Home school vs public school?

hedgiie

I know a number of young people from my church that were home schooled and are now either in college or have graduated from college and have successful careers.

And I know a larger percentage of young people who attended public/private school who have gone on to become major successes as well.

in my opinion, at the end, whatever it is, it's the parent's responsibility to lead the child.

AbsoluteNG

The education of home school is generally just as good or better then going to public school. Normally when you are home schooled, you are still required to go to a testing center in order to make sure you are learning what you're suppose to be learning. I know each state is different but that's how it generally works.

Koorogi

I was home schooled from second grade until I graduated and for me personally, it was great. I am now schooling both of my children, grades 2 and 3, at home as well and they've said they wouldn't have it any other way. Though I am always open to what they would like and what works best for all of us as a family.

Currently, I am using the K12 curriculum program through CAVA (located in CA), which is a virtual academy offered through the state. It is free to enroll, free to join, all curriculum is included (free) and they even loan you a computer as well as a printer/scanner/copier if needed. There are no shipping charges either. On top of that, they send you a check to help compensate for your internet usage. There are also field trips, events, etc. available.

If you have any questions, I would be happy to offer up more information. I think that it's something that is not for everyone, but I loved it.

hedgiie

I was in public school up until about 8th grade. I was overweight, awkward, miserable, shy...I started faking stuff to get out of school to the extent I was out of school more than in school. When I was in danger of failing my mother finally pulled me out of school and started me on homeschooling with A Beka out of Pensacola. I was much happier at home, but I also often neglected my school work and slept in because I wasn't watched over by anyone during the day. I loved the school work more because it was more challenging (I am the type who gets bored easily and I feel public schools often make things too easy) but I was lazy and could not be trusted alone. I think my mother thought I would never get any better socially and it did delay me for quite a while. I did graduate on time no thanks to my own behavior, and despite my slacking I had high scores in everything but math so they heavily encouraged me to go to college. So while working full time over the years I have been working towards my bachelors and should have it by this time next year! I am doing much better socially and I have a good job that has helped me grow socially as I learned what I would need to move up the ladder.

So the point of this is that it really depends on the person and what they make of it as to whether this will end up being a good thing for your sister. Personally, I think I am doing better now than I would have done had I stayed in public school. I think time away from my peers and time to develop at my own pace helped me develop confidence that I would have never gotten staying in a place where I was miserable. But I also know I would be doing even better had I not slacked off, so supervision is VERY important!

good story thanks for sharing

pdworkman

Homeschooled my special needs kiddo from birth. He is almost 14 now, well socialized, still working hard at overcoming his rather severe learning disabilities.

thelovelyLIZ

As a certified, licensed school teacher, I am always concerned when parents pull their children out of regular school and say they will be "homeschooling" their child from that point forward. I will share my reasons below:

1. Qualifications/educational level of parents - Can a parent reach and teach their child the important things that child needs to know? Do they know what "developmentally appropriate" is for their child's age? Are the parents knowledgeable enough about the curriculum to present it in ways the child understands?

2. Is the curriculum relevant? Is the child learning what should be learned, versus what the parents want that child to learn? (some HS programs offer "revisionist" history, where important truths are conveniently left out - eg, slavery, holocaust, etc) There are certain skill sets/requirements all children MUST know in order to be well rounded adults. Slanted or inaccurate information can negatively affect a child's future.

3. Is the parent willing to sit by their child, invest the time, and hold their children accountable for their school work? Many parents nowadays have to work, and trusting their young child to stay home and do their school work all on line is a recipe for disaster. My daughter's friend is now being homeschooled (due to bullying) and guess what? This girl only gets 5 hours of weekly school work, which is less than one full day's worth of schooling. In a WEEK.

4. Schools provide the opportunity for children to learn HOW to get along with others, even if the children are being bullied. Instead of retreating into a "safe" world, it is better to learn how to handle the bullying and work on developing self esteem. Running away from it doesn't build self confidence, it only pushes the real issues aside.

