Is Homeschool Not Public School?

Homeschooling a child can drastically affect their lives in the future, and put them in a clouded state of mind for seeing what the world is. Schooling your child from home will hold them back from learning a wide variety of basic skills that can be easily provided in public or private school systems. Although some see homeschooling as a good way to shelter their children from the world they view as harsh, it is not giving them any chance to gain common social skills. Social skills cannot be taught to a child, they are something the child must learn from interaction with his or her peers. Furthermore, homeschool teachers are not required the level of training and experience that a teacher at a public school are required (Hudak). Diversity is something widely portrayed in school systems; however, homeschooling doesn't allow students to bear witness to the diverse nature found in school systems.

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 presenting both the positive and the negative aspects of homeschooling it is worth mentioning that the deciding factor for parents choosing to homeschool as opposed to public schooling generally falls into a biased opinion of public schooling. As mentioned in an NPR radio interview, “the number one reason parents give is the desire to provide religious or moral instruction and that the second most popular reason, closely followed behind, was a concern about the school environment” Martin, M. (2013). These type of reasoning for home schooling presents some valid question, such as, who determines what the best approach or the best form of education? Is the quality of education

Homeschooling is not as recent as some people think it to be. In fact, it has a long history and has advocates behind it such as the famous

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.

Homeschooling is an option for your child if you do not want them in public or private schooling. Today’s society of parents will make that choice for the child, wither the child wants to or not. Many parents think that public schools are not educating their child enough so they resort to homeschooling. This would mean devoting your time as a parent by helping support them in learning and to make sure they will succeed with their education.

Homeschooling and public schools are two forms of education in America. Both types of education have their similarities as well as their differences. Statistics show 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 taught 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 forms of education are actively in use. Whether more children attend public school, or are homeschooled, there are a few similarities and differences between them.

In society, people have their own techniques of teaching and learning. Parents have their own preference on whether they want their children in a public school or home schooling system. They have to look at the advantages and disadvantages that come with making the right choice for their child’s education. Being home schooled, does not give the child the ability to be around new people. Some parents cannot afford for their child to be home schooled, and choose to have them enrolled in public school. Having students in a public school has a better learning aspect and more affordable.

The strongest oppositions to homeschooling that I hope to refute are that children who are homeschooled tend to be socially awkward, because they are said to be “isolated from the rest of the world” as I have often heard. Another common misconception is that children who are homeschooled are not prepared for higher education, whether it is going to high school or college. Lastly, children have too much flexibility in their schedules and tend to not spend an adequate amount of time solely on school work. People who are opposed to homeschooling usually only have these oppositions because they have little or no knowledge on the subjects.

Homeschooling is a growing form of alternate education with many topics of interest. Many students are enrolled across the country, with more each year. People debate whether or not these students are receiving the same benefits as public schools. The many forms of homeschooling benefits students as public schools do, but only to a limit.

Over the years people have debated which one is a better education system for children, whether it is public school, or home school. There are many arguments for which one benefits the student more, such as social development in children, the education level to which he receives and also the maturity level upon completion. With the number of homeschoolers growing at about 11% a year so you can see that the public opinion of homeschooling is slowly changing.

First off, people don’t really know what homeschooling is to begin with. Simple reason is that it has no public or academic attention. It has gotten so little attention that it is, in essences, been referred to as the “’quiet revolution’” (Monk, p. 295). Chris Jeub stated it best: “Homeschooling neither isolates children nor harms their academic growth; it does, however, come close to the true definition of education: the passing down of culture” (Jeub, p. 50). Another way to describe it is taking school courses through certified institutions, like a public school or university. Some choose for a program that goes towards a high school degree. Others opt to find someone who is certified to teach (Larsen, p. 92). Back when it first picked up, nobody really knew what it was. Nowadays, it has become more popular and people now know what it is. Surprising, there is a variety of people that do homeschooling, from high-income to low-income families. There are some that 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 homeschooling (Ray 2002). They also 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.

2.2% of all American students are homeschooled. That’s according to a survey by the National Center for Education Statistics in 2003. 62% of families with three or more children home school their children (Homeschool). 49% of the children of two-parent families attend public school and 25% are home schooled (Homeschool). Here in America, parents have the privilege to choose how they would like to educate their children: whether to send them to a public or private school, or whether to home school them. Home schools offer many academic benefits including, but not limited to, allowing children to learn at their own pace, its low curriculum cost, the ability to teach students certain morals and values, and the ability to control how and when students learn. Public schools offer many social benefits such as students receiving the opportunity to learn another student’s perspective, and additional forms of social interaction like sports teams and other extracurricular activities.

Home schooling has become one of the most popular ways of learning in recent years. What is homeschooling? Homeschooling is the way to teach the children at home by their parents' instead of sending them to a public or private school. Homeschooling represents an additional choice for parents to teach their children by themselves. The number of homeschooled children has increased over time. It has increased from 0 to 2 million students (Institute of Education Science, 2013). Families have various reasons for homeschooling, including concerns about the school environment and dissatisfaction with the academic instruction at a traditional school (NCES,2008). Also, research shows that homeschooled children achieve higher academic scores than students