a bad thing in many cases. Being exposed to children from other socio-economic surroundings gives the child a sense to deal with people from different backgrounds and thus it provides a complete experience of education and trains them practically. Public schools have a fixed curriculum and grading system which enables the parents and the child to know where he stands. Public schools offer a broad range of extracurricular activities such as sports, plays and membership of different clubs. Public schooling gives the parents a chance to have a full time job and provide and cater for all the needs of the child. “Public education has been a constant spur for enhancing freedom and material well being” (William J. Resse). Another factor that is very beneficial to students going in public schools is that they learn discipline and equality. They have to follow certain rules and regulations in school and public schools offer uniform which every student has to wear no matter from what economic background he belongs to. But then again there are disadvantages to public schools as well that involves inadequate and poor quality of education. Children are given loads of homework and parents have to work with their children for hours to make them grasp the concept. If that is the case many parents then prefer home schooling if they have to cover the educational aspect on their own. Children at this age can easily be influenced by bad company. Disruptive and harsh behavior is evident in children going to public schools. Children going to public schools may be familiar with a lot of knowledge but understand very little and this is where kids being home schooled outshine them. Children with some disability are not properly treated by the peers or teachers in public schools whereas home schooling can provide the right kind of environment to those special kids and enhance their confidence. “Public schools vary widely in academic achievements outcomes. They often have quite large class sizes … they typically have more discipline and behavioral problems than other school settings … firing teachers with problems.” (Laura L. Smith) In the conclusion, it is true to state that home schooling is not for everyone. It may not be appropriate for every family in every circumstance. But if parents believe that they can provide the right environment and surroundings I believe that home schooling is better than public schools. References Andrea D.Clements, “Homeschooling: a research- based-hoe to manual” published by scarecrow education, 2004 Carol L.Klien, “Virtual charter schools and home schooling” (2006) Laura L.Smith, Charles H.Elliot, “child psychology and development for dummies” Wiley publishing Inc, 2011 Marsha Hubler, “You’ve decided to homeschool, Now What?” 2007 , Master books Inc. William.J Resse, “America’s public schools: from the common school to “No child left behind” 2005, the john Hopkins University Press Read More