Every parent wants to place their child in a school environment where he or she will be most successful. There are many different types of schooling options, and each type has certain advantages and disadvantages. A child’s particular learning style and strengths often have a significant impact on what type of education setting works best for them. A parent who is knowledgeable about their options and has a good understanding of their own child’s learning strengths will be able to make the best decision. Here are just a few of the different types of educational platforms that you might want to consider for your student:
Traditional Public School
Enrollment in a traditional public school is still the primary means of education for the majority of children today. Public education has the primary advantage of being completely free, and busy parents will need to have only a bare minimum of school engagement. The schools themselves also tend to have more structure, which many benefit a child who needs a highly structured learning environment.
Public school tends to be the option most parents shy away from, or they choose it only because they have no other affordable option. While it is true that public school faces a wide variety of serious challenges, it is not always worse than private school options and may be better or comparable to many private or charter schools. The big advantage of public school other than cost is regulation. All public school teachers are required to have certain state certifications, training and continued education. The schools are also held to the highest standards of the law when it comes to academics and student success. This can give parents peace of mind that there is at least some measure of consistency and accountability for public schools that private schools may lack. Students will be introduced to a well-rounded curriculum and engage with a wide variety of peers.
Charter and Religious Schools
Many parents are attracted to the idea of charter or religious schools. There is a prevailing assumption that these schools are superior to public schools in the education they provide. While this can be true, it is not necessarily true. Parents will need to understand how these schools really work and what their child will get out of them.
These types of schools are less heavily regulated than public schools. This can be a blessing since it allows them to blissfully ignore the issues with standardized testing or required curriculum. This is especially important for religious schools because it allows them to adopt curriculum and standards a public school could not, such as religious studies or mandatory religious functions.
A child with strong religious values may find a religious school to be a more comforting and predictable learning environment. These schools are more likely to teach strict values or lifestyle habits in accordance with religious beliefs.
Charter schools are semi-private schools that follow a mandated charter rather than traditional education regulations. This gives a charter school more flexibility so long as its charter is approved by the public school board. Charter schools can be very inconsistent depending on what is included in the charter. Many charter schools excel, but they often demand much higher parent involvement. Others may have abstract or sometimes even bizarre curriculum goals and methods. It is important for a parent to thoroughly research the methods and practices of a charter school prior to enrolling their child in one.
Montessori Education
Montessori and similar well-defined methods such as Waldorf provide much more concrete expectations for parents and students compared to private or charter schools. Montessori follows a particular curriculum laid down by its founder, Maria Montessori. Teachers should be trained specifically in this curriculum, and many have traditional teaching degrees as well.
Montessori has the advantage of fostering exploration and a child’s self-interest and self-motivation. Montessori students often become highly motivated to learn and grow with limited teacher interaction. The teacher is often functioning more as a guide to the child’s discovery. This has the advantage of allowing a child to explore topics of interest in-depth and be truly satisfied with learning. Successful Montessori schools often produce students with exceptional skills and a much higher degree of self-motivation and love of continued learning.
There are some disadvantages to Montessori that parents should also be aware of. The Montessori name can be privatized and misused. Often so-called Montessori schools do not function in accordance with the method in anything more than a superficial capacity. The method is also primarily for younger grades, with limited adaptation for upper elementary classes and extremely limited adaptation for middle and high school levels. A parent should gain some understanding of what the method looks like and ensure that a school is actually following it. All teachers should have true Montessori certification. The lack of structure in a Montessori classroom may not benefit a student who needs this structure, although a properly trained teacher should work to help develop the child’s ability to create their own structure, motivation and goals.
Homeschooling
Sometimes a child learns best when the rigid structure dominating many education systems is stripped away and the child is allowed to simply direct their own learning and studies with some help from the parent or an outside professional. Homeschooling has the advantage of being the most flexible of all possible school options because the parent and child together can choose, plan and manage every aspect of learning and the environment.
Doing this well can be a tall order for most families. There are many outside resources available to help with homeschooling, which often borrows heavily from online learning. For example, you might want to consider some of the best online homeschools out there were the traditional public school classroom is replaced with an at-home online learning environment supported by professional teachers.
Homeschooling is a great option for students that are already highly motivated and self-directed. Sometimes a child simply needs the freedom to choose their own path and pace in order to excel.
The sheer number of education options available today can be bewildering to many parents. It is important to take the time to thoroughly investigate any school or program before enrolling a child and not to rely on hype or advertisement. The advantage of so many options is that a parent is bound to find something that works best for their particular child.