A Different Way: Comparison of School Options

In this series on education choices for our children, I wanted to give the notes that I collected (mostly from around 5 years ago, as Hannah was nearing school age) from families who were years ahead of us. Nothing fancy, just the pros and cons that were given to us. What I like most is that these insights were given to us by families who had each been involved with multiple education options, so they could give a complete and honest assessment.

image courtesy of arroclint via sxc.hu

Home School

Advantages

Simple and good at an early age, with focus on reading
Can lay and develop a spiritual foundation
Maturity issue: you can make sure that they are stable in their identity before being around a lot of kids, so they won’t get lost
Flexibility with time and vacations
Great student:teacher ratio, so you can focus on and customize education to specific academic needs
Great emotional benefits; kids’ love tanks are full because of so much time together
Children’s primary identity is to family, ahead of peer identity

Disadvantages

Be mindful of how you use time; it is harmful to be either too regimented (no one will enjoy it) or too laid back (easy to get off track)
Need to remember that you still have a life to live, with other roles and responsibilities. It gets easy to isolate and draw back into the family; need to keep moving towards other relationships.
Can be challenging to teach multiple kids and ages
Homeschooling with younger children can be hard; challenge to keep toddlers busy
Setting stands; it’s easy as a “loving parent” to give kids a bye or overlook things. In school, if you don’t do the work, you get an “F” – it’s not personal)
At some point, you need to teach them to be in and to deal with the world

Private School

Advantages

Can find a school with the same foundational beliefs
Smallness and openness; parents can usually come in an out any time
Often have great academic standards

Disadvantages

Parents can get complacent, relying too much on the school, especially for spiritual development
Cost
Can be easy to withdraw from engaging the culture

Public School

Advantages

Can have an advantage for academics because have many more opportunities, especially at higher grades
It is good for kids to be around non-Christians before going off to college
Great opportunity to teach kids to be in and to deal with the world