As a new parent, one must eventually face the big question -what is the best type of education for your child, public or home school? This is such a huge question, and one that can make or break the child. Choosing the correct type of schooling can decide how well the child does in life, or what college he or she may attend. “A con or a pro, depending on how you look at it is that children and parents are in the same vicinity for days at a time. Some parents cherish that time with their children and some parents are driven crazy if their kids are not out of the house. Again, going back to the first considerations, you must analyze yours and your children’s needs.” (Education Bug) There are pros and cons to both, just like Education Bug suggests. The parent will need to address both sides and see what is best for their child and their family environment.
Public schooling is beneficial for a child, despite some drawbacks, because it can provide active social development, extracurricular activities, and teaches the child to work in a team environment. Public school offers interaction with peers and other children. This will help develop their social skills, which in turn will help them become more successful in life. Public school teaches the child to learn from others, like teachers and students, instead of just the parent. Going to public school will help the child to learn what learning skills benefit them the most. Like how they learn hands on or by reading and then doing. Going to public school also has its cons: it can subject the child to peer-pressure and bullying.
If the child was homeschooled, he or she would not encounter as many situations for possible peer-pressure or bullying. Homeschooling also helps by allowing the child to learn at their own pace. Sometime certain subjects are harder for a child and they need a little more time to focus on that subject. Public schooling sometimes does not offer this as they are on a strict schedule and the teachers have twenty-plus other students to attend to. There is also the one on one time the child has with his teacher/parent that he/she would not get in the public school. The following are some statics that show why parents have chosen to remove or enroll their child in homeschooling: “In 2007, the most common reason parents gave as the most important was a desire to provide religious or moral instruction (36 percent of students). This reason was followed by a concern about the school environment (such as safety, drugs, or negative peer pressure) (21 percent), dissatisfaction with academic instruction (17 percent), and "other reasons" including family time, finances, travel, and distance (14 percent).” (Institute of education scientists.) These statics show valid reasons as to why a parent would chose homeschooling over public schooling.
In public school the child has many options for extracurricular activities like after school tutoring, sports, year book, or the school newspaper. There are plenty of opportunities to find out what interest the child, not what the parent wants the child to be interested in. Having after school extracurricular activities helps the parents if they work a full time job. The child learns and develops appreciation for an accomplishment, like when they win their first baseball game. The parent may not need to pay for daycare or some type of nanny if the child is participating in an extracurricular activity. Participating in extracurricular activities with public school can hurt the family budget as well. Not only is the budget affected, it also cuts down on the one on one time among the family. “For some families, the costs of their student's participation in extracurricular activities is simply too much. With shrinking budgets, schools contribute less and less to help cover the costs of activities.” (Adkins) There are proven facts with today’s economy and the school budget shrinking each year more financial