Compare And Contrast Homeschooling And Public School

Homeschooling and public schools are two types of schooling in America. Both types of education have their similarities as well as their differences. Statistics indicates that “about 3 percent of the school-age population was homeschooled in the 2011–12 school year” (http://nces.ed.gov/FastFacts/display.asp?id=91). Statistics also show that, “In fall 2015, about 50.1 million students will attend public elementary and secondary schools. Of these, 35.2 million will be in prekindergarten through grade 8 and 14.9 million will be in grades 9 through 12” (http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372). Homeschooling and public schools are the same in a few ways, including the same courses are being instructed and they are a form of education. They are different in schedules, extracurricular activities, and differ in number of staff. From the results of statistics, it is clear that both types of schooling are actively being utilized. Whether more children attend public school, or are homeschooled, there are a few similarities and differences between them.

For years flocks of children have gotten up at the crack of dawn and gone to the brick building to sit at their desks for eight hours straight, but now a very effective style of school called homeschooling has emerged. Most of todays parents have gone to a public school because homeschooling was not very well known back when they were school aged. Since then, homeschooling has become much more popular and has been proven to be effective. Parents should consider homeschooling their kids as an alternative to sending them to a public school.

Before the development of the United States education system it was necessary for children to homeschool, but that time has passed. Today students have the option to attend the school that best fits them due to the process of open enrollment. The United States educational system now offers students options such as religious schools, charter schools, private schools, and public schools. Therefore, no reason exists that they can not find a decent school that meets their academic expectations. Families that homeschooled have a distinct disadvantage to families that attend public or private schools.

Public schooling in the United States fails in providing a quality education for student in K-12. In 2015 the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), which measures reading ability and math and science literacy among 15-year-olds in dozens of developed and developing countries, found that the United States is ranked 35th in math and 27th in science Desilver, D. (2016). The number one thing every parent wants for their children is for them to have access to the best possible education available. As a result of a low quality public education, parents are progressively looking for alternative ways of schooling. In particular, some parents have decided that homeschooling would better prepare their children in life. This paper will analyze both the pros and cons of homeschooling.

Education in our society is a very important factor in shaping our future. One’s future is depended on the education they receive and everyone is somehow affected by this. Children from the ages of kindergarteners to seniors in high school, college graduates, and stay at home mothers, are all shaped by the education the government provides us. There are many different ways to acquire an education some through private schools, public, charter, and being homeschooled. However, homeschooling is growing more in popularity than it has ever been.

While the American public school system educates the majority of students today, a fast growing population is beginning to accept homeschooling as an adequate alternative. Anyone with kids desires only the best education and experiences for them. Those who face this decision have to take in the plentiful list of differences and decide which will suit their family best. For years, most people saw homeschooling as an ineffiecent replacement to the government-provided schools already in existence. However, in the last ten years, studies have proved that homeschooling well equipps a student for college and beyond, changing the minds of many(http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/06/01/home-schooled-teens-ripe-for-college?page=2). In order to make this crutial decision between public or home school, one must account for the social and extracurricular opportunites, the educational aspect, and what role the family plays in education.

Homeschooling, and its rise in the past decade, is a hot topic of discussion in American society. “About 1.35 million children in the country are being officially homeschooled, making it a vital and expanding form of private education and political force in U.S. society” (Cooper & Sureau, 2007). The homeschool movement is growing rapidly because parents are researching their local educational systems and finding that it lacks in the fundamental standards and values they want to instill in their children. “It is odd that homeschooling, perhaps the ultimate form of privatization and withdrawal from, if not rejection of, the public education system, has now reached a level of unprecedented visibility, politicization, and publicization” (Cooper

An article from 2015 about homeschooling and public school stated that “it’s estimated that as many as 2 million American students are being educated at home.” There are several families that would prefer homeschooling over public school for several reasons, which will be discussed in this essay. The two topics that will be discussed are homeschooling and public school. There will be multiple topics discussed in this essay, such as pros and cons of homeschooling and public schooling, and which option would be the best option for certain types of families and students. These two topics will be contrasted by explaining which topic would be the better option for specific groups of people, and certain families. The purpose of this essay is to describe the advantages and disadvantages of home and public schooling. Also, the purpose of this essay to show statistics about which system of education would be best for certain families, specifically those who are low-income families, and want the best option for their children. Whereas public schooling is inexpensive and gives children a chance to make friends, homeschooling is the best option because it gives children a safe, and more compatible learning environment.

