Home school or public school?

Public School or Home School, Which is Right for You? Our comparison of public school versus home school may help you decide the best option for your child. Keep reading to discover the pros and cons of public vs. home school.

If you are reading this article, then education choice is probably a high priority. So what are the pros and cons of a public school education versus a home school education? What is best for your situation?

Regardless of whether you go online or actively seek out public school and home school advocates in your area you will soon find that there is a heated debate over which type of education is better. There are two important factors to first consider before weighing the actual system of education:

• First, analyze the child or children to be educated. Do they have special needs, either physically, intellectually, socially or emotionally?
• Second, analyze your own situation. If homeschooling, can you provide the needed environment of learning? Can the public school system provide the needed environment of learning?

With these considerations in mind, we can now study the pros and cons of each educational system.

Public School

Public schools have varying degrees of educational prowess and resources. A good step is to check out local and state statistics concerning the level of education in your area schools. These can be found online or by contacting the district offices. Once you have a cursory knowledge of the school’s educational aims, you should consider the following pros and cons.

Pros of Public School:

• Learning within a group setting
• Extra-curricular activity availability
• More curriculum opportunities
• Diverse social education

Cons of Public School: 

• High student-teacher ratio
• Less independence (scheduled learning)
• School chooses curriculum
• Peers based on area instead of choice

With a myriad of statistics online promoting both public school and home school, it is easy to get confused as to which is best. Another good resource is neighbors who have been in the area for a long time. Discuss your concerns over the educational opportunities in your area with people who have experienced it.

Home School

One startling statistic is that more and more people are choosing home school. In fact the number of homeschoolers is now in the millions. Consider the following pros and cons in making your choice.

Pros of Home School

• Free to choose curriculum
• Free to choose schedule
• Small teacher to student ratio
• Teaches students to be independent in their learning choices

Cons of Home School

• Usually more expensive than public school
• Teachers are not always qualified to teach all subjects
• It’s harder to provide social interaction
• Colleges sometimes have stricter admission policies concerning homeschooled students.

A con or a pro, depending on how you look at it is that children and parents are in the same vicinity for days at a time. Some parents cherish that time with their children and some parents are driven crazy if their kids are not out of the house. Again, going back to the first considerations, you must analyze yours and your children’s needs.

Regardless of your choice, the important thing is to understand what is available and the consequences of both systems. Through research and reading articles such as this, you are, in effect, becoming educated about education.