What can public schools learn from the homeschool movement? According to research, homeschoolers “typically score 15 to 30 percentile points above public school students on standardized academic achievement tests“(Ray, 2015).
At first glance, class size is the obvious difference between these two groups. No doubt it is far easier to respond to student needs when the teacher student ratios are 1 to 3 versus 1 to 30.
Other advantages of a homeschool include, personalized curriculum, modified school start and finish times, and enrichment activities designed for the unique needs of student/children.
A homeschool is a personal rather than an institutional environment. Schools are challenged to create a setting that is responsive, caring, and differentiated to meet student educational, social, and emotional needs. Today, the challenge for policy makers, investors, and educators is to redesign the public school setting to better meet these essential skills. Twenty- first century students need more flexibility and control over their learning path, the structure of their day, and the way in which they choose to learn.
The school itself will need to support these attributes, with an emphasis on comfort, curricular options, and opportunities to play. Schools need to invite students to the table, like customers or employees at high-end, technology-infused hubs, like Google and Amazon. Only then, will schools begin to match the dynamic nature of the 21st century workplace, where information, technology, and collaboration are necessary tools to solve authentic problems and create innovative solutions in a changing economy.
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