Private School versus Homeschool?

Question

I know that a lot of people here are completely against public schools (a bit irrational, in my opinion, but that's another issue), so I was wondering what everyone thought about private school. I go to one, and I wouldn't trade it for homeschooling at this point. So what are some differences between homeschooling and attending a private school?

Mine is excellent; I am able to be advanced in math, and take three languages concurrently. I can study what I like, and get graded fairly. I interact with intelligent, mature kids. I get fabulous college counseling, and go to a school that sent 7 out 120 kids to Princeton alone. I have over 50 clubs to choose from, many at state and national levels. I have a stress-free life and the ability to pursue whatever I want.

So how does this compare to the homeschooling experience? Are there any major differences? I wouldn't say that one is better than the other, but how are the similar? Different?

Answer 1

I think you may have misunderstood many of the people in here. I'd say most of us who homeschool and share the pros of homeschooling include negatives of public school because thats what was asked. You'll notice that many people say that it's a personal decision and not for everybody. I'm against the idea of sending my kids to public school for the time being; I'm not against public schools. And I'm certainly not against people going to public schools. There's a difference.

*What are some of the differences between homeschooling and private school?*

At a private school:

-You're not being raised full-time by your parents.

-You're not spending as much time with your siblings.

-You don't have a say over your schedule (you can't just tell the school that you want classes to start at 7:45 because that's when you're ready to start).

-Your parents aren't as aware and involved in your education.

-You are at the mercy of the pace dictated by the teacher and/or other students.

-You are having most of your day dictated to you in terms of what to do and when.

-You have less free time.

-You are surrounded pretty much only by kids your age for most of the day.

Compare this to homeschooling where what we do and what is common among other homeschooling families I know:

-Parents get to raise their children.

-The extra time spent with siblings encourages stronger bonds and friendship than if you only see them a couple of hours a day.

-There is great flexibility in the scheduling, with many homeschooling students done all their work before lunch time (and they don't have homework afterwards).

-Parents not only have a say in the course content but know everything the child is learning.

-Students can go their pace, which may be faster in one area or slower in another.

-A number of homeschoolers are unschoolers who choose entirely what they will learn and when. The rest have some sort of structure but very, very few dictate what their children will do the entire school day. Many give a certain amount of freedom and choice to the kids during their work time. Most kids have a substantial amount of free time to follow their interests--when they want for how long they want, not according to a schedule. Or free time to just be kids.

-Homeschooled students tend to spend time around various ages, which is definitely better for social development than being primarily only with kids the same age.

-I've heard anecdotal evidence of business managers and owners really appreciating their homeschooled employees' ability to be self-directed instead of waiting to be told what to do and when.

You brought up you were able to be advanced in math. That's definitely a possibility for many homeschoolers, too. You mentioned taking 3 languages concurrently. A homeschooled student could do the same if they so chose. (Actually, I know a few families that are studying at least two languages at the same time--starting at a young age, which is better than starting when older. And the parents get to be in on it and learn the languages, too.) You study what you like--that is similar to many homeschooling families. I don't know any families with 120 kids, so I can't give a comparison for Princeton. ;) And where I live, there are a growing number of clubs for homeschoolers. (I'm not in the US, so we don't have state/national level clubs, not even in public or private schools.)

That you have a stress-free life doesn't necessarily say anything about the school but of a good fit between you and the school. Are all the students at the school living a stress-free life? If so, then that's a one-of-a-kind private school. You are a lucky one who has found a good fit. Many families have begun homeschooling after finding that their kids' school and the kid aren't a good fit. Sometimes the kids were at private schools. (I actually met a mom just the other day whose kids are at a private school and there are some issues that aren't going away and likely won't go away and she's thinking of homeschooling.) But that's what educational choice is about: being able to find a good fit if you want it. Homeschooling parents care a lot about having a good fit and either didn't find it elsewhere or don't believe they will find it elsewhere. Of course, there are some of us who just really don't believe that young children should be spending 35 hours a week with a primary caregiver other than a parent, surrounded by same-age peers.

Let me say that if my kids were high school age and we could afford to send them to a great private school that they were interested in and had a good reputation, I'd definitely consider it. But they aren't, they're only 6 and 9 and I didn't have them so that I could only be their primary caregiver and guiding force for 4 years to then send them off to strangers for the bulk of their waking hours for the next 13 (k-12 is 13 years before anybody questions my math skills ;) ).

ADDED: I would LOVE to know which answer got 10 thumbs down by being "open-minded" when talking about public schools. The comments are often not even a direct answer to the question, which just begs the question "Why did you write that if not to put down homeschooling?" or there is some little (or large) prejudcial remark in it. I get thumbs down on answers where I'm sharing what we do all day. And *we're* the closed-minded ones?

