Were you HOMESCHOOLED or PUBLIC SCHOOLED?

[cluckmecoop7]

Which do think is better? What's your opinion? Please vote!
This is a fun poll and discussion - no real arguments

 

[NatJ]

Your list is missing private school.

It is also missing correspondence school, which is what I did for most of my years growing up. It's when there is a school, with teachers, but the student does not go there in person. Books and assignments go back and forth by mail (or now by internet.)

If you are really trying to figure out who went to a physical school building, and who did their schoolwork at home, then you might want to reword it a little bit.

What is best probably depends on the person and the situation.

In my case, I attended a public elementary school for a few years, but I was always ahead of my class and didn't really make friends with the other students. There was no other reasonable choice of school locally, but my mother did not feel comfortable trying to figure out all the details of what should be taught in which grades. So the correspondence school was a good choice for us. It provided the books, and a lesson plan of what to study when, and the tests to take, and it also provided the final grades and eventually a diploma and high school transcript (which was convenient when I went to college.)

 

[EmmaRainboe]

Neither.

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

you need private school and charter school.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

I went to a Montessori school from when I was three years old through early highschool. I then switched to a private alternative school, which was still very Montessori-like.

 

[EverythingDucks]

I wouldn't say one of the other is better, it depends on the individual. Some people thrive in a public school setting but others, including me, have done much better with homeschooling.

There are hundreds of different programs and text books that could be used with homeschooling, so no two homeschoolers are going to get the same education. But that isn't a bad thing. With homeschooling, the student get a much more individualized education. Rather than being in a class room with thirty kids, and having to learn all the ways to do things so everyone understands well enough, the parent can spend more time with their child and help them find how they learn.
I'm more of a visual learner, so finding an online curriculum or text books for that have helped. And since I'm not wasting my time trying to learn things in ways that don't work for me, I've been able to explore things that interest me.
If I was not homeschooled I wouldn't be where I am today. I get to spend all my free time outside. That's how I met two wild ducks, and created a bond with them because I had the time to do so. And I got to research them in my own time.
Thats how I ended up here, and how I'm now getting chicken and goats soon.

One big misconception about homeschooling is that the parent needs to be a teacher and know everything. While that may have been true 20 years ago, with the internet now its easy to find online curriculums and order text books for their individual needs and interests.

And with things like YouTube, I can learn a lot about the things I'm interested in. For example, I've obsessed with snakes. That doesn't mean I have to have a parent that knows everything about them to teach me. The parents job is to provide their children with resources to learn about things on there own.
I'm able to learn almost everything I wat to know about snakes just through YouTube videos and books.

Again, homeschooling isn't for everyone. But for those who can, I think its great and I'm grateful that I was homeschooled so I could do all the things I've wanted.

 

[Isadora]

One big misconception about homeschooling is that the parent needs to be a teacher and know everything.

Ugh, yes. I was homeschooled and if we were ever out in public on a school day we would often have strangers ask us if it was a holiday. When we answered that we were homeschooled, my mom would get quizzed on her expertise, as far as whether she was an actual teacher or not, or people would start asking us kids random math questions. RUDE! I plan on homeschooling my kids and I will be pretty aggressive if anyone insinuates that my kids are getting a less than stellar education.
As you mentioned, I love that homeschooling is very individualized. People learn in different ways and also have different interests, and there's so much flexibility offered with homeschooling.

 

[EverythingDucks]

Ugh, yes. I was homeschooled and if we were ever out in public on a school day we would often have strangers ask us if it was a holiday. When we answered that we were homeschooled, my mom would get quizzed on her expertise, as far as whether she was an actual teacher or not, or people would start asking us kids random math questions. RUDE! I plan on homeschooling my kids and I will be pretty aggressive if anyone insinuates that my kids are getting a less than stellar education.
As you mentioned, I love that homeschooling is very individualized. People learn in different ways and also have different interests, and there's so much flexibility offered with homeschooling.

I can't even tell you how many times random people have tried to quiz me on math.
Next time someone does that I think l'll quiz them

Since covid though lots more people are homeschooling. I've seen people who previously criticized homeschooling go on to homeschooled their own kids and then act like know it alls after homeschooling for a few months.

Something I've noticed a lot with parents who are new to homeschooling is that the try to replicate public school at home. As in they try to teach the same things in the same way, just at home. Mainly with tests.
The thing is with public school, most of the time kids are taught to memorize problems for a test. A lot of kids don't actually absorb that information.

Learning becomes a lot more enjoyable when you learn what you're interested in and learn the way that works best for you, rather than memorizing boring questions and answers for a test.

 

[EmmaRainboe]

The thing is with public school, most of the time kids are taught to memorize problems for a test. A lot of kids don't actually absorb that information.

This. This.

This is why I cannot thrive in a standard public school environment. I want to learn. I do not want to memorize a multiplication table, or some dumb formulas. I want to know HOW it works, and WHY.

I want to do the work, not know the answer.
I don't care about memorizing the answer, I care about learning the process.

 

[629522]

I went to public school during the H. Ross Perot era, anyone remember him? I was in Fundamentals of Math with our football team because y'all know how we feel about football in Texas. My parents were hands off and I was largely ignored academically. I was diagnosed with inattentive type ADD at 40 and it explained so much. I'm not a parent but I am a fan of home schooling. I have witnessed college instructors spouting their message to kids who don't know or who are reluctant to offer differing opinions. I think the greatest skill is learning to question things and be a critical thinker.