Public school:
Mass education, one size fits all.
Prescribed curriculum, set schedules, and required courses just to get a "diploma".
Teach to the test, pass the test; that’s all that matters.
4 years instead of 2, as well as to much wasted time on non-academics leaving little time for students to pursue their real passions, or courses that directly apply to their chosen career field.

To be honest the two would be like comparing apples to oranges; they are nothing alike.
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Home school mom with successful children ages preteen to late twenties;

Similarities:
They both follow the same curriculum.
Most states require annual testing of home schooled children using the same test that public school children use.
The results of both rely heavily on the attitude and level of dedication of the instructor
The results of both rely heavily on parental involvement.

You can have a lousy teacher that hands out assignments and sits back and reads a novel with the rest of class time. You can have a parent that wants to home school, but doesn’t really want to do the work.
You can have a school that has only very lackluster additional curriculum ie.. a mediocre art program or gym. You can also have a homeschooling parent that sends their kids to private lessons for what the child is actually interested in. My sisters and I had piano lessons, gymnastics, violin lessons and golf lessons.
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Education:

*Public schooled children learn from textbooks (with small bits of useful information padded with lots of useless "filler" information) in a classroom with 24 other children and one or two adults. The whole class usually goes through the textbooks at the same time, so the "advanced" children are stuck tapping their pencils in boredom (or becoming the class clown) while the "slower" children are left gasping for air and not following what’s going on anyway.

*Homeschooled students learn from a mixture of real books, textbooks, real life interaction, co-ops, and hands on study. The student to teacher ratio is low… it depends on how many children a mother has! Let’s say the average is 3:1, though of course some homeschools are 1:1 and some are 7 or 8 or 9:1. If a child is advanced or slower at learning, then "school" either plunges ahead or slows down so that it’s all done on the individual student’s rate of learning.

Time Spent:

*Public schooled students spend a lot of time on the bus, in line, waiting, watching other students get disciplined, waiting with their hand in the air, doodling on their notebooks, passing notes, whispering, etc. They spend about 6 hours in a brick building with very limited air flow. In some schools, the children get 10-30 minutes of outside play on "nice" days, in others they may or may not get recess at all. After school, and a bus ride home, they spend 20 minutes to several hours completing "busy work" that the teacher did not have time to get to during the 6 hours that they were waiting, raising their hand, going to the bathroom, passing notes, etc.

*Homeschooled students typically get all of their work done within an hour or two or three. There are not numerous interruptions, for the most part. They don’t have to wait while 22 other children’s questions are answered. They don’t have to wait with their hand up if they would like to sharpen their pencil or go to the bathroom. They simply get the work done and then they have the rest of the day to devote to individual interests, playing outside (rain or shine!), going on errands with mom, playing with toys, joining team sports, going to the park, etc.

Socialization:

*Public schooled children are in a room with 24 other children born the same year as them, living in the same zipcode, with approximately the same family income. There is one adult. These are the people that they spend 6 hours with. On the bus and during recess (if there is recess), there is a free for all where the older/bigger children tend to bully the smaller/younger children. This is considered "socialization."

*Homeschooled students are out in the real world with people of all different ages, income levels, colors, shapes, and sizes. For the most part, they are never bullied… just like adults are not bullied. They interact daily with their siblings of different ages (if they are not only children or one of a twin pair) and must learn to get along with their families. They often go to parks, the grocery store, to museums, on homeschool field trips, and the like, so they talk to all sorts of people.

Morality:

*Public schooled children learn the government’s morals and values.

*Homeschooled children learn their parents’ morals and values.

Being Different

*Publically schooled children are often ostracized for being different (having different ideas than the group). Mob mentality rules.

*Homeschooled children are often applauded for being different and thinking out of the box. Mob mentality is basically unheard of.

Those are some of the facts, so you can make your own opinion. Good luck with your paper!
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Homeschooling Mom

I home school my two teens. We are in our 5th year.

There are many types of schools – Montessori to Military, and home schools are as varied as the families and children that they cater to. Every child has different needs. Some are gifted. Some are special needs, some are twice gifted. All grow at different times in different ways – all is not uniform.

Who would not want their child to be tutored, have a learning environment tailored to their needs? To have the ability to teach to the auditory, kinesthetic, or visual learner as best they learn?

To take breaks and enjoys friendships, have a longer term recall in learning, and be able to pursue their passions and talents? And not be part of the mass "no child left behind" = (every child left behind) act.

