how do you know if homeschooling is right for you?

Question

i'm in the 8th grade and i hate it and i think i want to be homeschooled but then i won't be able to see my friends as much but i think i really want to be homeschooled, i'm just afraid of two things a)people will treat me differently like "oh she's the nerdy freak who never does anything bad" and b)i'll miss out on stuff

Answer 1

If you don't want anything to do with your peers, or boys at school. Jo-ken, if you feel you could work better without anyone teaching you, that is if you have a computer at home, do you think you are responsible enough to be able to do all your work and be able to do research on your own for better understanding to figure out some things or problems you might need a teacher for, but you will manage just fine without one. Sometimes we don't need teachers to teach us if we have parents who have the patience to help us when we get stuck. The Internet now is very helpful with a lot! You might want to look into buying the middle school, and high school Success Deluxe 2007 it's a software.

Answer 2

Don't worry! I'm in the 6th grade and have been home schooled all my life. Now, this is the first year my best friend was home schooled. At first, she was afraid she would be cooped up in the house all day. And she'd never get to see her old friends. But soon, she realized she loved home schooling! And she still got to see her old friends all the time! She called them, they hung out, and went over each other's houses. And if your friends won't hang out with you because you're home schooled, they aren't real friends. And you'll get a GREAT education!!! Better than ever! And your parent or whatever doesn't have to have a degree in teaching or anything. My mom didn't even go to college! See, in the ciriculim, they tell you everything to say and do. "Tell the child that to find the answer, divide the numerator by the dinominator and add 5." Just for example. So home schooling is usually right for everyone. Some people just don't know about it that well. So they think it's not right for them. Good luck! Feel free to e-mail me.

Answer 3

Well first of all, I was homeschooled for the last two years of high school and became more social afterwards (just for those of you who think we are socially retarded). I had been shy before, but I really came out of my shell from it. I knew it was right for me because we moved from an area with a tiny school to an area with a huge school (the graduating class was as big as the junior high and high school, if not the whole school). As I said before, I had been shy, and I wasn't used to all of the gangs and crime (my previous school had some crime, but it was mainly drugs...you didn't have to worry about danger at school). The only way you really know is to try it. However, you have to give yourself a schedule (make a short-term and long-term schedule). Stick to the schedule...it can be really easy to slack off. Also, many communities have co-ops that organize socializing groups, field trips, etc., so you wouldn't miss out on much. I personally think you should wait until high school...there are only a few months of your 8th grade year left. If you decide to homeschool Penn Foster and the American School of Correspondence are both good. I did the American School's high school (instead of the two years I had left, I finished in one). And right now I am doing one of Penn Foster's career classes. I have friends who are doing Penn Foster's high school. If you need any help, you can email me. My email is [e-mail].
www.pennfoster.edu
www.americanschoolofcorr.com
btw: These are both correspondence courses, so your parents do not have to teach you..sheesh, why do all of these people automatically assume that homeschooler=parent teachers...your parents can help you if you have a problem, but they don't always teach you.

Answer 4

I don't think there's any way to know for sure ahead of time that it will be right for you. There's also the element of MAKING it right for you. That is, sure, there may be some downsides, but you can overcome them by having the attitude that homeschooling will be great, that you'll do what you need to so that it is great. (Of course, the same could be said, to a certain degree, about being in public school.)

I would say you need to examine closely why you want to homeschool. If it's for academics because things just aren't meeting your needs at school, then I say explore the idea of homeschooling further. There are likely activities you can participate in to make other friends and you can still keep in touch with your friends in the evenings and on weekends and holidays. (You know, this is how the real world after school years is, right? You don't hang out with your friends all day!)

I'd say explore a little more what's available where you live for homeschoolers and really do some soul searching to figure out why you want to homeschool. Also list advantages and disadvantages and decide which things are most important to you. (Don't make the mistake of seeing a long list for one side and thinking it means that that's the side to go with--sometimes just a single item on one side is so important it outweighs all the rest.)

Good luck with your decision!

ADDED: About somebody else's comments, you do NOT have to have weekly meetings. That's a particular independent study program. Nothing falling under homeschooling laws requires such a thing, only if you do a program out of a school (district).

Also, I never addressed the whole "missing out" thing. Hon, you're already missing out on stuff you could be doing if you were homeschooling. You're missing out on things by living where you live instead of another city or another country. You're missing out on things by not participating in activities that are out there. Every decision means we're going to be missing out on something. There's nothing wrong with that.

Answer 5

i know many homeschooling families. it works well for some, and is a disaster for others. here's what i think is important in considering homeschooling, as a student:

1. do your parents know how to teach and tutor you? do they have the time? even homeschooled students and parents HAVE TO ATTEND school for a weekly lesson, or to receive materials on a regualr basis.

2. will your homeshool courses be accepted by the university that you are interested in? don't think you can write an easy cheesy paper and have the rest of the day off. you're going to be in high school, and the work you do has GOT to be good.

3. do you have a social life? if you are a misfit (no offense) then homeschooling might make things worse. if you are part of a homeschool community in which you can hang out with other homeschooled teens your age, go on field trips, and outings, then you'll be fine. if you are doing it to escape school - not a good idea.

4. most importantly: do you have good study skills, and are you creative and bright? if the public school system that you are in now has overlooked your talents or if school is just a joke, homeschooling might be great for you. i've seen SUPER SMART kids earn scholarships to ivy leagues out of a good homeschooling environment. if you have learning issues, your parents need to be great teachers, or be able to afford good tutors for you.

Answer 6

How much do you get to talk to your friends now? When i was in school, I saw them for five minutes between classes, and twenty minutes at lunch. We couldn't even talk in class, we just rolled our eyes at each other. We did our real talking after school.

I've seen in homeschooling that my kids have made a TON of friends outside of public school, and see them throughout the day. And then after school, they don't have homework or anything, so they can spend all their time with their PS friends (usually helping them with their stupid homework!)

What are you worried about missing? Band? Orchestra? Cool Classes? Prom? Sports? We have all of those options available in homeschooling. Contact your local group, you should be able to google for it, and see how active they are, what all they offer. In our area, there's something like eight different groups, just in our town there's three with something like 1000 families in just one.


You only can know if it's right for you by talking to your parents and really being open to how willing you are to work more independently. If you're just going to fight your parents on every assignment, then what's the point? They might as well keep you in school so you can fight the teachers, KWIM? Read a book or two about it, like homeschooling for dummies (okay, i just love all the dummies series) and you might also read 'The Teenage Liberation Handbook'. I like this website http://oklahomahomeschool.com, because it has a really good outline of what order to go in as far as figuring out homeschooling.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I was home schooled and yes, there are some nerdy home schooled kids out there, but not all of them are! you'll meet a lot of kids that are like you. some are really cool kids and there's a lot to get involved with out there, join a home school group in your area. and you'll have a lot of time to study what you want, to help you with what you want to do in the future and you'll have time to work. I'm in college now and doing really well, and i wasn't exactly the smartest home schooled student.

Answer 8

It is not for everybody. It can work or it can fail. The limitations are the lack of expertise on the part of the parent (the usual tutor) and loss of socialization with other people. If have met some who swear by it and others who swear at it.

Answer 9

i am home schooled and my friends dont care they want to be home schooled.