Looking to talk to homeschooled individuals

SingingMom

Sun, Jun 10 2012, 6:08 am

I've been reading some of the threads on this forum, and find the whole concept of homeschooling intriguing, and inspiring to me as a mother, albeit one I've never considered. I'm looking to interview people who have been homeschooled (adults or older teens, who have already gone through their schooling and can talk intelligently about it.) I'm looking specifically to interview someone who has had a positive experience, and someone who had a negative one (I don't mean a mother who found it difficult to homeschool her children in terms of time commitment, patience, etc.. but a homeschooled child who did not find the experience positive.) Anyone out there fit the bill and is interested in sharing their experience?

Thanks so much!

amother

Thu, Jun 14 2012, 5:41 am

I was homeschooled for most of elementary school and I HATED it.
Hated it hated it hated it.

It's boring and lonely to do your schoolwork on your own. In school everyone's in it together, you study together, sit in class together, and there's a social atmosphere that makes it a lot more pleasant.
People homeschool different ways and my mother was very not hands-on - it was more like read pp. xx-xx of this textbook and do these questions, than her giving a "class" or something. I'll tell you the truth though, I don't know how much better it would have made it if she HAD been very hands-on, because kids still need friends their own age.

Which brings me to the social aspect of it. Honestly I don't think homeschooling is good either for an extroverted OR for an introverted kid. An extrovert will NEED the social atmosphere, and an introvert needs to get used to being with people and making friends. Either way it's not a great idea.
I think that it made me a lot shyer and hesitant about making friends since I didn't really have experience until upper elementary school. I wish I'd had all those years of being in a classroom and being used to people, instead of sitting at the dining room table reading textbooks on my own.

Once I was in school, both emotionally and I would say also academically, I was doing SO much better than I had been during the years of homeschooling.