The Homeschool Debate

Home schoolers are socially inept. Public schoolers are morally gray. Home schoolers are smarter. Public schoolers more open minded. These are the rumors but I did some interviews to find out what these students think of themselves and what do they think of each other?

The first interview was with a

Home schooler

Tyler:

My parents wanted to raise me in the church, but as time went on it was like I didn't feel comfortable with the public high schools. In homeschool there is definitely a lot more individual attention. I get to do more things that I want to do. Like I got to do fencing for four years, which you don't see in most public high schools.

My mom would give me a list of things to do, tell me "Ok here is what you need to do this week," and I would get it done and turn it back into her.

For high school we did a charter school. They would send me assignments and I would keep hours of what I did so I could get high school credits.

People always ask me: "Oh, you're home schooled, you must not have any friends." No, I actually have quite a few friends because I got to go out and do things that were social that you might not otherwise think of, you know?

Alexandra: Do you feel like you have lost anything by being home schooled?

Tyler: The first dance I have ever been to was in college... Yeah, but other than that I don't feel like I've lost anything... that I would miss anyway.

I think that the rumor that home schoolers are being socially ostracized is total... bull, if I may say. There are really... "weird" home schooled kids. I am not going to say that they don't exist, but we're not as weird as people may think.

Its easer to graduate early when you're home schooled; a lot of my friends did it just because it got to the point where our mom's can't teach us everything and we need to actually go and go to a professor, which is where public school is great. But

all of my homeschool friends who are freshmen this year are like "Oh I hate this, this is just like a repeat of high school."

I mean I was 16 going to community college, I had my own car, my job, I had a month where I lived off noodles. You definitely learn to grow up a little bit faster. I mean you're in a class with all 20-something-year-olds!

There was a guy that I tutored who was 50! And I was 16-17 years old and I was like "Ok, this is a little weird! What am I doing here?"

Alexandra: Was there any point when you got to college where you felt like "I already know this. I am too smart for this."

Tyler: During first week of school, where they're telling you "Here is what its like to be independent. Here is where you go and buy food." and I'm like "Well I've already been independent for about two years now." So that was a little bit stupid in my opinion but that is just because of where I am coming from.