Suja's Discussion Text

Homeschooling vs. Public School

      In this modern life, homeschooling is legal in many countries such as Indonesia, even countries with the most prevalent home education movements include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, The United States. Homeschooling is education system for children at home, typically by parents or by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school. Moreover, homeschooling is a legal option for parents that allowing them to provide their children with a learning environment as an alternative to public or private schools (homeschooling). However, the different views between pro and con about homeschooling are still raising up.

      In one study, many people do not agree with homeschooling system. They said that homeschooling is not an effective way in learning because its learning process is not as good as at public school. In the public school, we get the knowledge through interaction and socialize between teachers-students and students-students, which involve asking and giving opinion each other. Through this process, we can develop our cooperative sense on it. Meanwhile, in homeschooling, it is a little bit less of cooperative because the homeschoolers do not have any friends to discuss and share with. As a result, they only increase their individualism.

In the different study, homeschoolers are not as creative as students in the public school. Staci Eastin, a mother of homeschoolers and a teacher of homeschooling said, “It is the same thing with education. In the past week, I have attended a public school track meet, band concert and a choir concert. All of those are things I could not duplicate in my home-school community.” Likewise, we can say that homeschooling do not have any activity which increase students’ creativity like a regular school have.

      On the other hand, homeschooling is one of educational processes to explore the knowledge. Holt, an American author (1980), said ”I want to make it clear that I do not see homeschooling as some kind of answer to badness of schools. I think home is the proper base for the exploration of the world which we call learning or education. Home would be the best base no matter how good the schools.” In other way, home is the first best base place to learn or educate, no matter how good the schools.

In the same way, by using homeschooling as a system of learning, the homeschoolers also have a chance to be nearer with their family, especially their parents because they just need to study at home and teach by teachers or parents. It will be an easy way for parents to control their children and avoid them from negative acts. Most of parents have their own reason why they choose homeschooling.

In short, homeschooling can be more profitable and useful for many people, especially parents, rather than in the public school. Even though homeschooling is not as good as public school, in some cases it makes many parents who home-school their children would be easier in controlling their children. I prefer to study at public school than homeschooling because it is capable to raise up student’s creativity, socialization and interaction in their life.

References:

Eastin, Staci. 2013. Homeschool Versus Public School: A Few Thoughts. http://writingandliving.net/2013/04/24/homeschool-versus-public-school-a-few-thoughts/. (retrieved on April 24^th, 2013)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeschooling