The Life of a Homeschooler in a Prejudiced World

I was homeschooled.

Yes, you might have a series of questions for me. I’ve heard them all many times.

“Does your mom teach you?” This is my sweet answer: “Yes, my mom teaches me.” This is my sarcastic answer: “No, my mom hires a private tutor to teach me in her own home so that she can go to work to pay for the private tutor.”

 “Does that mean you don’t have homework?” The clever ones twist this one and say, “So all of your schoolwork is homework, right?” I chuckle. Schooled people don’t seem to have any concept of schooling without homework. This is a secret way of life that most homeschoolers take part in and guard with their lives.

“How do you socialize?” This one is actually quite humorous because it is so illogical. The people asking me this don’t seem to notice that they are partaking in the act of socializing with me by asking me that question. I usually don’t point out their ignorance, because it is not an uplifting way to communicate with people. Instead, I laugh it off. I also usually don’t tell them that I actually have many wonderful friends whose ages range from young children to aging adults, and that I could easily interact with all of them. I also don’t remind them that they are stuck in a room all day full of people that are only the same age as they are, which means that I probably had a better social circle than they have.

“Do you get recess whenever you want?” Yes, and in fact this is actually a much more effective way for children to learn. Children have so much energy and curiosity that it just seems logical they should be using it through play to learn about the world. Why stick them in a classroom all day writing out problems on pieces of paper when they can be figuring out problems in the real world by playing? It’s healthier anyways. We don’t want any more of those obesity problems everybody constantly complains about.

“How do you know you’re getting an adequate education?” This one is offensive. People tend to have this preconceived idea that a home education is synonymous with a bad education. You know, someone’s education isn’t considered adequate until it’s been proven by a standardized test, right? Luckily, my parents made me take one of those tests in fifth grade. (So I can actually empathize with all schooled children who sit through that misery annually.) My “above average” scores on all areas of learning was a way my parents could prove to skeptics that they could actually teach their own children. Isn’t that an absurd idea?

“Do you get to do your schoolwork in your pajamas?” This is my favorite question because I get to make people jealous of me when I scoff and say, “Yeah, after I get up at eleven in the morning!”

I was homeschooled. Do you have any more questions?