SECOND ADDITION:

Okay, I had a look at the answers you were looking at with the thumbs down.

*The first one was just being rude.

*The second one outright says that homeschooled kids can't do things with other people and that they're isolated. This is false.

*The third was poorly written and still gave the impression that homeschooled kids don't do things with other people--"don't have much of a chance," "serious drawback". As a homeschooling parent of 4 years and having been involved with homeschoolers here for 6 years, I have to disagree.

*The fourth thumbs down was a recommendation to homeschool simply because that person wouldn't enjoy homeschooling. And it doesn't even answer anything about homeschooling which is what the person asking the question was looking for.

Answer 2

to be honest with you i still like public school best but if i had to pick between those two i would definatley do private school, here you can make friends and actually have a social life. No one wants to be stuck at home with their parents ALL DAY LONG. Part of growing up is for social interaction, school should not only be about learing book wise but also learning about your peers and about life. That is one mian thing homeschooling cant, and never will be able to, teach you.

Answer 3

whoah, there's a huge difference.  Private school is much, much closer to public school.  You are organized by grade and put in with other kids you don't have to know.  In homeschooling, you are completely in control.  You can pick and choose exactly who you want to be in your classes and how many people.  It depends on your lifestyle.  With homeschooling, you can sleep in till noon each morning, and go to bed at 2 in the morning, doing work all night.  It fits into whatever mold you make for it.   That is the big difference.  Plus, NO TESTS!  By law, there are no tests enforced upon ANY homeschooled child.  Unless the parent, or teacher, pays and sets up a test in a professional tesing agency, by choice, homeschoolers could never take a test up till the Sats.  In my opinion, homeschool is the way to go, if you chose to do so, you can give your child many experiences they would not otherwise have.  Such as fieldtrips, and even week long road trips with classmates, which are friends, because in most cases, the child gets to pick who's in their class.  And you don't have to do it alone.  There are huge support communities all over the US.  Just sign up for one of those, and they have organized classes as well, which is closer to private school.  But overall, homeschool ranges from staying at home, alone, all day doing book work, to getting up at 6 and driving all over the county to different libraries and houses to meet other homeshooled children to do personally modified, exceptional classes.  

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I was homeschooled for 3 years and I didn't like it in the end. I was missing my friends, going from seeing them every day to never seeing them. I wanted to play sports and when High school came to go to the prom and dances and all. IT was nice at times to do get ahead of your school work, but I didn't take it too seriously. I would get all of my work done for the day between 8am-noon and then had the rest of the day to do whatever. In my opinion private school would have been better.

Answer 5

I was homeschooled. It wasnt that bad... I only went to school 1 day a week.. and sometime for tests or whatever... It's good if your child has a hard time with attendance.

Answer 6

go home school

Answer 7

Homeschooling is a calling.  We have done all three: public, private and now homeschool.  In fact we went from homeschooling to an ivy-league private school and went back to homeschooling.  Your private school experience sounds great and looks like you will have wonderful memories.  By your vocabulary and 'maturity' that comes through your post, you are on your way to being a great adult.  We chose to homeschool again when our private school was getting too crowded and my youngest was having math difficulties.  Many times private schools don't have the tools for those students that are 'below' the average, while there are opportunities like you have for being 'above' average.  My olders boys were getting bored even though they were in advanced classes and they needed more challenges.

Regarding the 'socialization' question, we are in a homeschool group of 37 familes that meet weekly.  We have over 120 kids in our group so we are, in essence, our own school.  :-)   Every summer we have college recruiters hounding our group as well as others to lure homeschooled children to their universities.  

I want to address the statement that parents are 'qualified'.  I do not have a degree in teaching.  In fact I don't have a bachelor's (I'm shy by 9 hours) but I have taught in the public school system and also would substitute teach at a private school in our area when my boys were in private school.  

I am still on the roster for substitute teaching in our county public school system and occasionally will sub to get some extra money.  According to the Department of Education, only 50% of the public school teachers in our nation have a degree in education. The rest have degrees that are not even related in their field of education (like a shop teacher teaching history) or a degree in engineering teaching math.  

Homeschooling is wonderful, but it is only as good as how much work the parent wants to put forth.  I have seen homeschooling parents that should not be homeschooling because they are lazy and don't seek out opportunities for their kids to become involved with other kids in the community, etc.  No matter what the choice, it's a challenge for we parents to decide what is right for our kids.  

