For those of you who were homeschooled...Any regrets? Do you wish you'd been educated differently? Why?

Answer 1

No regrets. I have never been to public school, and I like it that way. Contrary to popular belief, we are not freaks and we are not social retards. The majority of my friends have spent their whole life in public school, and only a few of my close friends have been homeschooled. My schedule has NEVER been empty, what with music lessons, Spanish classes, math team, drama club, choral practice, soccer practice, science club, church activities and other things.
Someone said that homeschoolers might fall behind in some classes. I'm sure this is true in some cases, but it has never been a problem in my experience. I am a better speller then most people I know, and I have read things that they haven't read. I skipped grades in math, and even when I had some difficulty and had to stop doing so, I was still on the same level as other people my age. I took the ACT in seventh grade and scored a 20, higher then some people who were seniors that year. I have no regrets. I refuse to let people tell me that my life should have been any different. I had someone tell me something was "Wrong" with me because of being homeschooled, and it offended me immensely. There is nothing wrong with being homeschooled. To each his own, I suppose, but I would never have my life any other way.

Answer 2

I miss socializing and working with other people. But, that's not a skill I lack because I'm homeschooled. I presently don't work, but I've held any job and been promoted and viewed as one of the best workers.

I do believe, however, that I would lack social skills if I was homeschooled my whole life. I decided to just do my high school term with homeschooling. I do regret it because I lack motivation sometimes. But, at the same time I don't, because it's helped me to learn self-discipline on my own, without force or expectance from a teacher. I don't have distractions, or guys trying to get in my pants!

Also...a little tidbit...I've really enjoyed the sleep. I am an insomniac at night! It's really sucky and I don't trust taking pills. I have a weird sleeping schedule. Homeschooling has been really helpful with this!!!

I can get along with pretty much anyone I encounter!

Of course, I don't think homeschooling is for everyone. Personal evaluation should be closely examined when you make your decision.

Over-all no regrets. I still have many friends and will be going to college along with the rest. College is my main concern. If anything, not going to college would be a huge regret.

Answer 3

As a foster kid I was ostracized. I was adopted in 10th grade and the family homeschooled. Homeschooling eased the pressures I was under and the stress I had been carrying. But in truth my education was left up to what I could learn on my own. The GED held some stigma when searching for a job. As I entered college I was left out of scholarship opportunities. I did find the GED scholarship which helped in small ways. I now have a master's degree in education. I'm not against homeschooling. My sister homeschool's her children and does just fine. Another niece is homeschooled due to her particular disability. But, there are things I missed out on socially that I wished I could have participated in such as Homecoming, Prom, and hanging out with friends in between classes. These are the regrets. When friends sit around reminiscing about their high school days, I can't really join in. For me the overall experience would have to be rated negatively. I wish that I could have remained in public school. I wholly support homeschooling and I see the children who would benefit from homeschooling and am loving the trend toward co-ops and support groups. The format I was in just wasn't ideal or even adequate.

Answer 4

I was homeschooled from kindergarten through my senior year of high school. One of my regrets while I was being homeschooled was the lack of social interaction with people my age. However, now that I have graduated and am in college, I have found these social skills easy to develop. I really don't feel that I missed out by being homeschooled. Yes, I may have studied alone a lot, but I got a great education. I took my first college class as a thirteen year old and started attending a junior college full time in addition to my high school classes as a sophomore. Now that I am an actual college student, I am very grateful that my parents allowed me to do this because in the course of taking classes I was interested in, I finished all of my General Education requirements.
Public schools in my hometown are not very good, so homeschooling allowed me to take classes I would not have been able to take otherwise. My parents were able to challenge me because they knew me. My junior high classes at home were much harder than anything I have encountered in college yet.
I really feel I got a superior education. I got a 1560 on the SAT's (back when the top score was still 1600!) and am doing well in all of my college courses. I highly recommend homeschooling. It gave me a great education and gave me study skills for college. Any downsides have been quickly remedied. If you are thinking of homeschooling, I recommend finding a support group with other students around your child's age. This can allow your kids to interact with other kids their age.

