Is home schooling better than private school?

There are a large number of excellent private schools, and even a few public schools. Some private schools are known to be among the best and a large percentage of children attending them do well at getting into the best colleges. There are also equally outstanding public schools with great teachers who truly care about giving children the best education.

However, although you can screen which school to send your child by looking at charts and statistics, it is difficult to guarantee that you are sending your child to the right school. Perhaps that particular good private school is not teaching your child what your child should be learning. Perhaps your child is not getting along with some of the teachers causing learning disadvantages. Or, your child may even be bullied by some of the older children there.

There could be many factors that hold back the progress of children. With home schooling, you can select to teach your child just what he or she needs to learn. You can be as encouraging and intensive as you child can personally handle. Some differences between home schooling and attending private schools are outlined below. It may be helpful to make a list of advantages and disadvantages of home schooling for you if you are deciding whether to home school your child or not. Remember, your list will be different from another parent's list.

Home Schooling

• Your child gets the teacher's full attention, one-on-one.
• Your child learns at his or her own pace.
• Your child gets to practice what he or she has missed and skip what has been mastered.
• Your child will be in a safe environment with no bullies and conflicts with teachers.
• The cost is lower than for private school. 
• Children who have been home schooling usually appear more confident than those who attend public schools and some private schools. They are unlikely to have problems expressing their opinion to adults on an intelligent and equal basis.
• If your child does not understand a lesson, he or she is more likely to admit to it and want it gone over until he or she understands it.

Private School

• There is one teacher per at least a few children.
• Your child learns at the class' pace. That means if your child is brighter than the class' average, your child will have to slow down. The opposite is true. If your child is slower than the class, your child will not have the attention he or she needs to progress. Your child could end up being left behind and teased by other kids.
• There could be pressure from other kids. For example, if your child is smart, he or she may not want to show it in fear of being called a nerd by other kids. Also, if your child is slower than other kids, he or she may be forced to go into his or her shell, hiding in embarassment. This causes a learning blockage in a child's learning ability. Once this happens, it could be very hard to convince a child that it is good to learn anything again.
• There is also a safety issue at school. With your child gone for the whole day, you cannot keep an eye on him or her.
• The cost for a private shool is usually much higher than home schooling.
• The same curriculum is used for the whole class.
• If your child does not understand something, he or she is more likely to pretend to understand it to avoid embarrasment and to move along with the class. With a big class, more children get left behind even it it is unintentional.