Homeschool or Public School?

Elementary, Junior High and High school are three stages that promote social development, help establish behavior, and in turn become the stepping-stones in a child's future. For most adolescents, the impact of a public education helped in molding their life the way it is now. Adolescents not only learn how to intertwine themselves with the world around them, but character development and the base of their knowledge is formed as they progress through the school grades. So what of the small population of children who are not enrolled in a public school and try to learn these essentials through home-school?

Unlike most former students, my education began at home. Yes, I was homeschooled until my Freshman year in high school. When asked to elaborate on the differences between homeschool and public school, I find it extremely difficult to find a starting point. The line existing between the two is unimaginably wide and extensive. I applaud my mother for her effort in teaching me along with my other three siblings, but there is only so much a child can learn from within four walls. Aside from receiving one-on-one teaching day in and day out, my knowledge of the world ended there. Having the chance now to reflect upon those years of my life, I was more or less living inside of an imaginary bubble, sheltered from the rest of the world. My social interaction was limited to my family and the small group of thirty or forty other children that formed our homeschool group, Cypress Branch Christian School. I was trapped amongst a circle of friends that provided me no room to expand my social skills, talents, etc. I hear other adults my age reminiscing about their numerous life experiences growing up in the public school system, and feel as though I missed out on an important part of life. Although homeschool educated my mind to a certain degree, it left me naive and under-developed entering the next portion of my life, High school.

Literally, high school taught me what homeschool could not. Developing my social skills, personal confidence, were areas of my life that homeschool would never have been able to accomodate the way public school did. By entering highschool my eyes were opened and I was able to fore go the bubble I had been living in and expand my horizons in every direction...

In lieu of the roadblocks I had to overcome in my transition from homeschool to public school, it is entirely up to you on how you want to educate your child. However, take a minute to consider the vantage point through your child's eyes. Remember all of the memories that public-schooling imparted upon you. Look to the many friends that public school has brought you. Most importantly, look at what you have become and the success you have obtained from public schooling. Now ask yourself, "homeschool or public school?"