Is Homeschooling a Better Option Than Public School?

I’ve been a public school educator for more than a decade. I attended public school for my whole education when I was younger. I want to think that I am pretty knowledgeable about both the good and the bad of the public school system. So when I say my following statement, do with it as you will.

Homeschooling is often a much better option than sending your child to public school… in some instances. 

Of course, certain things must be considered to determine if homeschooling would yield great results for your children. But let’s look at some of the statistics. 

Better Standardized Test Scores
Standardized tests (such as the ACT and SAT) are created to determine how well students can recall and use the knowledge they have gained over the years. Homeschooled students score 15 to 30 percentile points higher than the average public school student. And this is regardless of the parent’s education of these homeschooled students.  

Furthermore, 78 percent of peer-reviewed studies continually show homeschooled students perform much better than public school students. It is no wonder that more and more colleges are actively recruiting talented homeschool students. 

However, if you are a parent of a homeschooled student and would like to prepare them the best you can for either the ACT or SAT, iAchieve has plenty of standardized test tutoring options to consider. 

Social and Emotional Learning Is Perhaps Better As Well
Having a child that shows promise with leadership skills, peer and adult interaction, positive self-esteem, community service participation, empathy towards others, and other social and emotional learning aspects is even more important than earning excellent grades.

87 percent of peer-reviewed studies indicate homeschooled children are more socially, emotionally, and psychologically developed. Research has demonstrated that, as a whole, homeschooling produces more of these positive qualities than public school. In addition, the cohesion of the closeness of the family unit is also more robust. 

And the parents of these children don’t try to take all the credit. They choose the people and activities the children are around and participate in. This includes sports teams, church, 4-H, and volunteer work. 

Safety
With school shootings and stories of severe bullying, wouldn’t we all want to keep our children home where we know it is safe? Several families that have chosen homeschooling list safety as one of the main reasons they have decided to make the change. 

Homeschooling Takes Dedication and More
Of course, it is more challenging than just saying you will start homeschooling your children. Everything needs to fall into place.

• Is your schedule free? Are you able to be home all the time during the day? 
• Do you have a curriculum in mind? There are plenty of free ones online if you want help choosing what to teach.
• Are your kids going to accept being homeschooled?
• Will your children listen to you as a teacher? 

Sometimes children have difficulty listening to their parents try to educate them about a topic. I have seen it firsthand as a teacher and as a parent. Because of this, homeschooling may not work for all. It would take some adjustment, for sure. But with the benefits seemingly outweighing the current concerns, especially with so many chances to socialize with other children their age in various activities outside of public school, homeschooling should be strongly considered if you are not currently happy with your kids’ education.

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