Homeschooling vs Public Schooling

A comparison of homeschooling vs public schooling shows that a home school environment has many advantages over traditional classrooms.

I remember being afraid to tell my friends who are public school teachers about my decision to homeschool. Ironically, those who know the system best have been my biggest supporters, and many former public school teachers are deciding to educate their children at home.

Here is a comparison of homeschool vs. public school:

Academics

Homeschool	Public School
One on one, tutorial	30 to 1 student-teacher ratio
Parent directed and monitored	Limited parental involvement
Tailored to student learning style	Caters to visual and auditory learners
Students progress at their own pace	Adheres to arbitrary scope and sequence
Encourages discovery and love of learning	Encourages memorization
Two-way dialogue	Lecture
Balances academics with life skills	Removes student from day to day life
Decisions motivated by concern for student	Decisions tainted by financial and professional incentives

Environment

Homeschool	Public School
Cooperative	Competitive
Real life, multi-age	Segregated by age, race and income
Physically and emotionally safe	Danger of bullying, physical and verbal assault
Flexible, suits learner	Rigid, inhibits kinesthetic learners
Consistent, secure	Changes from year to year
Encourages students to do their best	Negative peer pressure
Allows time to pursue hobbies and interests	Wastes time on classroom management and busywork

Values

Homeschool	Public School
Independence	Dependence on teacher, government
Self-motivation	External rewards and consequences
Creativity	Adherence to standards
Tolerance, individuality	Pecking order, conformity
Discipline focuses on building character	Discipline focuses on classroom management
Community service	Materialism, entertainment
Family	Teachers, peers