For the first 230 years of our history, parents, not the government, were in charge. Competence in reading, writing, and arithmetic was nearly universal at the time of the American Revolution. But by the mid-nineteenth century, a band of reformers led by Horace Mann of Massachusetts replaced our founding, free-market education system with a system of state-run education, with compulsory attendance and standardized curriculum. (Forstmann, 2001) Homeschooling has been around for a long time and is not going anywhere. It continues to increase as the year's pass, and it’s not slowing down. Many pioneers have fought for homeschooling, and new ones continue to surface. While the public education continues to downplay homeschooling, home educators continue to flourish in many ways by performing academically and becoming professionals in their field of study. The reasons parents chose to homeschool for religious reasons, low standard in public schools, academic advancement, and a safer environment. From my own experience with homeschooling, its beneficial for a variety of reasons. One reason would be one on one teaching according to the child’s learning style. When you compare this method to the public sector, children are receiving constant tutorial help from their parents. Receiving tutorial help doesn’t mean that the child will not know how to perform without assistance but prepares the child to study on their own and master the scope and sequence of studying. A child will have

Homeschooling is on the rise in America. According to a 2007 NHES study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education there are an estimated 1.5 million students actively being homeschooled up from the 850,000 estimated in previous study conducted in 1999 (NCES, 1). Once seen as a fringe activity usually associated with the religious right, homeschooling now encompasses many mainstream families looking for educational alternatives in the face of such issues as violence, peer pressure, and poor academic quality in many public schools. Detractors on the other hand claim that homeschooling is a less effective method of educating America’s youth citing academic and social issues. Despite critics’ claims to the contrary, homeschooling is an effective and viable method of education as its participants not only do well academically; they are well socialized and are successful in college and later life.

Despite home-schooling’s controversy because of the lack of teaching credentials for parents and socialization, homeschooling has big benefits for children. The first benefit is that while homeschooled, students receive individualized education. Parents spend all their time and attention to their children. Parents can devote all their time and attention to their children. Martin points out that parents understand their children best (Martin). Therefore, they can choose the best method to motivate their children to learn. “Parents are also able to evaluate their children on a daily basis and provide further instruction if needed” (Martin). Individualized education also provide necessary help as needed. As a result, homeschooled students achieve

She also had been a high school math and physics teacher along with holding a liberal arts and sciences degree from St. John’s College, and she hold a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University. Homeschooling can be a matter of consistency for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently. Parents need to be involved in their children’s home schooling and they don’t all need to have a certain degree to teach their children in their home. Although, home schooling only has a small number of students who choose that can have a be superior to public schooling. Even though home schooling has grown over the years there is a wonder if home schooling is a help to public schools or a harm. Marcia summarizes that academic achievement and homeschooling history are especially good. Tensions can be hard with decision on whether home schooling is the right way to go, but with Clemmitt’s article she shares that they can receive adequate education with parents teaching them, academic achievement of homeschooled children, and whether home schooling can help or hinder public

Throughout history, homeschooling has been practiced by parents, extended family, and tutors. However, a small number of children were being subjected to homeschooling as compared to the 21st century (Gaither, p.226). Homeschooling is regarded as the provision of education to young people in a private setting as opposed to public setting. Instead of being educated by the teachers, the children are educated by their own parents, relatives, or tutors hired and paid by the parents. Parents who opt to subject their children to homeschooling, do so for a variety of reasons ranging from religious demand, structure of public schools to personal preferences.

An issue that both unschooling and homeschooling families face alike is socialization. Homeschoolers generally combat this with play dates, classes, groups, sports teams, and learning centers for their children to socialize and meet with their peers. Unschoolers too have all these means, but there is also one other facet normally ignored. Since unschooling’s main principal is that children learn best in normal, every-day experiences and the people around them, parents are more likely to include children on so-called mundane errands. They are socialized with not just their own peers but all other age groups as well. It’s rare in life that we’re constantly surrounded by people our own age – aside from school, that is. Unschooled children have frequent opportunities to interact with adults and a variety of other ages.

Surprisingly, there are a variety of people that do homeschooling. Both people from high-income to low-income families. There are parents that even have doctorates or even a diploma in a general subject. Families with either one or two parents and differing ethnics and religious or secular inducement choose to homeschool (Ray 2002). Researchers come to the conclusion that homeschoolers, for the most part, have free reign when it comes to their homework and school pace that they feel that suits them the best.