Homeschool and Public School

“Hey are you going to the football game on Friday?” This is a common conversation topic in a high school or middle school setting. It is seen as the norm for children across the United States that are fortunate enough to attend a public, private, or charter school. But what about the children that do not attend traditional school? Students that are homeschooled are seen as outsiders in today’s society. It is a social stigma that children who are homeschooled are seen as “weird” or “eldritch” because they are less common than children who go to regular school. Along with labeling on negative stereotypes, a bulk of the population thinks that children who are homeschooled would never be able to find jobs in the real world. On the contrary, though, these children are the opposite. A vast majority of homeschooled children go to and finish college. Students coming from a home school actually graduate at a higher rate than their peers- 66.7 percent compared to 57.5 percent and earned a higher grade point average along the way. (add citation) The numbers don’t lie, but why choose one over the other? Public and homeschool both have their perks, and their drawbacks. Some perks of being homeschooled is that homeschooling offers an individualized curriculum and learning environment for each student, it can accomplish more academically than in school, and can provide a safer environment for children and youth because of physical violence, drugs and alcohol, psychological abuse, racism, etc.

Homeschooling shapes to each individual students’ needs better than traditional schooling techniques. Many public school students struggle in certain subjects and are scared to ask for help, so they result in failed tests and bad grades. In a homeschool environment, this does not happen. Each student that is homeschooled has an individualized curriculum and standard for each subject, so if they do not understand a topic they are able to take the time to review as much as needed without the fear of peer judgement. This scenario applies to all subjects and topics that any school might cover. From mathematics, to physics, to poetry. But on the flip side, if you’re flying through material in a certain class and understand it well you can just go on and go to the next topic at hand without having to wait for the rest of class like an institutional school. These kinds of curriculums apply to all homeschooled children across the United States and worldwide. Which in most cases is a positive rather than a negative for the child’s learning experience.

Building off of my last point, homeschooling can accomplish more than institutionalized schools. Parents and proctors can speed up the learning process three fold for students and accomplish almost twice as much as a normal class would. This puts students in a very good position for success. Students going into college would be more prepared than their peers would be which in turn means that they would carry higher grade point averages and higher graduation rates across the board. This is becoming one of the more popular way to school today’s youth and is currently one of the most rapid growing way to give our children an education.

Finally, homeschooling kids can provide them with a safer environment from drugs, drug and alcohol, bullying, physical violence, psychological abuse, and racism. In traditional public/charter/private schools drugs and alcohol is a popular thing to do in today’s society. Children who are not participating in these acts are seen as outcasts from their peers and tend to have social anxiety, and/or have somewhat difficulty with the social aspect of life and could possibly turn out to be introverted in some way, shape, or form. Is it illegal for underage kids to drink or smoke? Yes, one hundred percent it is. But with this generation it is “cool” to do these adventurous and illegal things.

Physical violence is big problem in today’s school world. There are videos of children fighting posted on the internet for millions of views to start catching up. People obsess over these so called “fight videos”. These videos can be spread worldwide with a couple clicks on a smartphone. And just to think not even the physical pain these children are in, but the psychological and emotional issues that could present because of humiliation or bullying by their peers. But in a home setting this problem is virtually eliminated. Students have the comfort and safety of their home to avoid that current issue. With that being said, racism is still happening in the millennial generation. Obvious not to the extent that is was one hundred years ago but it is still an issue. There are students and even teachers or administrators in institutionalized schools that are racist or present a racist persona. Kids get bullied and segregated all the time from other students in that setting.

On the flip side, regularized schooling is and can be a great choice for school. Public schools is a great example. Children have the opportunity to get up every morning, Monday through Friday and go learn with kids in their fellow neighborhood or city. This can has proven to establish lifelong relationships with people that can make a great impact on one person’s life. Public schools and regularized schools can be helpful for students because of it’s availability, academic opportunities, and extracurricular activities.

Public schools are a perfect example of availability. Public schools provide access to all students in a community and by law cannot deny any student based on race, religion, disability, or income level. This is monumental for lower income communities across the nation. Public schooling can offer so much to a child that could he struggling at home or could be a child’s safety net because of the environment they live in. There could be anything like gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and many more possibilities that a child is exposed to even on their way to school. And as parents of our future children we would want the best for them in all they do especially when it comes to academics and their academic career. To in deeper, the psychological effects that could be happening in a adolescent’s life can be catastrophic to that person’s morals, values, and who they are as a person. But any and every child in America has the right and is entitled to this kind of schooling and potential safety net that can be offered at an institutionalized school.

Institutionalized schools can be a students dream when it comes to academic opportunities. They are absolutely endless. Students can be guided through every aspect of life in schools with guidance counselors, administrators, and teachers every step of the way to care for a child’s education and well being as a person. Students can be placed in an advanced placement setting if academically gifted. Or put in a class that offers more help for students struggling in a certain subject. Students that want to excel will find various chances to do so, while those not inclined to academic acceleration will find choices at their ability level too ( publicschoolreview.com). A child’s mind is endless and can be expanded with knowledge every day.

Football, basketball, band, color-guard. These things are what can shape a student into who they are as an individual. This is what regulated schools have to offer as extracurricular activities. Those examples were only a fraction of what these schools can offer for students nationally. These things like sports, theatre. or music can help a student in a variety of ways. It can help that individual find talents they never knew they had. This helps the student keep learning and excelling in areas they are most interested in. For sports like baseball, basketball, football, hockey, volleyball, track and field, soccer, and many more colleges can recruit and offer student athletic scholarships to attend their school and further a child’s education and brain capacity even more. Even for the arts like theatre or music, some colleges and universities offer students scholarships for theatrical abilities and musical talents like singing or dancing.

In conclusion, regularized schools and homeschooling has its pros and cons. Its ups and downs. Homeschooling can provide and offers a individualized curriculum and learning environment for each student, it can accomplish more academically than in school, and can provide a safer environment for children and youth because of physical violence, drugs and alcohol, psychological abuse, racism, etc. But institutionalized schooling has its perks as well.

This kind of schooling can be helpful for students because of it’s availability, academic opportunities, and extracurricular activities. A students success isn’t based off of what type of education they earn. And whatever education a child receives doesn’t define them as a person. It’s what that student puts into the classroom and schoolwork. Like I said earlier, a child’s mind is endless and can be expanded and filled with knowledge every day. So lets come together and enlighten and give our kids with the gift and power of knowledge at home and at school.  

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