My best friend and I have this discussion going on. Each of us are on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to this. My kids are in school, they go to regular public schools. Her daughter is home schooled. Even though we disagree about this, I can still respect her decision to home school her child. My question is, which has more benefits? If you do home school your child(ren), what made you decide to do so?

well i think it would eliminate any out side distractions that other childern deal with and you would know your children are getting the education you want them to have tailored to their specific needs and pace but at the same time once they get out of the bubble you've created for them they will have to deal with live and their education at the same time. not saying they wouldnt be able to do so but i imagine it would be more difficult for them. Plus school is an important time to build social skills with your peers and establish relationships

i can tell you about what i learned about home school

is that you dont get to graduate
which u have to get your ged..

when i went for mine a few yrs back
this girl was home school by her mother
and she was telling the teacher that
if your in home school
your only allowed to get your ged

Humm my opinion unless the one that is teaching them have a teachers degree then they should not be home schooling.

I feel it isolates kids from interacting with others which is a big part of growing up..

I think it is really dependent on how committed the parents are to making it a well rounded education.

Some Homeschool'd students have excellent instruction with so much support interaction with other young people not only peer age but other's they can get a phenominal education. With Online support intruction programs, local school districts support, and committed parents why not go for it.

In some situations for some kid's it can actually be much peferable to underfunded, over crowded, often only remotely accomodateing to access or any special needs public education. If the school environment is unsafe I think parents have no choice.

Not all families have the option to live were great public education exists. Sad, especially when those of us who have had it, don't make sure it equally exists and could by volunteering. Horendous when courthouse have marble toilets and some public schools are condemned. They can't always turn around the school they need when they need it.

All that said PARENTS, outside of the student themself, are the single most important key to kids doing well in ANY public school. A parent that is interested, enthusiastic, involved, and vigilient can make even really shoddy schools give their kid an education. Seeing to it they are well rested, well fed, and prepared to do school work can turn a disenchanted teacher into a star that will like your child and want them to succeed against the most dire of situations.

The convex of that is a parent that says "oh let the school I am paying big bucks do it." When they take the eye off the ball the kid can be in so far over thier head it is a crying shame. They may have a pretty diploma but no love of learning, sense of the greater world, or respect for their many blessings even if they could get past the feeling of abandonment that a parent didn't share their life.

I think pacific hit the nail on the head

there are some awesome school systems and some terrible school systems and it depends upon where parents have to live and what the system is where they live

where I live, in an affordable section of sin city, I think the schools are terrible and so I opt to do whats necessary to make my childs stay in public school as short as possible and to send her to a private or christian school instead

each parent knows their own child(ren) and what will be most beneficial to them ,,


as far as home schooling, I Wouldnt have the schedule as a single working mom to pull it off successfully, but there are many excellent State approved online programs for the kids whose parents dont think the school environment is right for them,,,,

There are negatives and benefits to both and part of that type of decision would depend on where you live and how committed the parents are (for both home-schooling and public schooling).

Home schooled parents need to make sure their children get socialized, and not to generalize to much, but most of the home-schooled kids I've ever met were kept away from non-homeschooled kids (unless in some sort of religious community). That's not ALL homeschoolers but that's why sports spots have specific home-schooling classes because the parents won't put them in with non-homeschooled children. The point of homeschooling can sometimes be to keep their kids away from bad influences. Not necessarily a bad idea but brought to the extreme where children aren't allowed to even assosiate with other kids even in a supervised 1 hour a week program seems extreme to me. Or having certain kids that a child isn't allowed to play with on the same street (which is what happened with my home-schooled cousins) is a little strange to me.

On the other hand for parents who's children are in public school in general the parents need to be the ones to make sure their childs being fully educated. If the child starts to fall behind his/her peers it's up to the parent to get the child up to speed, even though they believe the teacher is responsible. Home-schooled children will get a lot more individual attention than a public school child. Children in public school are influenced more by their peers simply because they are around them longer than they are their own family. If a child spends 8 hours at school and then goes home for 5 hours until bedtime, he's much more likely to start doing what his 'cool' peers want than his parents. I have a friend who's in high school and when she was in grade 8 HER friend was talking about how she punched a girl in the face. I asked her why and you know the response? 'Because I felt like it'. These are the children who YOUR child is going to be spending their day with. Either they will be on that childs side or possibly on the other side. Which do you prefer?

Personally I think private school would be the best of both worlds. Your child is being socialized in a setting where their are (usually) smaller class sizes, more individual attention, nicer children (a private school doesn't 'have' to keep the type of kids public schools do). There is usually more space for your child to breath academically and more support if they are struggling. The teachers actually care what the parents think because basically you're a customer and more. Unfortunately that isn't always affordable, just like home-schooling isn't always affordable. The real question should be why do we have people home-schooling and sending their children to private schools when we should have a proper public school system? A large percentage of people are upset with the public school system and yet everyone just takes it at face value that this is the way it's supposed to be. It just seems weird...

well.. People who home school do that to shield their kids from the rotteness of the world. Well, my dear, no matter how you lock up a child one day he or she will gain access back to the world and would still mix up with all you have been hiding him or her from.. Anyone who wants to be bad will be bad, no matter the isolation.. Allow your kids enjoy education and mix up with others..