Why is homeschooling more effective than public school?

a) Parents have a stake in a positive outcome, teachers don't.


b) Parents have a much larger choice of disciplinary measures


c) Parents can focus their attention on fewer children and choose the curriculum, while teachers can't.


d) Those who homeschool have "better" children to begin with.


e) All of the above.

Why is homeschooling more effective than public school?
I'm not sure its effectiveness can be summed up in any specific sentence, especially not from the choices given!





To dear Charlotte: I am a trained teacher who would like to teach you something; I'm hoping you will accept it since you have asserted that the teaching ought to be left to the teachers. Homeschooling statistics, including those by unbiased sources, have shown that overall, homeschoolers fare better than public schoolers academically AND socially. I'm sure you're going to shake your head and think I don't know what I'm talking about, but the stats are the stats. (I also have a wealth of experience with actual people who homeschool and who have homeschooled for years, experience which matches up with the statistics.) You can find out more about these stats from here http://www.fraserinstitute.ca/shared/rea... . The paper done sought out studies done through universities and such, not just homeschooling organizations.





Furthermore, your assertion that most parents don't discipline their kids has not been statistically proven. This may be what you have observed more often than not, but our observations, when not done in a scientific manner, are often flawed because we tend to see, in essence, what we expect or want to see. I, too, notice the kids who aren't well disciplined in public, but most kids behave themselves, which doesn't require any additional public discipline on the part of the parents.





As a teacher and a homeschooler, I would also like to teach you this: in most places, parents ARE allowed to choose the curriculum they wish to teach their homeschooled children. In many cases this is because the state sees the homeschool as the equivalent of a private school and the state does not regulate curriculum for private schools.





Yet again, Charlotte, there is no proof that homeschooled students are lacking in vital social skills. Just because you say it so doesn't make it so! How many homeschooled students have you met, unawares, whose social skills were totally fine? You dupe yourself, dear lady, into believing things that aren't true based on what?





And yet another thing to teach you, Charlotte: your premise is that only those who have been trained to teach should teach, with the underlying assumption that those who have not been trained do not know how to teach. The logic falls apart because your premise is invalid. For many, many years, private schools employed teachers who had no teaching credentials. It's still like that in many places. Yet private schools do statistically better than public schools.





Not to mention the fact that most college professors have NO training in teaching yet are teaching at the highest level. And early (say, 1800's-1850's) public schools did not require any training and before that, there was NO teacher training. Are you willing to assert that people were not effectively educated before our modern public school systems came into place? That people the likes of Thomas Edison and even Aristotle were not effectively educated because they did not have trained teachers teaching them? The assertion is ludicrous, you must admit.





You can see, I'm sure, that your premise must be wrong as there is no logical argument that can come out of it and result in the above facts. When you've found a valid premise and had a 2nd look at your logic, then you might be given a higher mark. ;)
Reply:Of those choices, I would have to go with 'C'--but that rather limits the issue.


Part of it is that the individualized attention allows for more flexibility. If the student is having a bad day in math-it can easily be skipped for a day-not so with a structured curriculum.


In a group situation, the teacher has to proceed at the pace of the slowest child. This causes boredom on the part of students who grasp the material more quickly. The compensate by distracting those around them and as a consequence also get less out of the material themselves.


Part of it is the dedication on the part of the parents in the children's academic life. not so much a stake in the outcome (option A) but truly care for the child. Even in a regular classroom, students whose parents are involved in their progress will generally do better.


Individualized instruction permits for application of concepts to areas of interest to the student easier.


Individualized instruction lends itself toward self teaching on the part of the student. Since a classroom requires the teacher to move at the pace of the slowest student-students are not challenged to perform their best. The individual learner is forced to always perform at their best.


I think that many home school families are concerned that the government may have a higher expectation of them and strive toward a higher standard.
Reply:Well, its not. Thats quite a ridiculous statement.
Reply:(a) and (c) mainly.





(b) might have a little to do with it, but not much.





I believe that all children are precious gifts from God, so (d) is ludicrous to me. My kids are great, they are wonderful, and because they are mine I wouldn't trade them for the world, but the 3 children from India that I sponsor are equally wonderful in the eyes of God.





Charlotte was dead wrong, parents who homeschool do choose the curriculum, unless they are actually doing a "public school at home" aka "independent study" program.





The "socialization" issue has been hashed up so much on "answers" the past few days I won't even respond to those answerers, except to say that you really need to get a life, instead of worrying whether other people's kids have one.
Reply:c) Parents can focus their attention on fewer children and choose the curriculum, while teachers can't.
Reply:If all we have as choices are the above, the most likley candidate is c. Contraty to the uninformed, homeschooling usually is pretty much controlled by the parent. In my state, there are NO educational choices made by the state whatsoever. in fact, the act of homeschooling in my state (Washington) removes all responsibility for the child's educaiotn from teh state. it relieves them from any financial or administrative burden other than accepting the parental fomr the declares they are going to homeschool.





this gives parents tremendous freedom to meet the needs of their child and focus on their particular learning styles. It jsut makes it easier to communicate information, and to really follow a child's interest.





