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Confessions of a Homeschooler

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My parents homeschooled me for twelve and a half years, and I survived. And so did my parents. I attended a Christian private school for a few months in kindergarten before my parents pulled me out to start the great expedition of homeschooling. My parents gave me a well-rounded education. One of the most important things I learned was how to learn.

Okay, so we all know the propagated generalizations about homeschooled kids. They wear denim jumpers and have no sense of fashion; they are socially inept; they wear pajamas to school; they listen to classical music only; they don’t have any homework; they are really, really smart and would rather create proofs for the Pythagorean Theorem than spend time with friends; they have no friends; they use big words like “propagated” and “generalization.” Yeah, I’ve heard them all. But I know from experience that generalization, in general, sometimes mistakes the idiosyncrasies of the few with the character of the many.

I love homeschooling. Sure, there were times when I used to think, “it would be great to see lots of friends every day” or “I would love having a locker” or “wouldn’t it be fun to eat at a cafeteria for lunch,” but overall, I believe homeschooling provided the best education I could have had.

People often ask me about my homework. And very often I wrote essays on different topics. In the beginning it was a bit difficult, but then I found a service, which help me write my essay.

Also one of the most frequent questions people have asked me about homeschooling, the most popular one was: “What about socialization?” And I, since I had no experience in socialization or communication, always answered by staring in silence and confusion at the asker. No, really, socialization is a ridiculous reason to attend public school. I thought education was supposed to be about educating, not pressuring and being pressured by your peers. Honestly though, socialization can be a problem for some homeschoolers. Some homeschoolers stay inside and never interact with outsiders or “public-schoolers.” Isolation is not a good idea. I have personally experienced the feeling of being on the “outside,” of being the misunderstood and the misunderstanding. But I believe one big reason for this was my introverted, shy personality, not my lack of social interaction. My brother (homeschooled for thirteen years) is my opposite. He is outgoing and sociable by nature, and it seems easier for him to relate to other people. Another reason could be that homeschoolers and public-schoolers really are different. We come from different perspectives, different worldviews, different backgrounds. But what’s so wrong with that? Isn’t diversity the hottest topic right now?

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