Homeschool vs Public School Field Trips

Thoughts from a former public school teacher

The homeschool vs public school debate can get tricky. This essay is about a specific activity ~ how public school kids experience a field trip as compared to a child who homeschools.

First, I must say that I am a firm believer that all the experiences you can give your children become a part of their education. I try to make sure the girls learn things in as many different ways as possible, and not just from a book - that's why I love "field trips." They use these experiences to build a framework for future education and make current learning easier to process. The public school system provides these opportunities as well, but the process (and I believe) the results are very different compared to homeschool experiences.

Some time ago, we saw a "school showing" of a play called Battledrum, the story of Rufus, a Confederate orphan adopted by a troop of Union soldiers who eventually becomes their drummer boy. Since it was being perfomed especially for schools, I was reminded of my field trip experiences as a public school teacher and thought I would compare that to what happened as a homeschool family at the same venue.

Upon arrival, the greeter directed our attention to a small display that was put up by the theatre company with pictures and detailed stories about young soldiers and women in the Civil War. They also had information on the research the set and costume designers did to fulfill their duties. My kids took a full 20 minutes before being seated reading and studying the information in the display. I was so sad for the public and private school children who got off the busses and were herded into the theatre, totally missing the opportunity to glean another bit of knowledge from a different perspective.

I really loved that my homeschool kids WANTED to study the background information on this historical drama. I didn’t force them, or lead them, or ask them a hundred questions about what they learned. That's a big difference in homeschool vs public school. As a former public school teacher, I can attest to the fact that you feel like you have to be micromanaging your students education by spoonfeeding them information and questioning all that they read or study. In our homeschool, I don't feel that pressure.

After we were seated and waiting for the show to start, to my surprise (and delight) they offered up a few bits about the set design and the war that they had learned just minutes before. The best part is, I know some of this information will make its way out again, in another place, in another time, and it will thrill me to know that what I’m doing as a homeschool mom is really making a difference. Compare this to my experience as a public school teacher waiting for a show to start...the kids were pretty much oblivious to what was going on around them, they just were happy to be out of the classroom.

We've continued to attend historical dramas and as the kids got older, they started to notice that many of the productions seemed to be a little bit political in their presentations, calling for actions our family doesn't agree with at the end of the show. This hasn't bothered me so far, because it presents an excellent springboard for discussion on the way home. Not only are my children learning history through theatre, but they are also learning our family's value system and how to think critically through the discussions we have afterwards. This is another advantage of homeschool vs public school. I am certain of the things they are being exposed to and don't shy away from tough discussions or emphasizing our personal worldview over the one that is presented.

The experience of homeschool vs public school field trips are one of the advantages of homeschooling.

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