8 FAQs about being homeschooled
I was homeschooled almost my whole entire life––ever since first grade. People ask me a lot of questions about it, mostly because I think I’m more approachable than the average jumper-wearing, loudly-conservative, homeschooling mother.
- Do you have socialization issues?
No. When I was younger I was part of a very active homeschool group. If I went to every activity that was offered, I would never have the time to do book work. Then there were church activities on top of that. When I was in high school I swam for the public high school’s swim team. I went to Friday night football games. I was editor of a newsletter. I volunteered. I worked summer jobs. Once I started taking college classes, I earned extra credit because I participated in discussions so much. I don’t think I had a problem. - How does your school work?
My parents would pay a few hundred dollars every year to Christian Liberty Academy in Chicago. That school would send a box of workbooks, teacher manuals, and scantron tests. My mom would teach me things, I would do the workbooks, and when I was ready I would take the tests. Then my mom would send the tests back to the school to be graded. Sometimes the workbooks had to be sent back too. After grading, the school sent us report cards. I earned a real diploma, too. - Do you wear pajamas all day?
No. My mom wouldn’t let me. Once I got older and could make my own decision about that, I found that I worked faster if I was not wearing pajamas. - Do you ever wish you went to public school?
When I was in 9th grade, a lot of homeschooled kids that I knew started going to public school. They wanted a diploma, or a better chance at scholarships, or their parents were afraid they couldn’t teach them well enough for college. But after watching those kids for a year, I’m glad I didn’t go. It seemed like they wasted so much time, and I got to do all the extra-curricular activities that the high school provided anyways. - How did your mom teach you enough math to prepare you for college?
I really can’t answer that question. I hate math. She hates math. We struggled through elementary algebra (my school provided an online tutor). When I was 14 I tested into College Algebra at a local college. I don’t know how I did that either. It turns out that College Algebra is the highest level math that I need for a Journalism major. Most community colleges make you take placement tests, and those colleges also offer math classes for people who failed 7th grade math. Also, most community colleges are homeschool friendly and they’ll let 13-year-olds take college level classes (as long as they have okay placement scores). Check into it. - Math is one thing, but science too?
No, not science too. I wish I had a better science background. I took a couple biology classes at the college, and let me tell you, I failed that first test that involved a lot of chemistry. I ended up staying in the class (even though more than half the students dropped within the first week), keeping my 4.0 gpa, and learning what biology is really about. - What was a typical day like in highschool?
8am: Wake up, do chores, eat breakfast, get dressed
9am: Family devotions
9:30am: Start school– Theology, Math, English, Literature, Government, History, and Science
12pm: Lunch time, leave for college
1pm: College class - usually Spanish or Biology
3pm: Swim practice
6pm: Dinner
7pm: College homework
10pm: Brain shut down time
12am: Bed time - Did you like being homeschooled?
Yeah. Overall, it was fun. I don’t think I will homeschool my kids, just because I don’t have the patience. But I’m glad I was homeschooled.
If you didn’t have a question answered, feel free to ask.
11 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Oh I love this! Thanks SO MUCH for posting this!! Having a homeschooled student’s view on this is the best, because we moms can only say so much. When it comes from a student, it means a whole lot more to curious folks.
[...] under homeschooling I just stumbled upon a homeschool graduate’s blog, and her “FAQs About Being Homeschooled”. Definitely worth a read, especially for those oh-so-curious/concerned/nosy friends and [...]
MommaKnows: You’re welcome, and I’m honored to be linked to from your blog. Thanks!
I was just so tired of being asked about socialization issues that this FAQ post had to come out. I think that maybe in the past, like 15 years ago, socialization might have been a problem among homeschoolers. But not now.
I’ve found that people age 35 and up always ask about “socialization issues”, while people 34 and younger ask, “So you’re really smart, right?” It’s hard to live up to that stereotype!
Haha…. some people. You’d have to be an awfully bad parent to take your kid out of school that your tax dollars pay for, just to have them sit around at home, under your feet, learning to be stupid when they grow up. Doesn’t make sense.
This really gives people an insight as to what it is like to be home schooled.
I suppose some people would think that it could be a little detrimental to the student’s learning in terms of keeping up with what they should be learning. It appears as though there isn’t any problem with home schooling, well, not for you anyway, this entry shows it quite clearly!
From personal experience it didn’t do me any harm to be home schooled. I was once home schooled for a bit, the reasoning behind it is a bit of a long story, however, this was towards the end of primary school and I ended up going into secondary school and now expecting good grades for my main secondary school exams (GCSE’s).
It actually doesn’t surprise me that you worked faster if you weren’t wearing pyjamas, I remember hearing that you work better if dressed for the occasion.
Aidan: That’s interesting that you were home schooled in England. I’ve never met a European that was home schooled.
Yeah. At work, Fridays are Jean days, but I hardly ever wear jeans. I feel like I do a better job in a skirt.
Well, like I said the reasoning for me being home schooled is a long story, but just to enlighten you slightly, it was because I was ill, so it was pretty useful in that sense.
It is amazing what clothing can do to a persons mind with regards to working isn’t it? The mind is a truly amazing thing haha
.
Cool.
I could care less about socialization. I am sick of the condescending and ignorant question, actually. It is none of anyone’s business. To me, how dare anyone say a word about it to me. Makes me mad. My kids are strange and lack some social skills, but not any less than the average public school kid. They are kids. What will they socialize about, drugs, sex, and lewd things? That’s pretty much what I did in school—not much attention was paid on studies. All I did was get made fun of in school and that’s pretty much all I thought about. Once high school came around things got a bit better, but the emphasis on study was still not there enough. I was frustrated that I would pour my heart out in a project or paper and the teacher would just walk by and put a check mark on it and then record that I did it in her grade book. Nice.
I would much rather home school in a nightgown than go to public school in a suit. At least you wouldn’t get made fun of there! Ha ha.
That’s true. You don’t know how many stories I’ve heard about hand jobs during study hall.
My mom makes fun of me. But she’s not a peer so it doesn’t count.
I have spent entire days in my pajamas, shoeless and showerless, sans make-up and with unbrushed teeth while expecting my kids to read and enjoy William Shakespeare.
There were times when they staged sit ins in my bedroom holding hands in a circle and endlessly singing Kum by yah. I hate that song. They knew this and used it to torture me. We laugh about it all now. We laughed then too! Of course, our homeschool was not like everyone else’s. How many kids watch their mom get arrested, and then drive her home when she is released? Those were the days. Now, one of them wants to go to prison so she can be a better novelist, better than shallow Tolstoy. What will they think of next?
You will do great at college. Get yourself an EEE t shirt.
(Exceeding Expectations Everyday)