I think the impact homeschooling had on me is what it taught implicitly, that I was different from the others. What I tangibly learned (or didn't learn) doesn't carry as much weight as experiencing being the one neighborhood kid who is out playing at the bus stop in the morning but doesn't get on the school bus. The questions I get about it are usually about socialization, college (lol), "who was your teacher?", and they are usually posed by people who don't know what it's like to be on the other side of that social dynamic. The best way that I can describe my feelings about it is "it gave me a unique life."
Nailed it Luke! I used to dread seeing the school bus because the drivers seemed mean (kids too). Maybe they just didn’t understand why a 5th grader would be playing in the street vs being on the bus. It’s unique for sure!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've always had very mixed feelings about homeschooling. On the one hand, my older brother and his wife, who are both very intellectual and progressive, "unschooled" their two kids at home with such success that my nephew & niece went to Cornell and Pitzer. On the other hand, it seems some homeschooling parents are like those depicted in Tara Westover's "Educated" with a radical, narrow, unscientific world view, and the kids suffer for it. Rare, it seems, is the homeschooling family like my brother and sister-in-law who share it equally; usually it falls on the stay-at-home mom. The downside to successful homeschooling (as my brother & sister-in-law did) is it means the smartest, most involved parents are not connected to the public school system, which would benefit from involved parents like them. Personally, I was drawn to experiment with homeschooling, but I didn't want to be stuck at home doing it. We pulled our kids out of school for a year when they were 11 and 8 to travel and live nomadically around the world, and we loosely followed the public school's curriculum for their 6th and 3rd grades, through an independent study contract, since they were re-entering the school system the year following travel. That year of "roadschooling" was magical and reaped all the benefits of self-directed and exploratory learning that you described. They could follow their curiosity and become absorbed in a topic, and not have to switch gears from one subject to another as happens when kids must follow the school day's schedule. But, one year was enough for me as teacher, and I was happy to give the job back to their well-credentialed and qualified teachers!
Excellent points, Sarah! I had to stop myself from going into a tizzy over "unschooling". I met many children from families that were "unschooled" growing up and still have genuine concerns over their ability to function in society. There are truly so many ways "homeschooling" can go, which is part of why I've become more willing to answer questions about it.
I hadn't even considered engaged parents not being part of the public school system! That is a loss on both sides. And I'm so glad you were to able experince it a little while! The best of both worlds : )
Such an interesting perspective
Thanks for reading!
I think the impact homeschooling had on me is what it taught implicitly, that I was different from the others. What I tangibly learned (or didn't learn) doesn't carry as much weight as experiencing being the one neighborhood kid who is out playing at the bus stop in the morning but doesn't get on the school bus. The questions I get about it are usually about socialization, college (lol), "who was your teacher?", and they are usually posed by people who don't know what it's like to be on the other side of that social dynamic. The best way that I can describe my feelings about it is "it gave me a unique life."
Nailed it Luke! I used to dread seeing the school bus because the drivers seemed mean (kids too). Maybe they just didn’t understand why a 5th grader would be playing in the street vs being on the bus. It’s unique for sure!
Thanks for sharing your experience. I've always had very mixed feelings about homeschooling. On the one hand, my older brother and his wife, who are both very intellectual and progressive, "unschooled" their two kids at home with such success that my nephew & niece went to Cornell and Pitzer. On the other hand, it seems some homeschooling parents are like those depicted in Tara Westover's "Educated" with a radical, narrow, unscientific world view, and the kids suffer for it. Rare, it seems, is the homeschooling family like my brother and sister-in-law who share it equally; usually it falls on the stay-at-home mom. The downside to successful homeschooling (as my brother & sister-in-law did) is it means the smartest, most involved parents are not connected to the public school system, which would benefit from involved parents like them. Personally, I was drawn to experiment with homeschooling, but I didn't want to be stuck at home doing it. We pulled our kids out of school for a year when they were 11 and 8 to travel and live nomadically around the world, and we loosely followed the public school's curriculum for their 6th and 3rd grades, through an independent study contract, since they were re-entering the school system the year following travel. That year of "roadschooling" was magical and reaped all the benefits of self-directed and exploratory learning that you described. They could follow their curiosity and become absorbed in a topic, and not have to switch gears from one subject to another as happens when kids must follow the school day's schedule. But, one year was enough for me as teacher, and I was happy to give the job back to their well-credentialed and qualified teachers!
Excellent points, Sarah! I had to stop myself from going into a tizzy over "unschooling". I met many children from families that were "unschooled" growing up and still have genuine concerns over their ability to function in society. There are truly so many ways "homeschooling" can go, which is part of why I've become more willing to answer questions about it.
I hadn't even considered engaged parents not being part of the public school system! That is a loss on both sides. And I'm so glad you were to able experince it a little while! The best of both worlds : )
The baby Allison pic!! ❤️❤️
So tiny!