Sounds like your parents have you on the right path for you.  Good luck.

Answer 8

homeschooling is only as good as the parents or live in teacher is ..

private schools have the resorces to give the kids all the educational needs possible.

and to your public school quirk... most public schools are nothing more then democratic brainwashing of children

Answer 9

I do not think that most people here are completely against public schools.  Perhaps they just strongly believe that public schools are not right for their families.

I just began homeschooling a first grader in November 2006, so I consider myself to be a newbie to homeschooling.  My child attended two years of public school pre-kindergarten and a private school for kindergarten.  At public school pre-kindergarten, he learned very little in the classroom.  In fact, most of what he leaned, I taught him at home.

He learned a lot during his year at private kindergarten; however, resources were not available to send him to a private elementary school.  However, I applied to many of the "better" public schools for him, and he was admitted to one of them for first grade.

Therefore, my son went to a magnet school for first grade, complained of boredom and "baby work" being done that he had already done in private school kindergarten.  We then tried "public school at home" via a virtual school which was not a good fit.  Finally, I decided to homeschool my son with the curriculum of my choice.

In July 2007, he was diagnosed as cognitively gifted.  Therefore, homeschooling is a better option than a child who loves to learn being bored in school and "acting out" due to boredom.

From my experience with private schools and my current homeschool, I would say there are similarities  and differences between a quality private school and a quality homeschool.   Following are some differences between home schools and private schools:

1) the time school starts

2) one on one teaching/tutoring available in homeschool

3) the amount of experiential learning/field trips

4) someone who loves you and has a vested interest in your education, spiritual life, health, etc.

Following are some similarities between homeschool and private school:

1) advanced work in math and other subjects

2) taking three languages concurrently (if desired)

3) college counseling

4) myriad clubs and activities

5) ability to attend Princeton, Harvard, Stanford or any other Ivy league school if one works hard

5) ability to pursue whatever the student wants to pursue

I would not say one is better than the other either, but I would say that homeschooling is not just about one's education, but it is a lifestyle that puts family first.

Answer 10

Well, if I was to go to school, it would have to be a private school. The closest public High School is approximately 500 miles away from our house so logistics alone rule that out for us. I'd have to go to a private boarding school and, with 9 kids, at $25,000 a go (p.a.), that's not an option either. Plus, without going into any sort of detail, I have a problem healthwise which means that by definition any school, private or public, is not able to meet my needs.

I reckon private school is (potentially) better than public school cuz, in common with homeschoolers, they are free to provide a wider range of education by means of existing outwith of state control and regulation.

Private schools still have to exist to serve the group to some extent rather than the individual though: they're still not able to accomodate the wishes and needs of every student. Try telling your maths teacher that you'll be there for that week's maths lessons at 6am on Sunday morning and see how well that system works when everyone else in your class also decides they too will turn up at different times on different days! As good as your school is, I suspect it would still struggle to cope if more than a handful of individual students needed to set their own timetables and routines in the way many homeschooled kids do. As a family, we're unschoolers so the thought of any fixed timetable is anathema to us.

Also private school still runs contrary to the belief that wherever possible parents should take responsibility for raising their own kids and not simply hand them over to the Nanny (the school) to raise for them. One only has to look around to see how, time and time again, schools (private or public) try to influence and ultimately control aspects of children's lives that have very little, if anything, to do with the child's ability to learn!

Answer 11

First, let me say that not all private schools are the same.  It sounds like you attend one that you really like and enjoy; and I'm glad for you.  I've also read about private schools that were so intensely competitive that the kids were complaining because they were forced to have a study hall and lunch period.    

I attended Catholic school for twelve years.  I probably could have had more academic opportunities at a public school with a better honors program; however, I probably would not have received the more personal attention and caring that I received in private school, particularly in high school.  

The class that I enjoyed the most, though, was my pre-calculus class because it was squeezed into my schedule as an independent study.  (I would have had to choose between pre-cal and college credit Spanish because my grade's religion classes were only offered at those same two periods).  I would meet the vice-principal, who was the teacher, in her office.  She would go over the concept, answer any questions, assign me a handful of problems, and tell me to check them in the answer key when I was done.  Then I was free to do other work the rest of the period.  It was almost like homeschooling.

