4 ms·
Three years ago, at 13, my daughter begged to be homeschooled, and so we moved to Idaho specifically because of its advanced homeschool options. It allows her
by david927 5y ago
Three years ago, at 13, my daughter begged to be homeschooled, and so we moved to Idaho specifically because of its advanced homeschool options. It allows her to pick and choose how she does classes, so she takes a couple of classes at the local school each year (usually accelerated math and an AP subject). This allows her to meet other kids her age and join clubs, etc. She's introverted so it was never that important to her and I can honestly say that she's a thousand times happier since we started it.
For the subjects she studies at home, she's been able to go at her own, faster pace and do in-depth projects, like writing an 80,000 word novel for English, which made learning both fun and meaningful. At the end of last year she already had five APs, all with 5, and she recently sat for the SAT and got a 1570. I think every child is different, but for mine, homeschool has simply been incredibly good for her, and loneliness wasn't a big factor.
- spoonjim 5y agoWhen she begged to be homeschooled, what were her reasons? Were they more about wanting academic acceleration or having problems with the social environment at school?
- david927 5y agoBoth. She wanted the academic acceleration but she also wasn't incredibly happy with the social environment either. The teachers would sometimes make her partner with kids that needed help or seat disruptive kids next to her to even them out; in other words, instead of fostering her development, using her to foster others. One of our concerns would be the diminished interaction with kids her age but then we thought about our own high school experiences and realized she probably wouldn't be missing anything. I had a great time at university but high school? That was just a nightmare.
- enduser 5y agoThis happened to me too. I got my school board to pass an alternative study option for me (which students are still using now 20 years later) but ultimately dropped out (and later dropped out of college). I may have missed out on some socialization and networking, but I'm doing fine and glad I listened to myself. For some of us, public school is the steamroller. Thanks for listening to and taking care of your daughter like this.
- david927 5y agoThanks for saying that.
- actfrench 5y agoAwesome. This is what I've observed as well.
- david927 5y agoI wanted to post this since I see a lot of resistance to homeschool as an option. That said, I need to add as a caveat that my child's experience is almost certainly an outlier. I believe in homeschooling and that it should be offered as an alternative, especially where children can take some subjects at school. This gets them social exposure but allows them to pick and choose their social involvement level. Further, it works best when it is 1) each year elected by the child, 2) the child is a natural autodidact and has good self-starting and organizational skills, and 3) there is someone dedicated to nurturing this. There's no one-size-fits-all and this is true nowhere more than in education.