Which is best? Public Vs. Home Schooling

Now that Brielle is two, and school is definitely around the corner, I definitely wanted to write myself a little comparison of home schooling vs. public schooling. I have friends/family on both sides of the spectrum, and as of right now, Shane and I haven’t quite decided what is best for Brielle yet.

I like to research both sides of things when we are considering what is really best for a certain situation, and what we know is best in our heart.  I reached out to a couple of my friends who are currently living in the situation (one is a stay at home mom to her three kids– Courtney, and one is a teacher at a public school–Christy).  I asked each of them to give me 5 benefits to their style of teaching.

For homeschooling and getting to learn a lot of the facts, I spent a good amount of time on the Texas Home School Coalition Association.  One of the things that struck me the most, was that Academic testing was not a requirement to testing your knowledge when you are taught at home, like it is every year in public schools. “Home schoolers do have the option of using different types of testing to determine grade placement and to assess their child’s academic progress throughout the years”, which could be a simple review over the material they have learned.

Courtney’s 5 benefits to home schooling are:

-One on one time (which allows you to give your child extra attention)

-Go at your own pace (instead of being pushed to go faster at a public school)

-The goal is complete mastery of the subject

-Tests are different (they aren’t required, you can just check your childs comprehension of the subject by asking questions and reviewing the topic.)

-Curriculum (You can choose your curriculum based on your childs learning needs visual, auditory, etc.) The core subjects are a must (spelling, writing, social studies, etc) but the additional languages (spanish, french, etc) are a personal preference.

I also asked for a Sample daily schedule and this was her response:

7:30A-8:30A Awake and breakfast time

08:30A-09:30A-Math

09:30A-10:15A-Spelling

10:15A-11:15A-P.E (30 mins of activity, 30 mins of free play)

11:15A-11:35A- Reading on own while mom makes lunch

11:35A-12:35P- Mom reads to them

12:35P-12:45P- they have to narrate back to mom what their understanding of the book was

12:45P-1:15P- Spanish

Public schools have been opened for a VERY long time. One of the first American schools opened in the 17th century.  By 1870, all states offered free elementary schooling and encouraged parents to put them in school.  By 1910, most states offered free education through high school.  Public schools allow statistical data to be drawn and show the improvement, or decline, over a period of time.  This website here, shows how much the graduation rate has increased over a 7 year period. This website shows the top public schools in Texas, based on the academic testing and funding provided.

Christy stated 5 benefits for public school are:

-Diversity

-Special Needs Requirements (The children are integrated with everyone else and always have an extra teacher or helper in the class to give the child extra attention)

-Accountability (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills tells the teachers what to teach, and allows the principal and others to come and assess them in their class to make sure the knowledge is being taught)

-Funding (Access to more technology and offer more resources to the children)

-Learn how to work with others (learn conflict resolution)

I also asked Christy to provide me with an example of a daily schedule:

8:00A-8:45A- ELAR(english/language arts) MWF GT(gifted and talented), M-F Special ED ELAR Pull Out

8:45A-9:00A- Character Education (Anti-Bully Lesson)

9:00A-10:00A- Small Group Work and Tier Pull Out (Reading, Math)

10:00A-11:00A-ELAR

11:00A-11:45A Lunch

11:45A-1:15P Math

1:45P-2:15P- MWF Specials TTH Science and Social Studies

2:15P-2:45P- TTH Specials MWF  Science and Social Studies

2:45P-3:15P Study Hall

While Shane and I still have a couple of more years before we have to make a final decision, I am glad to have researched all of the information, and I hope this may help someone else out as well.  Both are great, and I truly thank you Courtney and Christy for providing me with such great input! 🙂