I was home-schooled from the time I was 4 until I was 5, and then again from age 6 to 8. Most of my friends are insanely jealous of me, and have no clue as to why I’d give up my “freedom” from school.
My friends think of home-schooling as being lazy days, working when you want, not doing anything if you don’t want to, playing the X-box or Wii constantly, and taking your GED later on. While that may be true in some homes, in others (like mine), that’s far from it.
I don’t remember when I was 4 and 5 so much, except that I was in dance. I had my friends.
I’ve said that I have a brother, but that I don’t see him that often. All of my friends were at school from 800AM to 500PM (latchkey). Basically, for nine hours, every Monday through Friday, I had no one to play with. Being home-schooled, my mom could choose when she wanted to teach me. Sometimes we did fun stuff like go to the park or the zoo or a museum… But most of the time, I was at home, reading, doing math, or learning other things. I didn’t follow the set time of school, either. A lot of the time, when my friends would get home and want to play, I’d be doing my work. I envied my best friend, a boy named Eddie, who lived in the same apartment building as me, because he wasn’t at the mercy of his mom for schooling. My mom was perfectly capable of keeping me indoors on a beautiful day because I was doing my assignments.
That’s not to say I absolutely hated it. I was working at a higher level than Eddie, and I went on more field trips than he did. I’m a social person, though, and I always have been. I was still in dance, and went on to Scouts and t-ball, but those were activities that I participated in over at my grandparent’s house, which was about an hour or so away. I didn’t live with them, and the friends I made there couldn’t come home with me. Being alone like I was hurt, because I only had one or two friends at my house.
There’s nothing wrong with being home-schooled, if the child likes it. If a parent, however, makes the decision without the input of the child, it could have some serious negative affects on them. I used to be very outgoing and independent, but since then I’ve wanted to keep my friends so much that they definitely became very important to me, and I wouldn’t do anything without their approval. I’m considered “smart”, which has caused people to be too intimidated to try to talk to me, or ridicule me because of my IQ (145ish, the last time I knew). I know people who were home-schooled for longer than I who have basically no social skills, and are shy as can be. They were probably more alone than I was, however.
So when my friends asked me why I chose to come back to school (they’re amazed when they find out that I actually wanted to), they think I’m insane.
I think they need a reality check.
My mom decided to homeschool me and my two sisters when we where young to keep us away from "evil influences" she thought where lurking in public school. You see, she is both schizophernic and a hardcore Christian, which is not a good combination. I was only homeschooled through third grade, but during that time, I felt lonely much of the time, despite having sisters to play with, and despite having a few friends from dance class. We lived in a very small village of 2,000 people, so even for kids in school it was hard to find friends, so try to imagine how much harder it was for kids who where homeschooled...
Anyway, I'm happy to say I'm no longer the shy, lonely girl I once was; I live in beautiful Portland OR now, have plenty of friends, and have finally denounced my mother's delisional paranoid religion in favor of my own belief system.
Love ya,
Carrot