Answer 5

I am 18 years old and in the 12 grade. I was homeschooled from K-6th, Private School 7-8th, and public school 9th-12th. I have to say that I do not regret being homeschooled. Homeschooling was very nice and relaxing for me. I woke up around 9 and worked till 12. My "grades" in homeschool were excellent and the teaching from my parents helped me to move though my subjects very fast. Although I do not regret homeschooling, I am very glad that I was not homeschooled though highschool. Im sure I could have learned alot more academically if I had been homeschooled, but public school teaches many things that is usually not learned in homeschool. Public school taught me how to deal with the stress of poor grades, stressing over trying to do ally my assignments, and stressing conflicts with other children. Public school taught me how to deal with poor and incompetant teachers, mean teachers, mean students, and the fact that I no longer was the only student that was being taught. Public school taught me that I need to get up in the mornings and attend school almost every day which at times was hard for me. I believe that If I had been homeschooled though highschool, I will have struggled alot more in real life than i have attending public school.

Answer 6

This might sound strange, but my only regret is that I have been homeschooled all my life. When people ask me if I like being homeschooled, I tell them "yes. but it's all I know. I've never been to public or Christian/private school" One of my only regrets is that I have nothing personally to compare it with.
Something else that I somewhat regret is the fact that the atmosphere at home is more relaxed than it would be in a public school. I'm not forced to get "to" school at a certain time, which makes getting started difficult sometimes.

But overall I have no major regrets and would not change a thing.

Answer 7

I was homeschooled. Very few regrets. Half-finished elementary school, then got homeschooled.

I don't sit around all day in pajamas. That's unschooling. My parents didn't teach me everything. They hired tutors, I self-studied, took classes at the local university, extension classes, online classes, etc. I got a 35 on my ACT and a 2340 on my SAT.

I'm not a social retard. In fact, I'm more outgoing than many people I know. My parents didn't force me to stay away from that kid because *whisper* he's weird or pass on strange prejudices to me. I'm not innocent or naive or anything like that.

I'm not contemptuous of public schoolers or have a specialized education. I'm very well-rounded, almost ridiculously so...

The only thing I regret (because I'm at that age) is that I haven't been able to get a girlfriend. But then, there's always time later...

Answer 8

I was home schooled and my regret was I couldn't go to public school any earlier. My regret was I wasn't educated. My regret was not having any friends. My regret was not being able to play on a sports team. My regret was not being able to socialize well with others.

To be honest, I hated being home schooled. I regret that my parents didn't send me to school earlier.

You know you all can hate my answer and say I have no idea what I'm talking about but those were words coming from a real former home schooler, not someone who has never been home schooled.

Answer 9

Can I speak on behalf of girl know--not my own? We see a high school homeschooled girl on a very regular basis. The girl is in her 4th year of homeschooling (she's in grade 10)--her only regret is that her parents didn't decide to homeschool her earlier. She got very behind in school and socially suffered because she wouldn't be like the other girls in their clothes and attitues. She managed to catch up with homeschooling and sees junior high girls regularly as part of her sports training and is sooooooo glad she missed out on having to deal with those kinds of behaviours on a daily, full-time basis. While she does stuff with other homeschoolers, none of her actual friends are homeschoolers--they're from her competitive sports training.

We meet up with other homeschoolers usually at least once a week. The kids range in all ages with a growing number of junior high and high school kids present. The teens all have the option of going to school, if that's what they really want, but they are all very happy at home.

Answer 10

Nope, no regrets. I'm a senior in high school this year and I've loved it since the beginning. My dad says that people say we miss out on stuff, but the only things he got out of school that we didn't were "how to lie, cheat, and cuss". Obviously, there are lots of great people that go to public school and private school! I have loved homeschooling, and really don't feel like I missed out on anything. Now and then I feel kinda like the odd man out because I didn't go to school, but not very often.