I hope this provides you with some real information to make a very educated choice. I'm not anti-HS, I am against homeschool programs that end up causing more harm than good. Make sure your child is being monitored on a regular, weekly basis, by qualified school teachers, and is learning STATE curriculum standards. If those criteria are met, then a HS program should be okay overall.

These are the concerns I always have with homeschooling as well.

Most of the people I know who were home schooled still had a network of other kids and parents, and most took classes once they reached high school. Those that had this network have done pretty well in life. I just think the social aspect of a traditional school system is important.

pudadough

I would only recommend homeschooling if the family first went through some kind of teacher training, if not full on certification.

I'm a public school teacher and I think both settings can render great results, and I don't like it when people knock all homeschooling as a knee-jerk reaction. It's not right for everyone, but I think if you come to it well-prepared and knowledgeable, it can be great. It can be a great way to help kids with learning difficulties, too. They get the one on one attention they need without the anxiety of performing in front of peers.

ShrinkRapt451

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

Who's doing the meds? Pediatrician or psychiatrist? Is she also getting any kind of therapy for her anxiety? Because while school can be a challenge for anxious kids, it's also true that the best way to make an anxiety disorder worse is to avoid everything that makes you anxious. Independent of the educational quality of homeschooling, the actual ISSUE is anxiety. Tackling that with avoidance rather than comprehensive treatment for anxiety is missing the boat. (And take it from a psychiatrist: meds alone doesn't usually provide the best outcomes for folks who suffer with anxiety.)

KimmyEB

Personally, if I ever do have kids, and lucky enough to be able to afford to stay home to teach them at home through homeschooling, I 100% for a fact would. That's just me, though.

The traditional school set-up is not ideal for everyone. Nor is homeschooling. It's a personal choice.

I'm not a "certified, licensed school teacher" YET, so I don't get to throw around big fancy-sounding words and act like I know everything, but I honestly feel that public education is failing the children of the United States. I can remember when I was in high school (class of 2004)...I learned more from searching online for random stuff than I did my teachers. They were just as biased as anyone else, and their methods of "teaching" reflected that. They certainly did nothing to prepare us for the "real world." All we learned was how to pass a standardized test, because apparently, that standardized test determined your worth as a human being and a student. It's ridiculous. Personally, if I had children, I'd want them to learn more than how to pass a test.

Koorogi

After reading some of the other comments. I would also like to say that much of the school work is actually done online. There is a certified teacher that meets with you and is available for answers to questions during business hours. There is also mandatory state testing, as of 2nd grade, with certified proctors. Some of these things may be different based on what state/area you live in as well as what school you end up joining/enrolling in. My information is solely based on Southern California's CAVA based in San Diego (using the k12 curriculum). I am just adding this in addition to my previous post.

Pebble321

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

I don't have experience in this area .... But I'd wonder if the right solution to having anxiety is just to say "ok, you don't have to go to school" - is that going to address the underlying problem, or just the symptom? I hope your family has access to competant professionals who can help work through the issues and find the best solution for your sister. Maybe homeschool will work well for her, or maybe she would do better in a different school or program.
Good luck!

_VoV

I home-schooled my two children, who are now 20 and 16. The 20 year-old is just finishing up his first year of law school, after graduating from college last year. The 16 year-old is getting her associate's degree in a couple of weeks, and then transferring to university. If you forgive the momma brag, she has also been accepted into a premier writing workshop this summer, which only accepts 13% of applicants--all of them recommended by their instructors.

For those who worry about 'equivalency' to public school, don't worry so much. Resources are available to provide optimal challenge to home-schooled students. Both my children started taking some community college classes at age 11. Prior to that, we spent the mornings doing academic work at home, and the afternoons were devoted to 'specials' or social gatherings with other homeschoolers. The activities were varied: skiing, ice skating, gym & swim at the YMCA, drama and piano lessons, art, and field trips.

