I Am Homeschooled

Sometimes when I watch that big yellow schoolbus pass by, I wonder if the kids riding it see me in my yard and suspect that I’ve been at home all day. I’ll catch a glimpse of a face in one of the windows and wonder if that boy looking at me realizes I’m homeschooled.

I’ve been homeschooled my entire life. I can’t compare homeschooling with public schooling, because I don’t know firsthand what public school is like. But I do know that I would not be who I am today if I had not been homeschooled.

One of the things I think is so great about homeschooling is that every family is different. Some homeschool parents assign a week’s worth of schoolwork on Monday and tell the kids to complete it when they get to it during the week; others sit down with their kids and do school for a certain amount of time each day. It’s entirely up to the family.

As for me, for four mornings a week my mom sits down with my sisters and I and we do school from quarter to seven until about noon. But it’s not a set thing- if I finish all my schoolwork before noon, I’m free to leave the dining room and the rest of my day is free.

Another thing that’s great is that if I don’t understand something, my mom can sit down with me and help me one-on-one until it clicks. Because she only has three students to teach, she has more time to make sure we all understand our work. A school teacher with twenty or more students simply doesn’t have that time to help the students individually.

In the past, going to school was a privilege. Children wanted to go to school. They wanted to learn; they wanted to be educated. Because school is now mandatory, many children seem to have lost their love of it. For me, school is mandatory, too- my mom doesn’t give me a choice, I have to learn. But she has taught me that education is a privilege, and given the choice I would still choose to learn rather than be uneducated.

My life is mine to do with what I like, and I want to give it the best start possible. I don’t think that someone with less of an education is inferior to anyone else, and if a person chooses not to be schooled at all that’s their decision. But I do know that many people won’t hire someone for a high-paying job if they haven’t had a good education.

I want all doors to be open to me. I want to be able to be whatever I want to be, and do whatever I want to do. I want to know, for my own sake, that I have gotten a complete education.

I believe that I am getting the best education I can get. My mom knows me. She knows my likes and dislikes, she knows my stumbling blocks and where I excel. She knows what I want to be. She knows all of that, and so she knows how best to help me to learn.

Being homeschooled, I don’t think that my life lacks anything. I know that I’m getting a good education and, contrary to what many people think, homeschoolers are not necessarily socially deprived. My family belongs to a homeschool group, and if we ever want to hang out with other homeschoolers we can. I’m a fourteen year old girl with a varied circle of friends ranging from eight to sixteen years old, both boys and girls, and I’ve had a boyfriend.

And I have something that I think many kids don’t these days- a close relationship with my family. Because I’m always at home, I’ve had more of a chance to bond with my parents and siblings. I know them, and they know me. My sisters are my closest friends, and I can tell my mom anything. My dad, mom, sisters and I all know how to have a good time together and make each other laugh.

I don’t put much stock in the homeschool stereotypes. I don’t fit hardly any of them. Yes, I’m somewhat different from everyone else- but everyone is unique. If everyone was the same, where would the variety be? I’m different in many ways, but I’m also similar to other teens in many ways, too. I love Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas. I like chatting and hanging out with friends, and I like talking on the phone.

I take pride in the fact that I’m homeschooled. I love to be different, and I love to be who I am. Homeschooling is the right thing for me, and if my mom offered me the chance to go to public school I would turn it down in a split second.

I am homeschooled, and that is something I am and will continue to be proud of.