Homeschooling vs Public Schooling (Thoughts?)

I know some who support homeschooling, but I know many who do not. The argument from the latter tends to be that a child does not receive the social exposure that is needed during their growth through homeschooling.

I wanted to get some thoughts across the temple about this since I'm currently trying to decide for my daughter what might work better for her. How do you feel about homeschooling (or online public schooling from home)? How do you feel about the public school system? Do you think that one has more benefits over the other to justify going with one over another?

I don't know how old your daughter is, but my feelings are that kids need to have experience of life away from their parents. Whether it is at school or at clubs or whatever; they need the ability to find kids their own age to talk about things. Sometimes you want to talk about something, but you don't want to talk to a parent. Kids talk complete rubbish sometimes but they enjoy it, and it's not the kind of rubbish you can talk with your parents.

For teenagers I definitely believe in public schooling, for what I mentioned above and also two parents alone cannot possibly have enough experience in all subjects to teach their children all they need to know.

If you teach your daughter at home, assuming she's not high school age, then I personally believe she needs to have some 'away from parents' time; even if it's a language class, or an evening kids club.

Edit: I will just point out I don't have kids, my opinions come from having been one!

I was homeschooled from eighth grade until I graduated at 17 (did all four years of high school in three years, and started college a year early). I'm an advocate of it for several reasons.

One- There is no way I would trust a American public school with my kid, for her education nor safety. Second, while private schools are at least better than public schools, they bring their own set of problems, and are not an option for many of us. Third, if you do homeschooling right, your kid will be much better prepared for college. Trust me, it worked for me. My mom homeschooled me in eighth grade, and I taught myself through high school. I finished college with a good GPA.

To me, the argument about kids' social lives being in peril is BS. Some kids don't want to socialize with other kids. I didn't. But mainly, homeschooling is far from the cloistering that many assume it to be. Your homeschool covering will usually offer individual weekly classes, on one subject, for very cheaply. There are also homeschool group events. I did some of these, and I also got a job when I was 16, so I was by not means locked in the house.

I strongly, strongly implore you to consider homeschooling. Feel free to message me privately, I will give you all the details you need, and advice, if you want it. You won't regret the decision.

Kids need to become adults as soon as possible. (Only in terms of knowing responsibility, not in terms of losing imagination).

This can be done well with good parenting AND homeschooling. But, it's harder to grant them the same freedom to fail that they might experience when they are away from you. I think the social thing is bull... yes, we need to socialize. But, there are alternatives. Sports teams, boy/girl scouts, you name it. Groups like those are all over and are useful. Even if it's a Christian youth group... socialization is possible.

My problem with homeschooling has to do with the style in which it is done. Kids who do not know the world, and are given the Rapunzel treatment... these children cannot grow up to be functioning adults. It is all about showing them how to make choices, and make them healthfully and well.

Connor L. wrote: Kids need to become adults as soon as possible. (Only in terms of knowing responsibility, not in terms of losing imagination).

This can be done well with good parenting AND homeschooling. But, it's harder to grant them the same freedom to fail that they might experience when they are away from you. I think the social thing is bull... yes, we need to socialize. But, there are alternatives. Sports teams, boy/girl scouts, you name it. Groups like those are all over and are useful. Even if it's a Christian youth group... socialization is possible.

My problem with homeschooling has to do with the style in which it is done. Kids who do not know the world, and are given the Rapunzel treatment... these children cannot grow up to be functioning adults. It is all about showing them how to make choices, and make them healthfully and well.

I can agree with this. Although I am an opponent of public school and an advocate of homeschooling, I have seen homeschooling used for bad ends. Some parents really do cloister the kids away in pure ignorance.

I homeschool my daughter, but she sees and experiences the world. Proteus doesn't seem like the Duggar type. I think he would do good to homeschool his daughter.

homeschooling has its flaws, state schooling has its flaws also. I think the best kind of education we can give our children is provided by dedicated teachers (and by that i mean, one teacher per child per subject), a subject range that exceeds any supplied by any ministry of education I've ever seen, and some travelling. Which I think is achievable.
I certainly know from experience that one on one sessions are far more efficient than any group learning I got, even in reputable private schools. And by more efficient I mean 10 hours with just a teacher were just as valuable as 150 in class.

To be a bit more specific about my own situation, the option in front of me is a little different than homeschooling. It is actually online public schooling. Instead of me being the teacher, she will instead interact over video conference with a teacher over the computer and I will be the coach. The chosen school is Connections Academy - link . It is free since its public and state funded.

I'm only in the midst of learning about any facts concerning child social psychology within the realm of schooling. I'm building curiosity over what exactly large in-person cooperation groups (ie. classrooms) affects and what it does not. I've done some research over the weekend so far and I'm beginning to think that the notions around a child needing to be within the traditional in-person class environment isn't what many people tend to think it is. I'm seeing a lot of studies showing that people who are home-schooled have just as much if not more social vibrancy and intelligence as those who are traditionally schooled, which tells me that the social factor has to rely on something else in particular that takes place in both venues - though, I'm still learning what that must be. Obviously it must have more to do simply with the quality of interaction than the quantity of interaction, not to mention an efficient use of that interaction for influencing proper understanding of themselves and their currently developed conditioning. The quality of the experience and its efficiency to my daughter would be very limited and simply unappreciated if I didn't make sure that her needs of being a regular part of the outside world were met.

Edan wrote: I don't know how old your daughter is

She is 8, going on 9. Last school year was very rough for both of us due to the location of her school and a big difficulty being able to communicate to the teachers and staff.

This is a first-time experience for me as a father though, so I'm still being cautious and my ear is out for the rest of your thoughts in this thread. (Please continue )

Baring in mind I was at a private school for my education, and that I dont have kids of my own...


Pros - The parents are responsible for their childrens educations
Cons - The parents are responsible for their childrens educations.


The social skills aspects aside (and they are extremely important in my view) while neither system is perfect, teachers are trained end educated to do what they do. With a school curriculum there is a greater diversity of learning experiences (from different teachers) and the opportunity to be taught by people with passion for a particular thing. My love of language, literature, art and history were all sparked off my being exposed to people who were passionate about those subjects, and incredibly knowledgeable and educated in them. An impression so powerful that I can still tell you those teachers names, the day that I met them and the actual moment my fascination was sparked.

I will say that I think homeschooling has advantages in terms of format. I think being taught at a desk for 7 hours a day with little room for unstructured play or exploration isn't ideal by ANY standard and allows no room for diversity in learning styles.

From what I have seen of homeschooling, parents have greater control over the way in which their children learn, and how information is presented and skills taught. Which i'm sure can be a great thing if the parents are educated and dedicated themselves. Else you may well have a case of the blind leading the blind.

But that too has its draw backs as I recently learned when I saw a curriculum for homeschooling posted online.

two words. Creation Science

I went to a boarding school from eight to eighteen and I am very independent and not as close to my family as most other people I know. I wonder if home schooling could have the opposite effect and make a child less independent and too reliant on family. I also think that actually going to school and following their rules, alongside good parenting of course, instills a certain discipline that is a good preparation for the rest of a child's life.

Brenna wrote: two words. Creation Science

That would be the only thing I'd be particularly concerned about.