I dislike what a teacher said earlier in this thread about bullying. My kids experienced it in small doses when we got together with homeschoolers, but it wasn't 8 hours a day; 5 days a week. That can be devastating. I know because I was that rare fat kid in the '50's and '60's who was tormented by her peers. Homeschooling wasn't something my mother thought of doing at the time, but I wish she had.

Edit: I am not a certified, licensed teacher. I have never taken a single education course in my life. I believe those are necessary credentials for whose who teach a classroom of children with various needs, but I feel that much of what is taught in education programs would be overkill for homeschool parents to learn.

rileysowner

As a certified, licensed school teacher, I am always concerned when parents pull their children out of regular school and say they will be "homeschooling" their child from that point forward. I will share my reasons below:

1. Qualifications/educational level of parents - Can a parent reach and teach their child the important things that child needs to know? Do they know what "developmentally appropriate" is for their child's age? Are the parents knowledgeable enough about the curriculum to present it in ways the child understands?

2. Is the curriculum relevant? Is the child learning what should be learned, versus what the parents want that child to learn? (some HS programs offer "revisionist" history, where important truths are conveniently left out - eg, slavery, holocaust, etc) There are certain skill sets/requirements all children MUST know in order to be well rounded adults. Slanted or inaccurate information can negatively affect a child's future.

3. Is the parent willing to sit by their child, invest the time, and hold their children accountable for their school work? Many parents nowadays have to work, and trusting their young child to stay home and do their school work all on line is a recipe for disaster. My daughter's friend is now being homeschooled (due to bullying) and guess what? This girl only gets 5 hours of weekly school work, which is less than one full day's worth of schooling. In a WEEK.

4. Schools provide the opportunity for children to learn HOW to get along with others, even if the children are being bullied. Instead of retreating into a "safe" world, it is better to learn how to handle the bullying and work on developing self esteem. Running away from it doesn't build self confidence, it only pushes the real issues aside.

I hope this provides you with some real information to make a very educated choice. I'm not anti-HS, I am against homeschool programs that end up causing more harm than good. Make sure your child is being monitored on a regular, weekly basis, by qualified school teachers, and is learning STATE curriculum standards. If those criteria are met, then a HS program should be okay overall.

These are the concerns I always have with homeschooling as well.

Most of the people I know who were home schooled still had a network of other kids and parents, and most took classes once they reached high school. Those that had this network have done pretty well in life. I just think the social aspect of a traditional school system is important.

Frankly, the social aspect of traditional schooling is highly overrated. Personally I would rather my son be well socialized with many different age groups rather than over-socialized with his own age group. Unlike some have said here, my experience with about 20 plus home schooled children (now most of whom are young adults) is they are not awkward, but are socially more capable than their traditionally schooled peers. They function well with the elderly, their own age, and very young children in general. If I take my larger experience with the homeschooling group we are part of, which numbers probably about 80 or so children, the same sort of pattern seems to hold true. I am guessing it is those who are not part of any sort of home schooling group and who likely have socially awkward parents who are socially awkward. That is just a guess though.

CrazyTrackLady

Personally, if I ever do have kids, and lucky enough to be able to afford to stay home to teach them at home through homeschooling, I 100% for a fact would. That's just me, though.

The traditional school set-up is not ideal for everyone. Nor is homeschooling. It's a personal choice.

I'm not a "certified, licensed school teacher" YET, so I don't get to throw around big fancy-sounding words and act like I know everything, but I honestly feel that public education is failing the children of the United States. I can remember when I was in high school (class of 2004)...I learned more from searching online for random stuff than I did my teachers. They were just as biased as anyone else, and their methods of "teaching" reflected that. They certainly did nothing to prepare us for the "real world." All we learned was how to pass a standardized test, because apparently, that standardized test determined your worth as a human being and a student. It's ridiculous. Personally, if I had children, I'd want them to learn more than how to pass a test.

I understand your frustrations. I also am a mom, and I agree that public school in the US needs a serious kick in the *kitten*. I abhor NCLB, and feel the testing is ridiculous and not an accurate reflection of a student's ability or intelligence. I also think the testing does not fairly assess student knowledge -- there is more to a student's ability to learn than answering a few test questions.

