Education

[Maudie]

This topic is for discussing Education.

So, one of my friends and I were discussing homeschool versus public school when I realized that the main difference between the two is that homeschool enables you to educate yourself, whereas in public school your education relies on what others teach you.

Thoughts?

[alexandre]

The bad thing about public school is the pace, in most classrooms, the teacher's pace is fitting for very few students, the rest either are behind, or ahead. For people like me, public school can be good in the sense that it makes me be social with people. Also, band.

[Cornflower MM]

You can be social when you're homeschooled. Okay, so some of us can't interact with people, as stereotyped, but a TON of us are part of a co-op, or have outside activities where we can socialize. Also, it's worth noting that a lot ("A lot" does NOT mean "all") of public schoolers can't really interact with people not in their age range. You also don't have to learn a bunch of useless junk.

[alexandre]

You can be social when youre homeschooled.

Sorry if that wasn't clear enough, I didn't mean for it to sound like I was saying that based on a stereotype. I meant that for people like me; shy, not-a-big-fan-of-interacting-with-other-people-for-long-periods-of-time people, public school is good to, you know, get used to interacting, also, I don't live within five miles of anyone within two years of my age, so public school is good in that way. Otherwise, my only interaction with the outside world is when my piano teacher comes over every Saturday. Without public school, I would probably be even more socially awkward then I already am. I wasn't meaning to classify homeschoolers under any sort of stereotype.

[Groddil]

Advantages:

Public School - You get taught by a professional, and have a better chance of attaining some sort of qualification. It's easier to get work experience, or get into university, if you've attended an actual school and have the certificate to prove it.
Home school - Learn at your own pace.
Private School - Don't even. Expensive and pointless.

[Feles]

I always thought private school was to focus on a certain aspect of learning more than the others.

[Rosie Willowwater]

In my experience private schools let you learn about your religion depending on which one you go to. Whereas private schools can't. (This is only from what I know. I'm not trying to prove any of you wrong and I'm sorry if it comes across that way)

[Grond]

Advantages:

Public School - You get taught by a professional, and have a better chance of attaining some sort of qualification. It's easier to get work experience, or get into university, if you've attended an actual school and have the certificate to prove it.
Home school - Learn at your own pace.
Private School - Don't even. Expensive and pointless.

Private schools may hold teachers to a higher standard than public schools. As parents typically pay big $$$ for private schools and if there is a bad teacher that many parents aren't happy with they can get fired. As it is much easier to fire somebody in the private sector than in the public. For a public school teacher to get fired they would have to do something exceptionally outrageous, I'd say even borderline criminal, to get fired. Just being a not so good teacher or employee isn't cause enough.

[Groddil]

Down here, there are only three differences between public and private schools.

1) Public school get their funding from the government. Private schools get their funding from the church, and the poor people who have to pay the ridiculous tuition fees.
2) Public schools are free to attend. Private schools often charge yearly fees in the thousands.
3) Public school have no religion in the curriculum, aside from 2 of the 6 grades in primary (elementary) school. Private schools do.

But as a Christian myself, I wouldn't be willing to have my family pay $1000+ a year to send me to a school where I can learn about religion, when I could do the same thing by going to church or reading the bible, and attending a public school. I have no reason to waste my family's money just so I can take a certain class, when I can get the same sort of education for the price of a bible and an internet connection.

[Maudie]

Well, when I made this thread I was thinking quality of education rather than different types of schools, but this has been an interesting discussion.

See, the way my family homeschools is we don't just follow a program and have professionals stuff our heads with information. My parents have always despised textbooks. We learn history from writings of the people who actually lived it and historical novels. We learn psychology directly from Freud and Frankl. We learn writing through reading. We learn how to study these writings in order to get as much as we can from them. Education isn't about information, it's about understanding, about learning to think.

So, my question is, what is quality education to you?

[Grond]

Down here, there are only three differences between public and private schools.

1) Public school get their funding from the government. Private schools get their funding from the church, and the poor people who have to pay the ridiculous tuition fees.
2) Public schools are free to attend. Private schools often charge yearly fees in the thousands.
3) Public school have no religion in the curriculum, aside from 2 of the 6 grades in primary (elementary) school. Private schools do.

But as a Christian myself, I wouldn't be willing to have my family pay $1000+ a year to send me to a school where I can learn about religion, when I could do the same thing by going to church or reading the bible, and attending a public school. I have no reason to waste my family's money just so I can take a certain class, when I can get the same sort of education for the price of a bible and an internet connection.

That's really interesting. Here are private schools are well usually run and owned by an individual or group of people, kind of like a corporation, and they are also as secular as public schools- there is no religion taught in them as a mandatory course. Some may offer history of religion courses but again this is the same as public schools do. Tuition is also a lot more than a $1000 a year I'd say it easily runs well over 10,000 a year in many cases.

However we do have Catholic schools here- which are free but they teach religion- Catholicism for one period a day. They are also a hybrid between public and private schools in that the students usually have to wear uniforms and they seem to have higher standards than ordinary public schools which is why sometimes non-Catholic/non religious or marginally religious Catholic parents send their kids to them. 

[Wylder Treejumper]

The more important type of school is the charter school, which is a privately run school authorized to receive government education money. If they are well run (and competition ensures they usually are), they combine the best of both types: they are free to attend, although you must apply and be accepted, and their quality of education is higher. Of course, charter school teachers not being contract-bound, they are Public Enemy #1 of the Teachers Unions...