To have the scope and sequence that fits the needs of the child, (i.e. – to learn about the civil war in a different order and mostly more detail)? To live history by walking the Freedom Trail, Learn physics by going to Fermilab, to travel through the bison at Custer Park. To have the ability to attend operas, Celtic Fests, and improvisational acting troupes? To pursue professional ice skating, horsemanship, chess, music, or dance? To volunteer and develop internships that lay the ground work for your life?

The ability to explore friendships in areas they have interests, have more free time to pursue friendships. To have mentors and mentor others, to laugh and relax when necessary, instead of living in the hamster wheel of
command performance.

To have the ability to have kids grow up at the pace they are ready to instead of rushing into things they are not prepared for, not to insulate them from society, but to give them a wise sage to show them the guidance needed.

It is the ability to give a child a chance to work ahead instead of being bored. To take time to truly grasp a process an idea. Instead of glimpsing at it? To grow up and not look back with regret and to shape their own
curriculum?

Our kids are quite social creatures with active social lives. Our home is filled often with kids from home school groups, public and private schools, and neighborhood kids. We have fun together! They go to high school dances with their dates, have salsa balls, winter balls, and their own dances. They have home school conventions were they can learn about everything from chain mail to water testing to cinematography.

Socialization is not one dimensional. You mentor those younger, learn from those older, and have classes at museums, co-ops taught by different experts, and learn how to interact with adults deeply, not just kids.

Concerning the educational material, you do not have to use the same as the traditional education classrooms. You can choose what works best for your child. Every year my husband and I pour over hundreds of different curriculum to tailor them to our children and make sure that they are the best sources. For instance, a science book may be written by a literature specialist, but not someone with a strong understanding for science concepts. This is often reflected in the writing. Know your editors. Talk to the companies.

We have the world as our classroom. It is an opportunity to explore to grow, learn hands on. Do you learn better by touching and hearing from a docent the reality and contractions of a 5,000 year old shoe and how the society functioned, or by swiftly turning a page and seeing a little snippet of a picture of it? By sitting in a Hopi Native American lodge and learning of the sociological interactions? Hands on field work paired with the best academic resources leads to a better understanding.

This year, my children are reading several books in every subject to help give them a well rounded understanding of the subjects, as well as the ability to discern the best information, instead of just needing to parrot things back from short term memory.

This is the glimpse of why we home school. On top of that we get an added blessing. We get to enjoy these teachable moments with our children and see the magic of the learning process happening. We get a closer bond and the
ability to see the effect of the work and the sacrifice. It isn’t a second hand enjoyment. It shapes us all.

There are sacrifices. There are days that are challenging, as any teacher will confide to you. It is secondary to the joy gained. The joys of seeing our children grow into the people that they were intended to be, and knowing we made a difference.

I have many friends that are teachers in private and public schools that encourage me to home school. I admire them for their energy, enthusiasm, and intelligence. They are frustrated teaching to the mandated tests, devoting 30-36% of their time to this testing, and loosing 5 minutes at the beginning of the class to get everyone settled and 10 minutes at the end to have them pack up and organize. They also hate reteaching material at the beginning of the year and not being able to teach deeply in a subject when the kids show an interest. Limited financial incentives hurt as well. "State Standards" are pretty standard as well. Research these for your own comprehension.

We tried traditional school first. There was good there at times, but my kids are happier here. They’re challenged, allowed to sleep in to 7:30 a.m., able to slow down when needed to recharge, and able to pursue their passions and talents… and be kids. Every year we reassess, and so far everyone in is agreement. My daughter managed to accomplish two grades at once last year. Still, she still has fun doing homework assignments side by side with her friends when she wants!

As I stated earlier, every family is different, and I believe that the patience is necessary, like any teacher or mentor will tell you. It tends to come with the job!

I hope this helps!
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Differences:
-Public school is primarily run out of the school building, that is true. However, homeschooling is centered around several different places and environments. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t dress our kids in jean skirts and sweaters and make them hide out at the kitchen table all day. Homeschooling is run out of the home, out of co op classes, volunteer opportunities (homeless shelter, the library, the animal shelter, the crisis pregnancy center, the police department, the assisted living home, just to give a few in our city), the park, sports/art/music/dance/whatever lessons, internships, etc. My son is done with the majority of his work by early afternoon and has the chance to get out into the actual "real world". He’s 2-4 years ahead of grade level in nearly every subject, active in Scouts, AWANA, and sports, and volunteers every chance he gets.

-In a school, students are bound by the group lesson plan. In homeschool, each student gets a curriculum tailored to their individual needs. (And for those who say "how can this be done"…we, as parents, do actually read. Quite a bit, in fact

-In school, schedules are determined by the logistics of the school. If a student needs to start earlier or wake up later…they’re out of luck. For a homeschool student, they can do their schoolwork at the time that is best for them as individuals. Medical testing has shown this to be a benefit, as kids need differing amounts of sleep at different times during their development.

