In today’s fast moving world, there is development seen in every field. From the daily transport we use to the knowledge about space, betterment has occurred in every aspect of life. For this, the youth all around the world has played a major role. All the desires, new ideas about improvement and enhancement of the society comes in the mind of a youth. He needs to have knowledge, skills and abilities along with a polished thinking and good values to fulfill his personal dreams and lead the society towards welfare and progress.
These features are gained through EDUCATION. The process starts from an early age, from childhood. Education opens doors to endless opportunities, which one might not even know exist. It enables a person to live life as a ‘self dependent’ and ‘well respected man’. The medium of education may differ. This brings us to the point of our comparison, that is, between public schooling and homeschooling. Let us first discuss about public schooling
- As the name suggests, public schooling is a schooling system in which public institutions are set up by a private community or government, where pupils gather to learn and attain knowledge. All the students learn together by an educator. Through this, they learn to respect and cooperate with each other. The knowledge provided is not only limited to theoretical aspects but also practicals and outdoor activities like sports and school excursions.
- Home schooling is the system of schooling in which parents educate their children at home rather than sending them to traditional school. A parent wants their child to attain the best education and may have their own ideology regarding it. These ideologies may differ parent-to-parent. Some choose homeschooling over public schools due to various reasons which may be dissatisfaction with the education provided, regional or religious philosophy or the environment of the schooling centre. Parents teach their children common things like building, cooking, about plants and animals, etc. using homeschooling kits.
World is a harsh place, in the race of climbing people do not think about their actions which might hurt someone. Parents, in this situation, switch to their overprotective mode towards their children. It is general for a parent to think that way, seeing the increasing school bullying cases. Questions in regard with the child’s safety may arise in a parent’s mind. So, they prefer homeschooling. But they do not consider the fact that this is not only about their present well being but also their future. In the future, maybe while doing further studies in college or in their work environment, they might meet some ‘not so nice’ people. In this case, the person would definitely feel depressed if they are not given enough exposure to different kinds of people since their childhood days. They might never learn how to do group projects. They might never learn to fight their problems and survive in the difficult times if they are always shadowed by their parent’s protection.
Talking about the learning, we can not ignore the difference in the education given by a common person and a professional. Even while learning at home, the child may feel isolated or alienated. Whereas in a public school, children learn and laugh together. They meet different people from different communities, they engage with them, thus learning about different cultures. This particular action is very important. Sometimes each of us need to do things which are out of our comfort zone, it’s better if we are already prepared for it.
Some think that parents send their child to school because they are too lazy to teach them or they are trying to dodge off their responsibilities. But no, that’s not true. That is actually a better choice in my opinion. Interactive learning holds the utmost importance.
Not forgetting a notably significant point, sending the child to school does not mean that a parent’s all responsibilities regarding education are over. Visualizing the child’s progress, helping him with the difficulties, making sure the child is not in a bad company, etc. also matter as much.
By Suhani Haswani
