Some people are completely against homeschooling. But I, on the other hand, think it was the one greatest decisions my parents made. No, I don't have a 4.0, but I do have 3.7 so that's okay. I'm not great at Math, but I'm good at English and Literature. I have a love for history. I am not trying to brag in any way, I'm trying to make a point! I'm human. Just like public or private schoolers! I have my weaknesses and my strong points. I will admit homeschooling may not be for everyone, but it was definitely the right thing for me!
Like I said, I had mixed feelings about homeschooling. I wasn't always proud to be a homeschooler! My reasons were all quite petty! I thought if I went to pubic school I would have more friends, and better grades, but I would not have lasted long in pubic school! I would've been begging my mom to take me back out, or I would've gotten myself into huge trouble! I think it would've been the latter because of my pride! My parents saved me from ever having to make those bad decisions that would have ruined my Christian testimony.
After all of that, Yes, I have two more lists for you! Haha! Let me know if you get tired of my lists, I'll try to stop!
Cons to Homeschooling
1. Extra- Circular Activities
Though it is definitely possible to be involved in sports or plays, etc. as a homeschooler, it isn't something you think much about. I placed this on my "cons" list because I would have tried out for a girls basketball team and maybe a couple of plays, if I was pubic schooled. I know I probably could have found a way to, but being a homeschooler, a lot of people in pubic school, don't like to let us "outsiders" get involved in their extra circulars! But it isn't like I would've become a famous actress or basketball player if I had gotten involved in high school... LOL
2. Misunderstandings
People that have a bad idea of what homeschooling is truly like, make it harder for homeschoolers! It is a simple fact! They make it harder for us to get involved in extra circulars and they give us a bad name! When they truly don't understand how everything works! Some people even try to make pubic school look glamorous thinking our parents may want to throw out the whole homeschool idea and do what everyone else is doing!
3. Questions
I don't care how many times you were told this lie, but there is such a thing as a stupid question! Not all questions that we are asked are stupid but some definitely are! Such as:
"Do you have friends?" There are other places to meet new people! Such as camps, church, and sports (Yes we do get involved in sports, I was simply making a point earlier).
"Do you actually do school?" Of course we do school!
"If you're homeschooled can you go to college?" Anyone can go to college if you are determined enough!
"Do you even take tests?" Did I say we do school?
"Can you ___ yet?" Whether it is read, add, or count to whatever number, once a kid hits a certain age, it is not appropriate to ask this. It is demeaning to assume that simply because we are homeschooled, we are dumb!
4. Personal "Flaws"
One big thing a lot of people consider a con is a lack of social life and social growth. So I simply had to put it on the list! Many people may think I am quite because I was homeschooled, and if that is the case, look at my sisters! Not all of them are quiet! Some are even quite loud at times! I am an introvert and a few of my sisters are extroverts! We even have a ambivert! In all seriousness, I am naturally an introvert and that has nothing to do with being homeschooled!
5. No sick days, or snow days
Obviously this depends on your parents! As long as I wasn't throwing up and I could see, I would do school! But if we had snow then most likely we would makeup for it later! We may have done some math and reading but then we would go outside for a bit of P.E.!
Pros to Homeschooling
1. No Bullies
Pubic schools have a huge problem with bullies now days it seems! Being homeschooled, the closest thing to a bully in my childhood, was a brother figure I had. He was always pulling pranks on us, not a whole lot on me, to be honest. He was nice to me for some reason! And by nice, I mean he left me in a field or threw food at me instead of shooting me with a BB gun or shooting bottle rockets at me! He would do all of the above to my sisters and then some! But I didn't have to deal with bullies at all growing up, that was it! And believe me, I was a weird kid (still am! #noshame! lol), and I would have been bullied in pubic school!
2. No Horrible Teachers
I didn't have horrible teachers! Maybe a bit of a grouchy teacher ( yes, my mom is human, she had some bad days every now and then when... Mostly our fault when she did though... Sorry Mother!) Actually the only bad teachers or classes I remember having were virtual teachers! You know the ones on the TV screen you can skip through all of the rambling and get straight to the lesson? Yeah, those teachers, I didn't like too much. But hey! I put that fast forward button to good use! Saved me a good five to fifteen minutes each day!
