| As a person who was homeschooled much of my life , my background differs from the author of this article. I had only undergone public school from kindergarten to second grade and within that timespan had attend several different schools in two states: Georgia and Washington. Besides two years of education at a technical school and two quarters of college I had little in the way of a public education. The author glorifies homeschooling in a way that I’ve seen again and again. Similar to the idiom “the grass is always greener on the other side” they neglect to realize that homeschooling has it’s own set of problems, of which I hope to explain, and overlook the downsides and trade offs that it comes with. 1. You do not have an infinite amount of time to learn and still face deadlines to turn in school work (yes, we do refer to it as “homework”). 2. Unless you start off as homeschooled, transitioning from public education to what is a primarily self based learning system has a steep learning curve. 3. In conjuncture with example two, the work books are usually outdated and behind public education standards. You are REQUIRED to take the same state testing, be it the GED or the highschools, at the end of every year. This makes it difficult to pass the test. 4. What you grow and “hone” to practice self learning does not translate well to the public. You may be able to do something extremely well but businesses and companies want you to follow their standards. You need to be able to work with others and adapt. The transition to learning from home is showing to be tough on the mass majority of those who are unfamiliar with self learning. My first college quarter was entirely online and it felt almost like homeschooling. If you would not be able to succeed in this environment, you will not in homeschooling either. I wish I could talk to the Author face to face and comfort them. I understand what it’s like to go between vastly different learning environments, the annoying teachers, the wish for everything to be less convoluted, and the inability to express myself or any personal freedoms I had at that age. However, as horrible as the public education system is, you can’t run away from it hoping to never experience anything like it again. I’m sorry. I really am. As a side note, I imagine the narcissism the author displays for his peers “falling into line” will be one they change in the future. I’m speaking from personal experience. |