my parents want to home school me.......!?

Question

i really DO NOT want to!my cousin is home schooled and she is,sorry to say this,but kinda socially retarted.i know,its really mean,i dont want to waste the best years of my schooling life (h.s) at home.i want to have friends that are like me.also,what if they do home school me?will i be stupid?how do i make them change their minds about public school?they think that there are WAY to many fights,which at my school,there is at LEAST 4-5 fights a week.I WILL LOVE SCHOOL FOREVER IF THEY CHANGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! help me with something to say please!

Answer 1

It depends on why they want to home school you. If your school is crap, then it may be best for you to do it to succeed later in life. If that is the case, make sure you are enrolled in a lot of extra curricular to get the socialization.

If there is a different reason (religion, your behavior,...) see if they will consider sending you to a different school. Private schooling is less expensive than homeschooling and there are a lot of scholarships available.

Also, point out they don't know everything there is to teach. To prove this, go to http://regentsprep.org/ and print out some sample tests in a bunch of different subjects. They'll see how much they have forgotten and may reconsider. Even if you are a Ph.D. in English, chances are you don't remember 10th grade math.

Good luck trying to convince them.

Answer 2

Wow...this is a hard one. Perhaps your parents can find an alternative to the current public school, like a private school, or Charter. I went to public school and yes, there were fights, but you know what? Some of my family homeschools and their kids fight all the time because they are with each other 24-7. I am a public school teacher and I have to say that I take offense to the notion that some people on here have stated that kids in public school can't think for themselves and are mindless drones. That's unfair and it's a grand generalization. You may not end up stupid if homeschooled, but you may end up behind academically. We have had children start attending school who were previously homeschooled and they were a great deal behind and became quite frustrated. This is a tough one....if your parents want to do this, then you will have to go along. I would do some research online so you have some facts to back up your stance.

Answer 3

Sorry, I can't help you there. If they are concerned about your safety at school and just the general social situation at your school, I think they have every right to pull you out.

This doesn't mean you have to freak out. Your attitude about it will either make it a good experience or a bad experience. And we all have the ability to choose our attitudes about things. Basically, what I'm saying, is that if you homeschool and find it miserable, it's your own fault!

You don't have to become 'socially retarded' (whatever that is supposed to mean; besides, is that just how your cousin is and she'd be the same way if she was in school?)--make a point to find, or enlist your parents' help to find, other homeschooled kids, homeschool support groups, find out about homeschooling activities, get together with your school friends on weekends, call them in the evenings, get involved in volunteering, things like that.

There is no reason to think that you will be stupid! Most homeschooling parents take their jobs as teachers very seriously and the chances are you will come out of homeschooling with a better education than your friends who are staying in school. Plus, it sounds like you are old enough to take some responsibility in it all. YOU can actually pick something you want to learn about, imagine that? Also consider that you won't be at school all day and have to do homework in the evening. You'll have a lot more free time to do things you enjoy.

I know a growing number of junior high and high school kids who are all homeschooled, who love homeschooling. They are not social retards, they are receiving a great education, they have some very good friends... Just stay calm. It will be okay.

**Added: I just read the teacher's comments about "you may end up behind academically"; it's the same thing if you go to public school or private school or anything like that! How many kids in public school are behind academically? LOTS!

Answer 4

Listen I'm a parent of 3 and homeschool my kids.I know after being in public school it will be hard but try to imagine that your the parent-one day you will probably be the parent and you imagine some of the things that they hear about your school,they are just trying to do the best thing for a child they love so very much.If they didn't care about you they could care less what happened to you-so be thankful your parents care.I also want you to know that homeschool kids are normally one to two grade levels above a public school level.So don't think your going to be dumb, you will probably be able to do alot of independent study.As far as your friends, you will still get to hang out with them more than likely but there are local support groups that have all kind of activities to participate in just ask your parents to find the local group info.You can go to your local state homeschooling page and the state is broke into districts and they should have phone numbers available.Give your parents a break there trying to do you a favor.

Answer 5

Students who are home schooled are not stupid the parents won't make them stupid. There are 15 year old who are home schooled who are taking college entrance exams. As for the friend thing there is different things you can do to have friends you can still join some electives and extracurricular activities at a regular high school your parents just need to request you to be allowed. I can't help you with what to say to change their minds. I am homeschooling my 9 yr. old boy this school year. I went to a regular high school and I hated it. I had more friends who were younger than me at home than I did kids my age at school. I wish my mom had home schooled me. She didn't like any of my friends that I made friends with. She always had a problem in some way or another. So ended up not having any friends left when I graduated High School.

Answer 6

Homeschoolers score better on tests, so you may be smarter. You will not be socially retarded if you get out often.

As a compromise, you could open enroll in a different public school or attend a local private school where the fights are fewer.

You could tell them that homeschooling would be depressing to you and that you need to have some balance in your life. You think you would learn more in school because you are happier there.

Answer 7

I have been homeschooling my children for about 4 years. I have a 15 year old son that is not socially retarted...lol he just makes better choices than going out partying all the time. Your cousin probably makes better choices as to who she hangs out with and how to spend her time because she is homeschooled. Thats not being socially retarted....just being more mature in what choices she makes. My son has tons of friends and belongs to many social groups.

Homeschooled kids are not behind academically either as the "teacher" stated. They just aren't pressured into learning something new every two or three days. If you like a subject spend as long as you like on that subject...days, weeks, months...its okay. For example: you probably like fashion...you would have the opportunity to study it in depth and who knows you could be a fashion designer. If you like art you can go to the art museum as much as you want to study your favortie artist for as long as you want and then compare what you know against someone who studied that same artist in public school. Bet you'll know more because you've had the time to study whereas they spent two or three days on that artist and was forced to move on.

You have the opportunity to grow up and make your own choices with what you learn and how you learn. You can be more trusted by your parents when they see your making smarter, more informed choices.


There are charter schools, online schools, and in some school districts you can take some classes at your local school with the rest of the kids so your not totally socially inept.
Think about it. Are you really learning with all the fights going on?
You have a great opportunity here...take advantage of it and really learn something and retain it instead of learning it long enough to be able to pass a test.

Answer 8

I would make a list of all the reasons why it would better for you to be at a public school and sit down and talk with your parents about it. Make sure you include the part about your cousin and how she doesn't fit in and how you don't want that to happen to you. If your parents are concerned about a certain school, see if they can have you transfered into another local high school. There might be a fee, but it would be a good alternative.

Answer 9

I was home schooled all the way through (I graduated in 2004) and I am so thankful. I feel I learned more at home than I would have in a public school. Because the education you get is focused, you can do anything with it. For example, I am extremely interested in science but I struggle with writing. My mom had the ability to form my education around my interests and help me understand things that did not come easily.
Also when I was younger I remember finishing all my homework before lunch and my friends would come home with tons of homework they had to do after dinner. I ended up with much more free time.

Answer 10

Well, I'm sure they just want you to be in a healthy environment, understandable. I agree that I wouldn't want to be away from my social life. Try to explain that to your parents if you haven't already. If they don't listen, ask if there's an alternative (like transfering to a different school or something like that). If that doesn't work and you are forced to be homeschooled, just make the best out of it. Be sure to get all your friends' #s and make plans as often as possible.

Hope it works and good luck.