Whether homeschooled students are smarter than public school students is an old debate that continues to this day. This article attempts to analyze this debate by examining the pros and cons of each schooling system and comparing their outcomes. We will look at the aspects of the school systems, such as the teaching style, curriculum, learning environment, and extracurricular activities.
Finally, we will compare the academic success of homeschooled and public school students.
Teaching Style
A comparison between the traditional public school model and homeschooling begins with the teaching style. In a public school, there is limited one-on-one teaching because of large classrooms and a tight curriculum; the teachers often focus on getting the material and information out of their lectures as opposed to focusing on maintaining a relationship.
Homeschooling on the other hand, is typically run by the student or parent, meaning that the student(s) and the teacher have more of an interactive relationship. This also allows for a more tailor-made education that focuses on the student’s individual learning style and interests.
Curriculum
The government sets the requirements for public school curriculum, including teaching certain core material and ensuring meeting certain standards. Homeschoolers on the other hand, are free to choose which material they cover in their learning. Although this might not always be viewed as a positive, as some home-schoolers have been criticized for failing to give their students a comprehensive education.
However, this might be a benefit as home-schooled children can advance faster or slower than their public school peers thus allowing for intensive learning or for diversification of their school schedule.
Learning Environment
The learning environment of homeschooling is often considered to be calming and conducive to learning when compared to public school. Homeschooling can provide a single student with an increase in learning potential because there are no distractions and he/she can commit 100% to studying.
Public schools on the other hand, tend to have large, over-crowded classrooms, with students of all age groups where it can be difficult for any one student to focus on a particular task due to distractions from other students. Good behavior and concentration can often be lost in those contexts.
Extracurricular Activities
Public schools tend to offer a plethora of extracurricular activities available for their students. This includes sports, band, drama, newspaper, debate, and so on, which outside of the classroom also can contribute to the academic success of the student. Despite homeschooling, generally being a solitary learning experience, there are still extracurricular activities that homeschooled students can join.
These mostly include videos, community courses, youth organizations, etc. Though they are not the same as regular school, they can still help in the student’s overall development.
Academic Success
When it comes to academic success, comparing homeschooling and public school is generally more difficult due to the lack of data when it comes to homeschoolers. As far as public school students go, they score better in standardized tests and have better graduation rates when compared to homeschoolers.
However, as mentioned earlier, public schools tend to have a tight curriculum and standardized tests, meaning that the result depends mostly on their ability to memorize and their speed of taking these tests. Homeschooling offers arguably a more individualized learning experience and has been said to provide better outcomes when it comes to critical thinking, problem solving, and creativity when compared to public school.
Conclusion
In conclusion, homeschooling and public schooling both have their respective merits and demerits. While public school can provide its students with an abundance of extracurricular activities and structures its curriculums in accordance with government standards, it does not necessarily mean that it is the best option for each student.
Similarly, homeschooling is not a perfect system and may be better suited for only certain individuals. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide which is better suited for them in order to ensure their academic success.