This document compares and contrasts public school and homeschool. It discusses the history of formalized education beginning with self-directed learning by children and transitioning to schools for learning needed skills. The main differences discussed are curriculum choice, social experiences, and extracurricular opportunities. However, both environments provide learning about the world and are now utilizing online learning platforms. In conclusion, the best environment depends on meeting a child's learning goals, though both public school and homeschool can achieve this.

1. WHICH IS BETTER?
COMPARING AND CONTRASTING
PUBLIC SCHOOL VS.
HOMESCHOOL.
Kristen Hyde
Ms. Zimmerman
ENG 102-W07
3 December 2017

2. PUBLIC SCHOOL VS. HOMESCHOOL
INTRODUCTION:
 While public school and home school are two
very different environments, they are both
places that provide children with learning and
experiences about the world around them.
 While comparing these two school
environments, the many differences and the
many similarities of public school and
homeschool, and the history of school itself will
be discussed.
In some instances the type of school that
people may choose is simply a preference of
either environment, learning styles, and/or
knowing what the curriculum may or may not
be.

3. THE
HISTORY
OF
SCHOOL.
 Peter Gray wrote in Psychology Today, “In the beginning, for
hundreds of thousands of years, children educated themselves
through self-directed play and exploration.”(Gray).
 With agriculture on the rise and industry to follow, the play
method of education became forgotten as children were made to
labor. (Gray).
 “As industry progressed and became somewhat more automated,
the need for child labor declined in some parts of the world. The
idea began to spread that childhood should be a time for learning,
and schools for children were developed as places of learning. The
idea and practice of universal, compulsory public education
developed gradually in Europe, from the early 16th century on into
the 19th.” (Gray).

4. WHY IS THE TYPE OF
SCHOOL
IMPORTANT!
Choosing which
school a child
should be apart of is
crucial to how a
child will be
educated.
Will a child be best
suited for public
school or
homeschool?
The different social
aspects of public
and home school
are also important
to consider when
deciding the type of
educational
experiences a child
will have.
Deciding on what
curriculum best suits
a child is also
important based on
how a child best
learns.
Homeschool
Public School

5. DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
PUBLIC SCHOOL
AND
HOMESCHOOL.
Public school
curriculum is usually
picked by the local
government, the school
system, or possibly the
school itself (Perles).
Home school
curriculum can pick
there own curriculum
based on how the child
learns and what fits
them the best (Perles).

6. DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
PUBLIC SCHOOL
AND
HOMESCHOOL.
In public school a child in
several classrooms with
many children through out
the day. This makes for a lot
of different social
experiences for the
child.(Perles)
In homeschool a child is
usually only with their
siblings (if they have any)
and isn’t exposed to any
other children through out
the day. This may make a
child not very socially
equipped or aware.(Perles)

7. DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN
PUBLIC SCHOOL
AND
HOMESCHOOL.
Most children in public school
have many opportunities at
recreational activities, i.e.
sports and clubs. This
provides the students with
many advantages to receive
scholarships or simply more
social activities in a whole
other category aside from
academics.
Most children in homeschool
do not have as much access
to recreational activates such
as sports and clubs. The
access they do have is very
minimal. Most homeschool
students do not get the
opportunity to have this
advantage for another avenue
to receive school scholarship
or have more social activities.

8. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PUBLIC SCHOOL AND
HOMESCHOOL.
Public school and
homeschool have many
differences, but there
are a couple similarities
that they both have in
common.
Public school and
homeschool are both
places where students
can learn and explore
things about the world
around them.
Public school and
homeschool both are
taking advantage of the
online learning
system.(Hoffman).

9. SIMILARITIES
BETWEEN
PUBLIC SCHOOL
AND
HOMESCHOOL.
Public school and
homeschool are both
places where students
can learn and explore
things about the world
around them.
Both of these educational
settings provide a safe
place for students to learn
about many things in the
world around them.
The students learn an
array of things, including
but not limited to: math,
English, writing, reading,
science, agriculture,
geography, social studies,
history, and much more.
This is a major similarity
that is more important
than any other. The art of
education and learning
goes on in both of these
environments.

10. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN PUBLIC SCHOOL
AND HOMESCHOOL.
Public school and
homeschool both are
taking advantage of the
online learning
system.(Hoffman).
Both of these educational
settings provide online
learning for many
reasons…
Promotes ownership of
learning, causing
students to want to take
initiative to meet the
learning goals.(Hoffman).
Easy to track progress,
allows parents and
teachers to access what
the student has learned,
where they are struggling,
and the direction they are
heading.(Hoffman)
Accommodates, learning
pace needs, allows the
student to learn in his/her
own individual
pace.(Hoffman)
offers flexibility, provides
time to work outside of a
traditional
schedule.(Hoffman)

11. PUBLIC SCHOOL VS.
HOMESCHOOL
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, it is best for a child to be in the
correct environment for them to achieve their
learning goals, whether it be public school or
homeschool .
We have compared these two school
environments, the many differences and the many
similarities of public school and homeschool, and
the history of school have been discussed.
While public school and home school are two very
different environments, they are both places that
provide children with learning and experiences
about the world around them.

12. WORKS CITED
Gray, Peter. "A Brief History of Education To understand schools we must view them in historical
perspective." Psychology Today, 20 Aug. 2008, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-
learn/200808/brief-history-education. Accessed 18 Nov. 2017.
Hoffman, J. Global Student Network, 10 Dec. 2013. Google,
https://www.globalstudentnetwork.com/homeschool-and-public-school-have-this-in-common/.
Accessed 17 Nov. 2017
Perles, Keren. "Comparing Homeschooling to Public Schooling." Bright Hub Education, edited by Laurie
Patsalides, 5 Jan. 2012. Google, www.brighthubeducation.com/homeschool-methodologies/47938-a-
look-at-the-differences-between-public-school-and-homeschool/. Accessed 17 Nov. 2017.