There are NO studies by any reputable source that say homeschoolers do worse than others adcademically or otherwise.
Reply:All of the above


None of they above





Homeschool has failures too





ALL schools have failures





You have to be a self-starter and have some supervision and support





You need a program





You need tools





If those things aren't in place you can loose just as easily as win
Reply:Cuz there is not as many kids for the teacher/parent to teach which means that they can take time and sit down and explain something to them what they need help on.
Reply:I love home schooling but I don't completely agree with what you've said here.





a) Parents have a stake in a positive outcome, teachers don't.


that's overly simplistic, there are many teachers who care and take professional pride in producing results.





b) Parents have a much larger choice of disciplinary measures


true, but I don't think that's really what accounts for the difference





c) Parents can focus their attention on fewer children and choose the curriculum, while teachers can't.


this is a biggie. the one on one attention and ability to teach to mastery....as opposed to a kid waiting for others to catch up or being pushed too fast





d) Those who homeschool have "better" children to begin with.


define better. there are plenty of great parents and kids for whom public school is a more workable option, for varying reasons.





e) All of the above. some of the above, in my estimation.





--------------------------------------...


Charlotte: "Homeschooling has been proven to be much less effective."





nonsense. back that up...what's your source?
Reply:c, and to a lesser extent a.


Research has consistently proved that the "tutoring" or "mentoring" style of education is most effective. In fact, I had one of my children tested by an Ed. Psych. Dept at a major university, and they suggested that even though they didn't condone home schooling, even a special ed class couldn't do the kind of focused one-on-one that I could do at home, and therefore they didn't recommend I put my easily distracted son in school.
Reply:c)
Reply:talking from the point of being homeschooled all my life, i can say that the answer is f) none of the above. if you wanted the closest answer, then i'ld say it's "c." if you want my answer, please take the time to read the following :D





why "none of the above":


a) teachers also can have a stake in positive outcome of a child, it just depends on how dedicated they are to their job.


b) true to some extent, but do you think parents love to punish their kids? definitely not!


c) what do you mean by focusing their attention on fewer children? whether public or homeschooled, parents will always focus their attention on their kids. as for choosing the curriculum, you're 100% accurate :)


d) totally not true. every child is different, homeschooled or not. and one should not compare children because a child may be better academically but not better emotionally or physically or in other areas of his/her life.





then why is homeschooling more effective than public school?


here are my reasons:


1. there are fewer distractions, so students can focus on what they need to accomplish.


2. haven't you heard that charity begins at home? a good family bond will enable the child to face the realities of life once they're grown, especially with supportive siblings and parents. also parents can instill good morals and character qualities in their children by being a good example for them.


3. the flexibility of homeschooling makes schoolwork fun and unstressful because there is a balance between work and play and there is no rigidity or fixed rules :)


4. homeschoolers learn self-discipline and independence if taught right.


5. the more ambitious or brilliant homeschoolers can speed up or skip grades and finish high school earlier to enter university early too. it's always possible if you Believe you can do it :D





i'm sure there are other reasons, but i think these are good enough reasons. what's your stand? :D
Reply:My answer is A B and C Because I am not sure acout D








Hope this helps!!!
Reply:A, B and C! And a big AMEN to Glurpy!
Reply:I would say both (a) and (c).


Teachers are usually interested in positive outcomes in the context of grades. They are with the student for a year in public elementary school and then they send them on to the next grade. We are with our student through out the education process until they are ready for college classes.


We can focus on individual students. We know their interests, their talents, their weaknesses, etc.





No, definitely we do not have better children and the discipline measures we have are the same whether in public school or home school.
Reply:f.) None of the above. Homeschooling has been proven to be much less effective. In fact, teachers DO have a stake in a positive outcome because their pay depends on it. Most parents don't discipline their children anyway--whether or not they homeschool them. Most parents depend on the school to do the disciplining. Parents cannot choose the curriculum. Curriculum is established for students, whether homeschooled or not, by the state. Finally, homeschooled children are not necessarily better. In fact, they lack very important social skills necessary in the world. Leave the teaching to the people who have been trained to teach--the teachers. Leave the parenting to the parents.
Reply:There are a lot of things kids get out of public/private schools that they just can't get from Mom and Dad. I was home schooled until junior high at which point I attended public school. It was a rude awaking for me. I found I lacked the necessary social skills to survive in an environment with little to no supervision. I had been surrounded by kids my own age, and had plenty of friends in the neighborhood and at youth group, but school was different. School had bullies that hit, girls that kissed, stoners that smoked pot and cut school and adults that didn’t really care what happened to me. I was completely unprepared with how to stand up to peer-pressure and so I fell victim to all those things my parents had hoped to protect me from. Additionally, since my parents had not attended school for a few decades themselves, much of what they taught me was out of date, incorrect or simply insufficient. I did not catch up to my peers both socially and academically until half way through college, and that was only because I spent four years in the military first so I was four years older than everyone else.
Reply:b!


But is it more effective? How do these kids relate socially? Often wondered what the outcome actually would be.


Often, it is in school that children develop a lot emotionally - also their reactions to situations are supposed to "mature". If these kids don't have the opportunity for learning socially - how do they actually grow up?
Reply:i dont think it is. any kids i know that have been homeschooled are lacking in other skills such as socializing. 4 of them are my nieces %26amp; nephews from my husband side %26amp; they are extremely shy around people. i think kids get more out of a public school than just an education. they learn life skills/ street smarts %26amp; independance. i notice a huge difference in the confidence of my 6 year old daughter (who goes to public school) %26amp; my 10 year old niece (who is homeschooled) ive also knew kids that came to high school after being home schooled %26amp; it was a difficult transistion for them.