Is Home Or Public High School Better? (Reflections & Observations)
After almost five months in homeschool, my younger son prefers it over public school due to the flexibility, short commute, and environment.
To go directly to a section, please click one of the links below:
- My Story
- Flexibility
- Commute
- Environment
- Continuous Improvement
- Lesson for Dumber Self
- Advice for Potential and Incoming Homeschool Students
- Next Step for You
To find out what my son thought of his homeschool experience so far, I sent him a questionnaire (his preference) to find out.
My Story
My younger son may appear mellow, but he’s full of information, especially about animals. He can communicate very specific details due to his excellent memory. When you layer in his imagination, his stories and animation videos are fascinating.
With my son’s knowledge and interests, naturally I wanted to find out if homeschool was challenging enough for him, so let’s dive into the results.
Initially, my son felt unsure about switching from a public school to homeschool due to the unknown, but he changed his mind as he realized the benefits.
Flexibility
A couple of the pros for homeschool are related to time management and the variety in skill development.
Schedule
One aspect of my son’s day that is more flexible compared to when he was in public school is how he spends his time. According to him, he feels “happier with the more laid-back schedule.” He has more opportunities to get the needed amount of sleep, wake up later in the day, and structure his waking hours to be more thorough on his assignments while sprinkling in other activities throughout the day.
Skill-building
Another area where there’s adaptability is in what my son is exposed to and can focus more on, many of which are based on what he likes to do and wants to learn. He mentioned that he has improved his Blender software, drawing, cooking, and dexterity skills over the first several months of homeschool.
Some activities that have helped him improve his skills include creating animation videos using Blender, learning how to use a drawing pad (tablet), baking muffins from scratch, assisting in vehicle projects (changing transmission and differential fluids, adding a differential, changing tires, etc.), and building wooden shelves/foot stands.
Commute
My son certainly reminded me of the benefit of not having to commute anywhere in order to go to school. That meant that he could get ready for school in a few minutes rather than add about another 20 minutes in the car or 40 minutes walking and riding the bus.
Environment
Another plus that my son found was that he’s in a relaxing environment with his family members whom he feels comfortable talking and interacting with. At the same time, he’s either talking or chatting online on a daily basis with his friends, many of whom were from his elementary/middle school and others whom he met through his friends or brother.
To get feedback on how we can improve his homeschool experience, I asked my son what else he wanted to learn. What he wanted was to feed his interest in Science by branching out more in and from Biology and animals as follows:
Continuous Improvement
- Learn more about chemicals, viruses, and bacteria!
By evaluating what has happened so far in homeschool, I have learned the important thing noted below:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Childhood interests can be revived. This reminds me of what my son said on behalf of his brother, “Go Go,” when he was a little kid, as it relates to cooking.😍
Go help Go Go clean up. I’m not a cleaning man. I’m a chef.
Younger Son, Age 4
To help other students, here’s what my son would like to share:
Advice for Potential and Incoming Homeschool Students
- Everyone’s curriculum is different.
- Try and focus on other skills with your free time in order to prepare for the future.
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Start homeschooling your child or expressing your interest in attending homeschool?
- Help revitalize your child’s earlier dreams?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)