I was recently asked for my opinion of homeschooling - based on being a homeschool graduate, not a homeschool mom. To be fully honest, I was only homeschooled until high school. I then had the interesting experience of attending 4 very different types of school. Both a small and large of each Public and Private.
Before I begin I would like to state I am very glad for all the different schooling experiences I had. I will include some drawbacks here, but it is essential to note they were (are?) rather case specific. Just as no two families are alike, no two homeschools can be alike. So this is not meant as a praise nor complaint on homeschooling in general. Nor is it meant as a complaint against my family, of course they weren't perfect, but they did just fine.
The Good:
Academically I learned enough. I was taught at my own pace, but also left plenty of time to amuse my self. I willingly pursued some subjects, dragged my feet on others, and in general was a perfectly normal kid. I believe my test scores were nice. Not great but fine. (90-97 percentile depending on subject just shy of 1200 on the SAT taken in Sophomore year -out of 1600 back then) I spent very little time doing 'actual formal work'. (though I recall plenty of complaining about it!). When I entered school I aced most of my classes. I pursued mathematics early and even complained that my mother wouldn't teach me calculus at around 8. (Mom insisted I learn Algebra first, yes I insisted my son do that as well-at around the same age). I found most tests came easily and studying was never important. The bulk of the information I needed in college and currently use was learned well before entering high school.
One of the most useful subjects was 'homemaking' both my brother and I learned the basics of taking care of a house. Laundry dishes and the like. I did not come out of it a 'Susie homemaker' but I did come out knowing how to take care of myself. (a skill I consistently found lacking in my high school peers)
Another wonderful aspect of homeschooling was vast amounts of TIME. Time to do whatever it is kids do. We were not rushed in any particular sense. (most days) We would spend whole days at the science center, no deadline (and no crowds) It was a wonderful experience. When I had a question or needed help, I generally was able to get a good deal of time with either parent to solve it. There was also plenty of time to build an electromagnet, or play games. Or fight over who got to read the latest novel first. Or whatever.
Conversations with others were generally as 'equals'. Adult or child no one tended to treat me overly like ' a charge'. Meaning I might not know as much as the next person, but I was trusted to have intelligent opinions once facts were shared. I didn't always want to join adult conversations, but I was generally allowed.
The Bad:
I thought I was a dunce. Many of the children I met were academically superior to myself. I was consistently slower at reading, brain teasers, and even learning new things took me longer than others. I regularly compared my skills to children much older than myself, coming up lacking, I concluded I was a dunce. I allowed my perfectionism to assume that since I didn't live up to 'his drawing' or 'her storytelling' or 'that kids German' I must not be good at anything. While this is not a problem exclusive to homeschooling I think part of my trouble was the small sample size. I had not yet learned to withhold judgment till I had more information. From the handful of children I talked with - I was the dunce of the party.
The Ugly:
I entered school absolutely certain it was going to be terrible. I had no fear of the academics, just that every movie I had seen or book I had read pegged me squarely in the 'unpopular nerd to be picked on'. I knew stories were not real, so of course there would be no fairy tale ending of me at prom queen. I just forgot the whole 'stories are fantasy' when it came to interactions with others. In a movie, a nerd is only brought on screen to make fun of or transform on a bet.. In real life there are other nerds to talk to! This colored my interactions with folk for quite awhile.
Conclusion:
I found enough good in my own homeschooling that I chose to do it with my own kids - but I don't plan on letting the same bad or ugly happen. I am sure we will make plenty of mistakes all our own!
Oh and what about all the other problems I have? I am shy, disorganized, lazy, tactless, have lousy handwriting, (punctuation and grammar don't fly so well either!) and oh so fond of chocolate. I don't really think any of those are related to my schooling choices. You see it really is in my nature to be all those things. (yes even the spelling). Homeschooling doesn't change the nature of a child, it simply allows more time to nurture the best, temper the worst, and enjoy the rest.
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