Private versus Public Schooling in a Home-Schooling World
Regarding schooling your child, you need to ensure that they get the best quality and holistic education. There are three options that you, as a parent, have regarding the education of your child. Those are homeschooling, private school, and public school.
Not many things have a life-long impact on a child's future, like the type of school they join. Based on where the family lives, it very well may be a hard decision. On average, a child will go through around 13 years of schooling before college, and often that is one type of school the whole time.
Parents, teachers, and guardians can be strongly opinionated when talking about this subject.
Supporters will take a stand and stick to it diligently, looking to uncover flaws in opposing arguments. This, as well, isn't unexpected since the various camps commonly have profoundly different backgrounds and outlooks.
The choice for a given type of schooling, and the supporting arguments, often revolve around differences in fundamental values.
Parents need to ask themselves: what is considered the essential thing in education? Social skills development? Good grades? College opportunities or possibilities to earn money? Naturally, parents will have to weigh all of that against costs, parental investment, legal requirements, and other factors.
Those who weigh one value more than the other tend to favor one form of schooling over others. Statistics show that homeschooling often produces young people who excel in general exams and go to the best colleges more often. This shows that homeschooling, despite any drawbacks it may have, often produces students of higher academic success.
The emphasis on this value-scholastic success-is contradictory, but the statistics still largely sway ultimate parental decisions. Studies show that those with higher education, and those who attend their favorite college, are more likely to have better job opportunities after graduation and higher pay.
But some parents want more from education for their children -more than academic success and high income. This camp identifies increased opportunities offered by public schools for social interactions. Proponents of the case say it harms the child's psychological wellness to place them in a bubble for 13 years then suddenly release them to the world.
For many people, private schools are financially out of reach.
While these schools tend to be better than public schools, they can be prohibitively expensive. Depending on your school choice, it can cost many thousand dollars a year to give your child primary education. Not many parents can afford that.
Schooling in public schools is free, and every child is guaranteed a free and proper education. There are public schools everywhere, which makes it easy for your child to get there, and there is usually transportation, so you don't have to do anything to take your child to school apart from making them breakfast or packed lunch.
Children in public schools can participate in many additional activities through studies, such as music, sports, and teams. Children also find many interactions that will help in their later lives. They will come in contact with many different personalities.
However, for all the things that go for public schools, it has many flaws. Public schools are designed to educate the average student. What this implies is that students with special needs are ignored. Gifted children get tired, and children who suffer continue to be left behind.
Class sizes tend to be very large.
In most schools, the class size ranges from one teacher to 20 students in the first grade, and in middle and high school, it can go up to 30 or more. That means your child is not getting the help he or she needs when he or she needs it.
Homeschooling could be the best option.
There are many reasons for this. The first is because their children receive the education that parents need think is helpful. Learning is directed to the full development of their personality, and parents are available to strengthen their children's areas of weakness.
Parents get to spend more time at home with their kids. So, while the children are being taught, they also bonded with their parents. Talented children work as quickly as possible, while children with learning difficulties get all the time they need to catch up.
About 80 % of parents agree that homeschooling is better than public school for reasons including non-violence, better social development, more effective learning, better general education, and flexible learning curriculum, and successful outcomes.
However good, homeschooling has its own set of challenges.
The first is that your children will not be around many other children and therefore will not have the same social contact level, which could hurt them.
There are some costs associated with homeschooling, too, especially buying essentials, but they are averaged about $ 500 a year. However, that allows you to find a curriculum that works best for your child. There are many different programs available.
The endless debate
Public school supporters point out the high cost of private schools and the time constraints-for parents in homeschooling scenarios. Children, too, often express their love for a public school because it enables them to interact more closely with those they know.
Supporters of private schools argue that it offers the best advantages of public and homeschooling. Concurrently, they say, prices vary widely and are not always as high as parents think. Many private schools have very robust teaching approaches and may perform well in courses that measure the results of standardized tests and college entry, among other factors.
For example, Montessori supporters can accurately show a long track record that shows students succeeding in their studies, creativity, and in other educational ways. Scholars will also confirm the caveat for these schools is significant variation in quality. Some can be remarkably similar to private schools in their approaches to teacher-student interactions.
There is no easy way to resolve such an issue without getting involved in a much longer debate on philosophy and psychology. Each parent must examine their goals for each child and then carefully consider each option.