Homeschool Vs. Public School: Which is Best for Your Child?

We are not a religious family, nor are we radicals who are completely against education. You could call us an average American family who wants our children to be successful.

This debate is weighing heavily on this average family's mind - do we homeschool our very creative and independent son, or do we force him to "fit in" to the public school? After many problems with him in public school, we are currently weighing the option of homeschool, unschool, and dual enrollment. Here's what we've come up with thus far.

Positives of Homeschooling

- Free to learn at their own pace
This is probably the most important aspect of homeschooling, and why many parents make the switch. Instead of being forced to spend too much time on one subject and not enough on another, they are learning at their own pace. Which in turn is better retained.

For example, let's say a public school has allotted time for two 15 minute activities. Let's say you do both those tasks in a homeschool setting, but it takes your child 20 minutes to do the first, and 10 minutes to do the second. They've done both tasks in the same amount of time, but needed extra time for the first and less for the second. If that child was in public school, what would have happened? They would have been sent home the extra work, or would have had to stop and start the assignment again, ultimately wasting time.

- No negative influences
I won't say they wouldn't ever (or shouldn't) be around the "bad kids". But day in and day out this can have a huge effect on them. There's not just "one bad kids" being a bad influence either. It could be the entire class gets antsy one day and acts up, getting everyone in trouble or wasting class time.

If your child is homeschooled, they have very separate times for work and play. They aren't wasting time being punished for what other kids have done, or wasting time not getting work done.