Evaluating School Choice: Homeschool vs. Private School

While there is much debate over the decision of homeschooling versus private school, there are many benefits to both. Consider some key criteria to make an informed choice about the best school fit for your child.

Personal Attention

Homeschool is designed to provide individualized attention to your student. In a traditional private school setting, a teacher needs to accommodate for several students in one classroom who have different abilities and interests. Brightmont Academy, however, is structured differently from most private schools; teachers work with students in a one-to-one environment, allowing individualized instruction for each student.

At home, the parent is very well aware of the child's academic level and the lessons can be tailored accordingly. The one on one attention they receive at home ensures that weaknesses in a subject matter can be identified and improved.

In private schools with multiple students in the classroom, the teacher is stretched to ensure that each student masters the course material. Some students don't fully understand the fundamentals of a subject, which may cause them to lose confidence in their ability to complete coursework. This issue compounds as the student advances into more difficult coursework that builds upon previously learned material, and they may fall behind.

Unlike most private schools, Brightmont places one student with one teacher, for the optimal learning experience! Students benefit from an instructional approach that allows them to master course content. They are paired with a dedicated teacher who is knowledgeable in the subject, and helps the student avoid gaps in learning or foundational skills. Students are confident when they have competency in the course material and move to the next level.

Integrating Core Values

An education that integrates family values can be achieved through both homeschooling and private schools. Many parents decide to homeschool their children to instill shared values. Each private school has their own set of values, which likely emphasizes integrity, personal growth, discipline, kindness and respect.

Student needs will qualify what environment is best of the student to seize the most benefits. For homeschooling, parents may be adept at integrating values, but may struggle to teach advanced courses or address different learning styles. Private school teachers have an educational background and experience which qualifies them to teach for different learning styles. Not only are they very well-versed with their subjects and the syllabus, but they also have a deep and profound understanding of child psychology.

Flexibility

One of the major benefits of homeschooling over traditional school is the ability for the student to have a flexible schedule that fits their needs. Many student athletes and performers are required to travel for competitions and training, and this means that they are likely to miss hours or days of school. Students with shifting schedules now have more options. One-to-one schools like Brightmont provide flexibility similar to homeschooling without sacrificing the rigor or structure of a private school education. Students are able to customize their schedules while staying on track to reach their academic goals.

Social Dynamics

For homeschool students, it can be a challenge to find space to interact with peers on a daily basis. Private school students have a conducive environment to master social dynamics with other students. This fundamental skill set is an asset in a student's successful career and is as important as core subjects.

Although interactions with peers may not be a direct part of the daily academic experience in a homeschool situation, the flexibility with scheduling does allow students to participate in many activities that would otherwise be permissible with time restraints. Building in community experiences, hands-on activities, and group activities, including the resources available through homeschool support centers, can remedy this concern.

Journalists, leaders, great thinkers, philanthropists, military generals, politicians, presidents, filmmakers and almost all other notable figures are masters of social dynamics. When reviewing their young academic years, many of them note being exposed to a variety of social influences early in life and learned priceless lessons which helped them to achieve remarkable achievements.

Cost

View the big picture when looking at the cost of education. For homeschooling, there are individual costs for instructional materials, books, field trips, computer hardware/software and additional educational resources. Private schools rely on tuition fees as they do not receive federal funding. Income can also be a factor when examining the costs of homeschool versus private school. If two parents are employed in the household, one parent generally will need to quit their job to homeschool. For many dual income households, the cost of losing one source of income is more than the cost of a private school. Parents of private school students have the opportunity to pursue their careers without sacrificing the quality of education for their student.

Evaluate the factors of individual attention, core values, flexible scheduling, social dynamics and cost to find the best school fit not only for your student, but for your whole family. There are options are available beyond traditional schools. Today, the one-to-one private school approach leverages the strengths of the homeschool and private school systems to provide superior results.