Introduction
For many years, people have argued on the best system of teaching their children. The decision on whether to home school or take a child to a public school is vital to the future of the child. Public schooling is most common in United States, but this does not disregard homeschooling.
Homeschooling is considered best elsewhere hence the need to scrutinize its strengths. In that case, this paper compares homeschooling to public schooling with an emphasis on the positive development of the child.
In as much as the parent is determined to prepare the child for future challenges, home schooling exposes the child to greater social situations, appropriate behavior, positive religious decision, and curriculum flexibility.
Home school versus public school
Constantly, homeschooling has been differed with public schooling through a number of viewpoints or evidences. Poor social development is a stereotype that the public school system has attached to home schooling (Olsen, 2008).
It suggests that the child under home school system is socially confined, or lacks the amenities that enable his/ her social development. However, the home schooled child is exposed to an assorted array of social circumstances within the learning environment.
People who go for public schooling simply do not understand the home schooling plan hence do not understand that the child is exposed to greater social environment as compared to a student in a classroom.
The home schooled child has greater flexibility when accessing social issues than the public schooled child. These social issues reflect in the sense that the child is as much independent as the parent to choose on the social situations to associate with.
According to my point of view, the most prevalent different between the two systems of learning is that the parent solely manages homeschooling system while the public schooling system has to follow specific management guidelines defined by the government.
Basing our discussion on the fact that the parent is the ultimate decision maker, the child can experience a variety of social situations that the parent prefers. For instance, the child can get an opportunity to socialize with people of different ages and orientations unlike a classroom student who is restricted to follow a prearranged social orientation.
In addition, the homeschooled student can be allowed by the parent to decide on which friends to associate with depending on the marital inclinations.
In short, a student in a public school has to mingle with peers limited to situations accommodated by the laws of the particular state. For a student in a public school, it is unfortunate that he/she has to abide with the rules of standardization.
Maybe what critics of home schooling do not understand is that parents have the capacity to expose their students to the behaviors and situations they feel appropriate. The fact that public schools involve students from different backgrounds has diminished the importance of model behavior.
The norm is that of inappropriate behavior. In essence, every parent who is able to teach at home would like to act as the positive role model, offering the child the best help, instead of sending the child to a learning environment that exposes him to overall misbehavior.
Being able to monitor the child’s development on daily basis, the parent can realize when the child is deviating from the expected social and behavioral tracks.
It will always be true that a child in the public school is likely to behave more unruly than a child in the homeschooling system of learning. The parent who is the closest person to the child is the best file to refine him/her as nature may suggest.
Another issue that strongly differentiates home schooling from public schooling is academic performance. The student in the public school is entitled to the curriculum set by the state (Wagner, 2008). On the other hand, the student under homeschooling is entitled to a curriculum designed by the parent.
Therefore, systematic learning where a student moves to the other level after complete digest is only allowed in homeschooling. The age of the child is not the sole determinant of the grade level as it is in public school system. The child under parent guidance is allowed to work at his or her own pace and move to other levels without interruption.
This designed program of study can also let students to work on a number of different grades simultaneously without necessarily waiting for slow movers to draw level.
Indeed, researches suggest that home schooled students are better prepared for colleges and work than public school students due to their exposure to different grade level challenges (Christensen & Levinson, 2003; Young, 2006). What the research suggests is that the student in home school can face challenges better than the student in a public school.
Religious inclination is also a strong difference that evidence supports between public schools and home schools. Unlike home schools, public schools do not permit religion. The conviction is that religion is as important as socialization or academic performance.
When public schools disallow religion in their system, many people feel that the students are short-charged in this part. Moral positivity that is paramount to the development of a child relates to religion, and it is an obligation to all stakeholders to ensure that the innocent child receives it. How can that be achieved if public schools disallow religion?
The answer is home schools. The parent can offer whichever satisfaction he or she feels best for the child. Indeed, parents with deep religious beliefs are very passionate persons if only given the chance through homeschooling. Through this passion, the child is entirely fed with his or her educational needs.
Since the parent is the final decision maker, home schools can be based entirely on religious circumstances if the father or mother so chooses. At the same time, it is this passion that will permit the guardian to teach their child to be the best. Therefore, home schooling allows the parent who understands the child better to be in charge.
Conclusion
Homeschooling is the best approach to prepare a child for future challenges. The approach offers the best environment to develop the child socially. It also enables the parent to act as the role model for the child, providing the basis for positive behavior.
A system that allows the parent to design the curriculum enables the child to integrate grade levels and learn more in a shorter period as compared to classroom environments.
Being in the stage of rapid development, the young student requires social, moral, behavioral, and academic support especially from the person who has the best capacity and knowledge to nurture that development. That means the parent understands the child better and is the best avenue for success.
References
Christensen, K. & Levinson, D. (2003). Encyclopedia of community: From the village to the virtual world. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE.
Olsen, N. (2008). Understanding parental motivation to home school: a qualitative case study. New York, NY: ProQuest.
Wagner, T. (2008). Parental perspectives of homeschooling: a qualitative analysis of parenting attitudes regarding homeschooling as opposed to public schooling. New York, NY: ProQuest.
Young, T. L. (2006). Prioritized qualities, attributes, and skills of successful home educators: A Delphi study. New York, NY: ProQuest.