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We are all familiar with the stereotypical homeschooler: a student who goes to the park for P.E. and probably goes to school in pajamas, a privilege he is usually envied for. Over the past few years, this stereotype has become increasingly irrelevant as more and more families, especially in California, have decided to pull their children out of the public school system in order to ensure that they get the best education possible. Being a homeschooled student myself, I have come to see the many benefits of homeschooling and treasure the years I spent studying at home.
The first thing that comes to mind is the personalized attention my brother and I always had. We attended “class” every weekday by logging into the A Beka Academy streaming website and watching pre-recorded lectures in an actual classroom. This allowed us to pause the video or go back if we were struggling with a particular concept. Added to that was the fact that our parents, science students themselves, were also available to reinforce the material.
Homeschooling also gave us the chance to study without the constant distractions of an average public or private school education. There was no need to have a “social life” or to maintain innumerable connections all at the same time. In a way, homeschooling made it easier to set academic goals, even long-term goals, and stick to them at the simple, everyday level. For me personally, this meant that my faith in Christ and relationship with Him had to be the guiding force of my education. From the very outset of high school, I decided that if it were the Lord’s will, I wanted to become a medical missionary. To do that, I would have to study very hard to get into a good college and later, a good medical school. Looking back, I realize that the loving support of my family and teachers helped me to take solid steps in that direction.
Another important aspect of homeschooling that many families treasure is the opportunity to grow close by learning and working together, and my family was no exception. True, my brother and I missed our friends from the private school we used to attend, but over time, we found other friends in our parents and in each other. Soon enough, the laughs, the discussions, and even the long, quiet study hours created a bond among us that we treasure to this day.
Homeschooling has come a long way since its earliest stages of Puritan practice, and yet the stereotypes connected with it remain. Is it only meant for the lazy or bullied? Is it really substandard? In my experience and in that of many others, homeschooling has been anything but the stereotypical program many think it to be. With enough time and patience, I believe that families everywhere can change this state of affairs and prove homeschooling to be the excellent form of education I have found it to be.
