The public educational system in America is, in most regards, quite effective. It does its job, in that it takes every child in America and teaches that child the basic skills needed to be successful in life. This is a vast improvement over other societies and other civilizations, where only the most educated and the wealthiest citizens were educated, or could even read. In the current system, children are able to grow up with the tools that are required to learn from and interact successfully with the world around them.

However, though our system of education is quite effective in most regards, and quite preferable to other systems used at other times in other periods of history, it is not perfect. There are those who are more than a little unsatisfied with any number of different aspects of that system. Some think it is too challenging, some think it is not quite challenging enough.

Many people feel that it is terribly inefficient, and ends up taking much more time out of the day than is necessary. They feel that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, designed to do the best it can for every child in the classroom, rather than to address the different levels of mental and intellectual ability, wastes time and effort on the part of both the students and the teachers.

It is not really accurate to say that either side of this equation is either right or wrong, it is simply a matter of differing standards and differing expectations. However, it is important for people who are unsatisfied with the public education system to remember that they have options. One of those options is, certainly, a private school, but another one that many people overlook is home-schooling. Home-schooling has many advantages over public school, especially for people who are unhappy with public school for the reasons stated above.

One of the great things about home-schooling your kids is that every day of instruction can be tailored specifically to the child doing the learning. If he picks up on something very quickly, you can move on to the next topic. If he struggles with it, you can spend as much time as you need with him. Another huge benefit is that because of this more efficient and focused approach, kids are often done with a normal school day’s work in half the time. That leaves more time for sports, playing outside, reading, other projects, or just relaxation.

There are some disadvantages, however. The primary downfall of home-schooling is the lack of social engagement that a child experiences when he is not able to spend time around other children his own age. This is definitely a serious consideration, and indeed probably the most important aspect of the first few years of a child’s education is learning to interact with your peers socially. There is a way around this problem, though; parents who want to home-school their children but are concerned for their social development can simply make sure to get their kids involved locally in sports teams, music lessons, or other extracurricular activities where the child will be able to spend time with other children his own age.

No one choice for education is perfect for everyone, but if you find yourself frustrated with the prospect of public schooling, you may want to look into the idea of home-schooling. Even if it is something you wouldn’t otherwise consider, you might find out that it’s a great fit for you and your family.