I hope you consider private school. I work in a Catholic school where we only test the students once a year. I am free to teach my subject area the remainder of the year, and I work these children extremely hard. I have students who end up more than one year ahead of what they are expected to learn.

I am offended by some of the comments on here about the state of education., While I agree that there are many terrible teachers out there, and the system is severely flawed, I disagree that ALL teachers/schools suck and I think it is wrong to lump all of us all together into one category. I am very proud of being a teacher and take my job seriously. If a parent is concerned about their child not learning enough, or being challenged enough, then they need to work WITH the schools to get their child into some enrichment activities. Not ***** about how messed up the system is, while they don't understand how difficult teaching really can be. I can play devil's advocate here and add: "Teaching would be a lot easier if parents weren't so uninvolved and actually cared about their child's education more".

k8blujay2

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

I was taught at home from the 4th grade on up through graduation. There are MANY resources out there that help parents keep their children on track, from curriculum through the school to places that will keep records for you. And the teachers editions for homeschooling are very detailed. I liked it cause I could go at my own pace, as I always got bored in a regular classroom (they always went too slow for me). And as for social aspects, there are always co-ops and associations that a family can join to get the experiences of field trips, prom and graduation (among other things). I personally (nor my brothers) are socially awkward or stunted nor are we ignorant or behind. I hold my bachelor's in science and my youngest brother striving for medical school (he is transferring to a 4 year university this fall).

Edit: gee I wonder how I graduated high school or college at all... My mom isn't a certified teacher and only had her high school diploma, yet I still did well. By the way, the textbooks are very detailed as well... More so than in traditional schools, because they assume the student is working on their own at some degree, in addition to the very detailed teachers additions, instead of having a teacher fill in the blanks.

CrazyTrackLady

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

I was taught at home from the 4th grade on up through graduation. There are MANY resources out there that help parents keep their children on track, from curriculum through the school to places that will keep records for you. And the teachers editions for homeschooling are very detailed. I liked it cause I could go at my own pace, as I always got bored in a regular classroom (they always went too slow for me). And as for social aspects, there are always co-ops and associations that a family can join to get the experiences of field trips, prom and graduation (among other things). I personally (nor my brothers) are socially awkward or stunted nor are we ignorant or behind. I hold my bachelor's in science and my youngest brother striving for medical school (he is transferring to a 4 year university this fall).

Edit: gee I wonder how I graduated high school or college at all... My mom isn't a certified teacher and only had her high school diploma, yet I still did well. By the way, the textbooks are very detailed as well... More so than in traditional schools, because they assume the student is working on their own at some degree, in addition to the very detailed teachers additions, instead of having a teacher fill in the blanks.

You are fortunate you had a mother who put in her time and effort to ensure you had a balanced education. But there are parents out there who can't answer or assist their children in upper grade math concepts, grammar rules, etc, I have had many parents contact me and say "I can't help junior with his grammar, because I haven't had to study this since I was 12 and I don't remember it". If a parent does not understand the content, they are doing a disservice to their child, period. They don't have to be certified teachers, but they do have to be informed enough to help their child.

This is my biggest concern with home schooling. I would be very leery of any child who is "homeschooled" by what I consider to be unqualified adults.. Giving birth to a child does not make you automatically qualified to teach. Being educated does.

k8blujay2

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

I was taught at home from the 4th grade on up through graduation. There are MANY resources out there that help parents keep their children on track, from curriculum through the school to places that will keep records for you. And the teachers editions for homeschooling are very detailed. I liked it cause I could go at my own pace, as I always got bored in a regular classroom (they always went too slow for me). And as for social aspects, there are always co-ops and associations that a family can join to get the experiences of field trips, prom and graduation (among other things). I personally (nor my brothers) are socially awkward or stunted nor are we ignorant or behind. I hold my bachelor's in science and my youngest brother striving for medical school (he is transferring to a 4 year university this fall).