In the end, though private schools follow the same basic form as public schools; they just often have more discipline and personal caring, as well as a higher price tag.  Teaching is aimed at the "average" student, there is usually a ton of busy work and homework, students have very little say in what they are taught (even if you pick all of your own classes you still have to work at the pace determined by the teacher covering whatever parts of that subject the teacher wishes to cover), there are not many accomodations made for kinesthetic learners; and unsupervised, private time is not allowed.  Students with different learning styles, low sensory thresholds, or health problems that effect concentration are often labeled learning disabled, ADD/ADHD, or problem children because they are unable to conform to unrealistic expectations.  They also basically hold children prisoner for six to eight hours day in age-segregated groups with a propensity for more negative social experiences.

You seem like an extremely intelligent young person, so I'm going to recommend two books.  The first one is "The Underground History of American Education" by John Taylor Gatto.  In fact you can read some of this book as well as his other articles and speeches on Wikipedia at this link:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor...

It will give you a better understanding of why many homeschoolers are against compulsory education, whether it be public or private.

The second book is "Colleges that Change Lives" by Loren Pope.  It talks about how Ivy League colleges don't often live up to the hype, and it introduces 40 schools that can really make a difference for those who really want an education, not just a degree.  Most of these are small private colleges that think outside the box and see students as more than just a collection of test scores and extra-curricular activities.

Thank you for asking such a thoughtful and intelligent question.

I also want to recommend one more book:  "Homeschooling and the Voyage of Self-Discovery" by David H. Albert.  Not only does it have a magnificently researched essay on systematic racism in this country, but it also discussed many educational issues such standardized testing.  One of the most personally influential chapters discusses "Flow Theory" by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and its relation to compulsory schooling.

Answer 12

Homeschooling involves a completely different lifestyle from the one lived by families with all of their kids in traditional classroom setting (whether public or private).

Schooling in a traditional classroom is, out of necessity, one size fits all whereas homeschooling is flexible and can be adjusted to meet the needs of each student.

Homeschooling very rarely looks anything like a traditional classroom. It allows the teacher and student the time and flexibility to take advantage of  learning opportunities wherever they exist. From local museums to national parks, to road trips.  In traditional schools, field trips are rare and most teaching takes place in the classroom rather than in the real world.  

Homeschooling usually results in closer families and less sibling rivalry.  This occurs because parents and their children really get to know each other. This type of family connection rarely occurs when family members spend the majority of their time in separate places.

Just a note: Homeschoolers have the opportunity for penty of social interaction outside of the home.  They have to go look for it, because it is not built in, but there are many opportunities including:

Homeschool groups

Scouting

Community Sports teams

Church

Community college classes

Volunteer work

Part time jobs

Art classes

dance classes

music lessons

local theatre companies

getting to know their neighbors

Answer 13

The kind of school you are talking about is probably more expensive than our family could afford.  Another problem for that type of school would be that we have a student with learning problems which have contributed him to be an underachiever.   I would love to find a school that would be able to teach him, to be able to motivate him, to teach him in his learning style,and to keep trying  to make sure a concept is understood.  

We, by choice, are in low paying jobs.  My husband and I have both 'downsized' to be able to concentrate on the important things of life.  We have a small window of opportunity to influence our child.

We could possibly find the perfect private school that would accommodate our son. I'm sure we won't find one that is paid by tax dollars.

It would mean that we would find higher paying jobs that would be more stressful and time consuming.  

It would mean spending these few years of raising a child, apart from him.

I am very impressed with your question and your writing.

I do want to make one more comment on the 'thumbs down'.  I do not give thumbs down on people who give answers that oppose home school.  I do give thumbs down on people who say ' Send your kid to public school.  Home school is taught by unqualified parents and there is no socialization'.  These people are uninformed.

Answer 14

I don't think one can exactly compare private school to homeschooling. They both have huge differences but also huge similarities (which I'm sure are already mentioned in the responses of those who responded to this faster than I did).

A private school would give a more academically-focused person more of an edge towards college for academic subjects - math, science, the like.

Someone who is homeschooled has more of an advantage when it comes to time management (since schooling at home is flexible and continuous) and more open subjects - art, for example, requires open-mindedness (which may be difficult when you have to compete with your five other genius classmates for who draws the best so-and-so in private school).

Answer 15

well for me the difference is that if you are in private school you are more sociable but if yo are in home school you are focus on studies only you miss the social part of being a student

Answer 16

This is next to impossible to draw a comparison.  All homeschooling, public, private or parochial schools have different philosophies and different results.  

I homeschooled my children for several years. Put them in a private school- educational material was better but morals were horrible.  Public school was next and that was chaotic.  Perhaps the resources were better but the environment was horrible.  

My wish, I wish I was more comfortable with homeschooling and had the resources but I do treasure the time I spent with my children and the bond we have today is directly related to that precious time.  That is sooooo much more important to me but I was not willing to allow them to lack in academics either.