Written story produced by Elise Holbrook. Podcast episode produced in collaboration with Drue Stinnett.
Did you attend public schools, or were you home-schooled? And, how many people do you know who were home-schooled for part or all of their education? When public and home-schooled children compare their experiences, the differences can be enlightening.
I was a public school kid my whole life, while Drue was home-schooled until she began community college classes. Our various conversations have made us realize significant differences in our educations, from the setting in which we learned to the differences in what our educators believed and how that shaped what we learned. But are home schooling and attending public schooling really as different as they seem? In our case, there are several differences in our experiences, but ultimately, we did both end up at the same university, both excelling with similar grades.
Whether you attend private, public, charter, or are home-schooled, each offers its own benefits and drawbacks depending on the child and their educational needs. For some children, like Drue, they enter home schooling because their older siblings are. Other friends I have entered home schooling later in their education due to bullying or the public school environment not being conducive to their learning. According to an article for Psychology Today by Dr. Carl E. Pickhardt, the onset of adolescence and the subsequent lower academic effort and performance also contribute to the decision to home-school.
The same article lists some of the general differences found in the various forms of schooling. Public schooling offers tax funded education, a higher percentage of certified teachers who have pre-service and in-service training, standardized curriculum, mandated testing, a larger budget for instructional resources and equipment, social and economic diversity and a larger student body, supported programs and services, and a breadth of curriculum. Alternatively, home schooling offers a space away from peer distraction, more individual attention and instruction, more parental knowledge of/responsibility for academic work, curriculum that can adhere to family values and faith, smaller class sizes, and social safety. The individual nature of home schooling can be tailored to a child’s nature, helping them discover and develop their interests while public schools teach a child how to make their own way in a world where they are one of many other students. However, home-schooled children have to work to avoid social isolation because they are not necessarily in an environment learning with other students, unless they do classes jointly with siblings, friends, or a home school group.
In an article for Business Insider, innovation reporter Chris Weller argues that home schooling could be the better option for children due to personalized education being a stronger method of instruction, learning more about what the child cares about, social media allowing the forming of friendships, avoiding cliques or bullying, schooling being a part of the “real world,” and students achieving more in the long run.
As you can see, each method, including private and charter schools which aren’t the focus of this article, have their own benefits and drawbacks depending on the student. Drue and I received the type of education that works well for us, ultimately bringing us to the same places and academic success. Home schooling allowed her to put more time into subjects she needed help with, while spending less time on ones she already excelled at. She got more individual attention and learned from people closer to her. To provide the social activity lost from not attending largest public schools with many other children, she got to take part in activities like 4H where she was able to participate in other social and learning experiences to supplement her home schooling. For me, I found the public school environment to be beneficial to my learning. I learned well surrounded by other students, and made meaningful connections with teachers who had a profound effect on me and my outlook on education. Drue had structure in her home-school environment, however it was different from the strict structure of my typical school day, which was generally the same every week – something that I appreciated and needed that both helped me learn and excel.
Drue and I’s stories of our education are very different. But ultimately, we discovered there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer to which form of education is better. Home schooling worked for her because it was what she needed, and public school worked for me for the same reason. While there certainly were things we both did or didn’t like about the education we got specifically, ultimately, we got to the same place and garnered the same success. The answer to which form of education to pick isn’t necessarily about the pros and cons of each in general, but their pros and cons in terms of the child’s needs.
Listen to the She Rambles Podcast this week as my friend Drue and I discuss the differences between our educations and how they fit what we personally needed. Did home school leave Drue feeling like she was missing something she could have gotten from public school, and is riding the bus in public school really the big deal it’s made out to be on movies, or is it secretly not that great?
