Home School Vs Public School

Home School versus Public School

Introduction

Parent-led home-based education if not the norm, continued to be a common most of the time since most children's lives through the nineteenth century. Things changed quickly, however, during the late 1800s and into the twentieth century. Homeschooling was nearly nonexistent with only 13,000 schoolchildren in the United States by the 1970s. Then a dramatic change began around the early 1980s such that just over 2 million students in grades K to 12 were estimated to be homeschooled in the United States during the spring of 2010. Much of public opinion is very positive toward this private educational practice. However, genuinely curious people and ideological skeptics who are opponents of homeschooling, continue to ask questions about home-based education. Research continues to answer some of these basic questions (Gordon et al, 2005).

Discussion

Home schooling is the process whereby children pursue education exclusively in the context of their family or home, but in any case outside public and private institutions. This phenomenon has always existed in the past being the only form of academic instruction. There are several motivations for home schooling children, which normally have the shaft in opposition to the laws of compulsory education and curriculum. Homeschooling is a legal option for parents, who want to train their children with a learning environment, different from the nearby schools. Many of these families make this choice on religious grounds. People often prefer homeschooling for their children because they do not like the environment of the schools. Homeschooling have become a problem for the educational sector because most of the people have adapted the practice of homeschooling. This practice deteriorates the traditional concept of schooling also the socialization skills of the children studying at home (Lines, 1999).

Public schools are the choice for the majority of the population in the state. Public schools are subject to the provisions of the respective states (which vary from state to state) and are managed by school boards, which also dominate the curriculum. The funding of public schools is done by taxpayers' money and is free for residents. For non residents, school fee is collected, which is often much less than that of a private school fee.

Major nationwide studies and multiple smaller-scale studies are consistent in their findings that the home educated are performing above average in terms of academic achievement. The most recent nationwide study (conducted by Dr. Brian Ray and the National Home school Education Research Institute) found that home-educated students in grades K to 12 were scoring well above public-school students in all subject areas; reading, language, mathematics, social studies, and science on standardized academic achievement tests. In repeated studies, home-educated students typically score at the 65th to 80th percentile on nationally accepted standardized achievement tests. This is 15 to 30 points higher, on average, than public-school students, whose average is the 50th percentile (Collom, 2005).

One of the key aspect remains that tuition fee can range from $4,000 per annum up to more than $100,000 ...