Edit: gee I wonder how I graduated high school or college at all... My mom isn't a certified teacher and only had her high school diploma, yet I still did well. By the way, the textbooks are very detailed as well... More so than in traditional schools, because they assume the student is working on their own at some degree, in addition to the very detailed teachers additions, instead of having a teacher fill in the blanks.

You are fortunate you had a mother who put in her time and effort to ensure you had a balanced education. But there are parents out there who can't answer or assist their children in upper grade math concepts, grammar rules, etc, I have had many parents contact me and say "I can't help junior with his grammar, because I haven't had to study this since I was 12 and I don't remember it". If a parent does not understand the content, they are doing a disservice to their child, period. They don't have to be certified teachers, but they do have to be informed enough to help their child.

This is my biggest concern with home schooling. I would be very leery of any child who is "homeschooled" by what I consider to be unqualified adults.. Giving birth to a child does not make you automatically qualified to teach. Being educated does.

My parents couldn't remember how to factor a polynomial. I don't think they even remembered if they ever learned it in the first place (and my dad went to college to become a chemist)... The thing is, we still figured it out with the plethora of resources that were out there.

_VoV

My mom is thinking about homeschooling my eight year old sister. My sister is smart and nice, but she is socially awkward and has really bad anxiety (has meds for it) and this causes her to not want to go to school. My parents are considering homeschool, but I am unsure that it is a good idea. Does anybody have any opinions or experience with this? Thank you!

I was taught at home from the 4th grade on up through graduation. There are MANY resources out there that help parents keep their children on track, from curriculum through the school to places that will keep records for you. And the teachers editions for homeschooling are very detailed. I liked it cause I could go at my own pace, as I always got bored in a regular classroom (they always went too slow for me). And as for social aspects, there are always co-ops and associations that a family can join to get the experiences of field trips, prom and graduation (among other things). I personally (nor my brothers) are socially awkward or stunted nor are we ignorant or behind. I hold my bachelor's in science and my youngest brother striving for medical school (he is transferring to a 4 year university this fall).

Edit: gee I wonder how I graduated high school or college at all... My mom isn't a certified teacher and only had her high school diploma, yet I still did well. By the way, the textbooks are very detailed as well... More so than in traditional schools, because they assume the student is working on their own at some degree, in addition to the very detailed teachers additions, instead of having a teacher fill in the blanks.

You are fortunate you had a mother who put in her time and effort to ensure you had a balanced education. But there are parents out there who can't answer or assist their children in upper grade math concepts, grammar rules, etc, I have had many parents contact me and say "I can't help junior with his grammar, because I haven't had to study this since I was 12 and I don't remember it". If a parent does not understand the content, they are doing a disservice to their child, period. They don't have to be certified teachers, but they do have to be informed enough to help their child.

This is my biggest concern with home schooling. I would be very leery of any child who is "homeschooled" by what I consider to be unqualified adults.. Giving birth to a child does not make you automatically qualified to teach. Being educated does.

My parents couldn't remember how to factor a polynomial. I don't think they even remembered if they ever learned it in the first place (and my dad went to college to become a chemist)... The thing is, we still figured it out with the plethora of resources that were out there.

Exactly.

mommared53

I know a number of young people from my church that were home schooled and are now either in college or have graduated from college and have successful careers.

And I know a larger percentage of young people who attended public/private school who have gone on to become major successes as well.

I do too but the OP was asking about home schooling, that's why I posted what I did.

buckeye86

I don't have time to read through everything to see if anyone mentioned this, but there are a few in the middle options. For high school, I did independent studies at a charter school that was actually in my public school district. I LOVED it. It depends on the individual, but I enjoyed school just not the social aspect of it. I was able to go see my teachers for classes once a week and go over my homework with them. It also allowed a lot more time to take college classes while in high school and focus on other things I enjoyed that I may not have had time for on a traditional public school schedule. Laws about homeschooling and alternative types of schools available depend on where you live, but offer to help your parents explore all options. I was not even aware there were other options until I reached high school, but I'm sure if I had known before I would have been a lot less anxious and stressed as a student.