-Public schools are run on a certain calendar that cannot feasibly take into account its individual students’ needs. A homeschool calendar can be formatted to fit the individual student and family. We, for example, have a school year that runs from the beginning of June to the end of May. My son gets off a few weeks in the summer for sports tournaments, scouting events, and camp, and we take off from the week of Thanksgiving to the week after New Year’s. We can do Saturday school whenever we want, and if we need to take a day off in a week, we can. He goes an average of 240+ days per year, so he is well over the state minimum.

-In public school, kids are generally conditioned, by each other and the media, to gravitate toward people that are *just like them*. They form the understanding that they need to be alike to be accepted, and many (not all, but many) kids don’t know how to befriend someone who is not like them. I haven’t seen this once in four years of homeschooling. The kids all have different interests, different development levels, and different strengths and weaknesses, yet they accept each other until someone gives them a reason not to. I’ve seen kids who have never met each other, the first day of co op, pick up a basketball game that ranges from age 6-16. I’ve seen kids from different cities and states at homeschool conventions just walk up to another kid, introduce themselves, and they hang out together for the day. I’ve seen my 5th grade son walk over to a preschooler who is wanting attention at the library and offer to read to them while their parent is trying to get a little research done on the computer, or corral a runaway toddler at a restaurant to help a mom who’s on her last nerve. Meanwhile, the other kids in the area (most wearing a sweatshirt denoting their school) are surgically attached to their DS or PSP.

Similarities:
-Learning happens, though often at differing speeds and levels. (See independent research done by NHERI and ERIC)

-Kids have social opportunities, though usually with very different schedules. Homeschool kids tend to have a lighter schedule because their extracurriculars can begin as soon as they’re done with school, rather than having to be in school all day, come home to a couple hours of homework, and then go for their extracurriculars. Homeschool kids, on average, complete at least the same amount of work and make at least the same amount of progress as their classroom age-mates…though generally, they’re further ahead.

That’s really all I can think of for similarities. They’re both kids, and they both like to hang out and play, they just may have very different school lives and schedules.
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Homeschool Mom

K-6th grade, regular public school in a crowded city, crowded school.

6-8th grade: homeschool, rapidly advanced, high school level in most fields, college level in others

9-10th: Life happened to my parents, had to go back to regular school, once again had difficulty.

11-12th: went to college instead of highschool.

Similarities:

In my experience, we had a school devoted to homeschooling assist with it by providing textbooks, tests, quizzes, etc etc for my parents to use, all following standard school curriculum, for me to go through at my pace. It was a private school thing and cost them money, but it worked out.

So, the material learned was the same. And I’d say that Generally, most homeschool and highschool course material will be the same, at least for parents that are really trying.

I think that’s it… seriously, as you can see, the bulk of my school years was in public school/college… but the bulk of my learning was in those just 3 years of homeschooling.

Differences:

Quality of education is more or less constant in public schools. Quality of education VASTLY differs in homeschool. It can be substantially better, as in my case, or substantially worse… or about the same.

Social life: In public schools, children are forced into a poorly controlled social situation where might-makes-right… bullies and tormenters about. I was unlucky… at least twice a year in elementary school the other kids sent me to the school clinic. In homeschool, the parents can choose the social setting. Sadly, mary forget about it and choose none at all.. but others will arange for daily or near daily get togethers with other children. At church, or a homeschool meetup (those were fun) where all the homeschoolers of the area get together. Much more civilized than at school. Parents care more about their kids than teachers.

Moraltiy: In public schools, there is virtually no morality to be seen or learned. It’s something teachers aren’t allowed to teach on, and the children are dominated, as in real life, by the morally corrupt. But… in public school, they learn to accept these roles. In homeschool, the parents can (if they so choose) teach morality. I am exceedingly moral, holding the virtues above all else. That may or may not be due to homeschooling… but it certainly helped.

Though… I do think that while homeschooling has FAR greater potential that public schooling, parents considering homeschooling should be evaluated to see if they are capable of teaching their children, and to see if their work schedules allow for sufficient time with their children for the process. And the children evaluated fairly regularly (once or twice a year?) to see how they feel about the homeschooling, the nature of what they’re learning, and so on.

Reason I say that is my mother is a paramedic. She ran a call once and helped this guy who had a heart attack or something… anyways, he had a 12 year old daughter who wasn’t capable of writing down any information for my mom. She said that her father said she was too young to learn how to write O.o

Scary. Precautions should be made to prevent that, if at all possible…
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