3. No School Lunch "Horror" Stories
You always hear about how awful school lunches are, and to me as a homeschooler the horror stories that I was told about school lunches were simply that, stories! and well we homeschoolers had PB&J and [off brand] Pringles for lunch! Who can complain about that? The only bad lunches we had were the times we had to make our own, and to be honest, they weren't that bad either!
4. No Homework
Well this isn't entirely true! We did have homework! It was all homework! But when we were done we were completely done! So that was nice!
5. Friends
No, I didn't have "school-friends" until later in my high school years when I went to a homeschool tutorial group (which were some of the best days of my life!), where I met some really great people that I believe I will be friends with for a long, long time! I also have friends from church, and church camp, and my church's missions conference! I have plenty of friends! And friends from all over the world! The friends I do have are all trying to please God and serve Him! They are encouraging, and most of them are, or were homeschooled as well! So you don't have to worry about my social life! Believe me I stay busy!
6. More Time
As homeschoolers, we do have more time, because if we comprehend something, we can move on and we don't have to be held back by others who have a hard time in that area. There is no use in going over something five times if you got it completely the first time! I remember in the first grade I cried because I wasn't done before my mom had lunch on the table! Kids in pubic school don't even know that is possible to do! Without the unnecessary lectures, we had so much more time!
Also, this could go another way! If we need more time to grasp a concept that is difficult for us, then we can take that time! That is why I took two years to learn how to read! Because I could, and we didn't have to sweep it under the carpet so I could move on! When I moved on to third grade, my mom read my instructions to me so I could focus on that subject without getting frustrated, because I was behind in another subject, and then when reading came time along I went back to first grade in that subject, and took the time to understand the complicated rules of English. By seventh grade I was in a college reading level, because we took the extra time we had to overcome one of my weaknesses! If I had been in pubic school at that time, I would probably not be a good reader today!
7. Flexibility
This should probably be under more time, but it is a bit different. I love that being homeschooled gives you more room to be flexible with your time! I never had to plan things around school! I would almost always plans school around other things! I would double up my work for a week or so, so I could go on a vacation, or a sleepover, or whatever! I got the chance to experience much more that way; which was totally awesome!
8. Senior Year/College
Having extra time, we had the chance to double up and have a good chunk of our senior year to do whatever we wanted! Whether that was yearbook at the homeschool tutorial, or become a volunteer, take a missions trip, or shadow someone in your possible future career, or go on a spur of the moment road trip, the opportunities were endless! One big thing I think everyone looking to go to college should look into, and I wish I had done, is duel enrollment! That will be so helpful in the future! As a homeschooler you could spend your whole senior year only worrying about duel enrollment, because if you want and you are diligent you can be done with all of your high school credits by then!
9. Field Trips
...were awesome! I remember so many trips we went on and we learned so much! I remember going to a dairy farm, science museum, visiting the recue squad, and Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. We had a lot of fun! A lot of things we did turned into learning experiences, thanks to my mom and our "brother" Jason! We went to Florida and we ended up at Dinosaur Adventure Land! I was loving all of that! We went to a Christian book store and bought some cassette tapes (yes, it was a long time ago! lol). The sound was so distorted because they had become magnetized sitting close to the magnets! So we talked about what happens when electronics such as computers (and apparently cassette tapes as well!) get set near magnets or on a magnetized surface! (Again, this was a long time ago, and we don't have to worry about this anymore with our updated technology!) We had a lot of fun on field trips! We grew up in church with a good group of homeschooled kids and we went together on quite a few field trips! We still talk about all the fun we had as homeschoolers to this day!
10. School in Your Pajamas
Yes! The cliché is true! I did do school in my pajamas and my hello kitty house slippers! I am guilty! I would snuggle up on the couch with a huge blanket and read, or on a sunny day I would get dressed and I would lay on the trampoline and do my studies! Life was grand!
Basically, being homeschooled was awesome! The Pros obviously outweigh the Cons! I wouldn't have changed that for anything! I think I am better off for it. Thanks Mother and Daddy! :)
Hope you guys enjoyed my view on homeschooling! Please if you guys have some ideas of what I should rant about next, let me know! I would love to hear them!
Thank you, as always, for reading! And I will post again in two weeks! (Remember, I will not be posting on the 14th of next week, I will be out of town! Thank you all for understanding!)
Simply,
Sarah
Homeschool word count: 29
No comments:
Post a Comment