Thoughts on Homeschooling

I've been homeschooled since the age of 8, when I entered the 3rd grade. I had moved from Arizona to Missouri, which is where I currently reside. I wasn't given the option of being homeschooled or going to public school. Some former friends of mine had been to the public school for the district I was in, and was very disappointed in it. After hearing this, my mom decided it'd be best to homeschool my brother and I. Being so young, it didn't make much of a difference to me. I didn't really have any friends in Missouri, anyway.

Like going to public school, I did your usual science, math, social studies, reading, etc. However, it didn't really feel the same, since I just sat in my house, doing all my work. After school was done for the day, I was already home and it gave me the rest of the day to do whatever I wanted. What did I usually do? Nothing. Unfortunately, being homeschooled doesn't easily allow you to join different after school programs, meet new friends to hang out with, or any of the other options you can think of.

As time went on, I gradually became more bitter about homeschooling. Not only was I tired of not having friends, I was afraid I was missing out on so many things my public schooled friends were able to do. They always seemed to have friends to hang out with, different fun school things they could do, and generally having a more fun time as a kid. I also began to feel like I was possibly behind my friends, educationally, since I didn't know what the standard was.

Luckily, my mom did some research on local homeschool groups. Not being a religious family, being homeschooled, and living in Missouri makes things even more difficult. There were not many secular homeschool groups, but my mom eventually found one. There were only a couple people in the group, but it was better than nothing. I became friends with them fairly quickly and was happier than I had previously been.

Unfortunately, this happiness only lasted so long. After an amazing trip to Europe, I was very seriously considering going to highschool for 9th grade, until I graduated. My mom looked into the possibilites of obtaining a boundary pass and attending a better school than the one in my school district. However, the public school would not allow that. I was quite disappointed at not being able to go, but at the same time, I was relieved. What if I didn't fit in? What if I was less intelligent than everyone else? What if I was completely socially awkward? I had a few fears of attending public school and I was relieved to not have to deal with that.

After not getting together with my homeschool group for a while, a weekly event had been set up that I started going to. I met some new friends that I really clicked with and things became much better. I also joined a co-op for a school year, which was quite cool. The co-op gave you that feeling of highschool once a week, but everyone else there was also homeschooled. This was my first consistent exposure to girls (and wow, was that great), but of course, there was a problem with the whole thing. The co-op was quite religious and I really didn't fit, so I didn't go back the next year.

I went through the next year of homeschooling with a new method. That new method was doing most of my work online, on a website for homeschoolers. This new method made things a little more interesting at first, but quickly became very dull. After that year of homeschooling, I was very interested in public school again, more than I had been before.

My mom tried looking into what was probably the best school in the area. I had a couple friends that attended it, so I felt fairly comfortable with the idea. My dad owned a building in the area, so I had hoped the taxes that he paid on it would allow me to go to the public school. But again, I was denied.

After this, I was very motivated to find an alternative to making new friends. I decided to go to a Unitarian Universalist Church in the area. Luckily, there were multiple highschool kids that also went there, so it was perfect. Luckily, these people were very normal, unlike many homeschoolers, which was a nice change. All of them, except for one, were public schooled, though.

That brings me to a new discussion. Many homeschoolers I have met seem a little different. I personally think this is due to lack of socialization. Living in your house for your whole life can lead to many problems. This is where I think public school is a great idea. You are pretty much required to meet new people and socialize. You will understand how to interact with others, which will even help you with things, like getting jobs in the future. Even if you can find ways to interact with others on a consistent basis and get involved things, while being homeschooled and feel competely satisfied, there are probably some things you're missing out on.

I'm actually quite satisfied with my life right now, even after being homeschooled for so long and not having quite as many friends as I'd like. But meeting the kids at the church, having friends in my homeschool group, and even just going to my guitar lessons every week, gives me a chance to get out there and experience life a little.

If I had to tell you whether you should be homeschooled or public schooled, it would be somewhat difficult. Homeschooling gives you more freedom than public schooling. You can learn at your own rate, you take time off school when needed, you can work a part-time job more easily, and you can generally just do things the way you want to. But with public school, you'll definitely learn enough information to be successful in life, learn how to interact with people, and might be able to experience certain aspects of life much easier. My suggestion really is to do what feels right to you. With that said, I don't think it'd hurt to try out a year or two of public school, even if you want to homeschool.